May 30, 2006
She had been trying her best to remain low key -- after husband Dario Franchitti qualified for the Indy 500 on Saturday. Floppy hats and dark glasses. Even dressing down.
Yet, journalists at the Indianapolis race track could not resist writing about Hollywood star Ashley Judd...
Judd is generally very kind and receptive when people approach her at the track but declines to give interviews.
A public relations spokesman told the Tennesean newspaper that it is 'because she doesn't want to detract attention from Dario'.
'This is his special time and she wants the focus to be on him, not her.'
Her support seemed to have helped Franchitti finish in the top 10 at the Indy 500 race on Sunday - he was seventh. >> Full Article
Ficks's picks (and one no-pick) at Cannes '06: #2 William Friedkin's schizo-thriller Bug built to such a creepy and intense climax that dozens of viewers were screaming at the top of their lungs, freaking me out almost as much as Lynne Collins and Ashley Judd's performances. >> Full Article
May 27, 2006
There are races, and then there are races.
Dario Franchitti has won races — lots of races — but he's never won THE race.
"The Indy 500 is in a class by itself," said Franchitti, a 33-year-old native of Scotland who moved to Williamson County a few years ago after marrying actress Ashley Judd.
"To win it is special for any driver. Anybody who wins Indy has an extra spring in their step."
Franchitti takes his fourth shot at conquering the Brickyard in Sunday's 90th running of the Indianapolis 500. He starts 17th in the 33-car field. Tennessean.com
**Updated gallery today! (27 pictures)
May 26, 2006
More on 'Bug':
“I wanted Ashley for her intelligence,” Friedkin said, “The actors have to be able to understand this movie. It can’t be explained to them. Her personal experience was a help: She grew up with her mother and sister, poor, living in trailers, she had some abusive relationships…she had some things in common with Agnes. I didn’t have to say a lot to her. We were on the same page.” RogerEbert.com
Another 'Bug' Review:
After years of Hollywood hack work, the once-great William Friedkin belatedly gets his freak on for an enjoyably histrionic adaptation of the Off-Broadway hit by Tracy Letts. Ashley Judd plays a lonely waitress who lives in an Oklahoma motel and runs into man trouble in two forms. First, her abusive ex-husband arrives fresh out of the pen (an appropriately hammy Harry Connick Jr.). Then comes a new friend (Michael Shannon) who seems like good company at first but soon has her believing his rants about military experiments and mutant aphids. Before long, they've wrapped everything in her motel room with tin foil and that's when things really get weird. Teetering on the edge of self-parody and often tipping over, Bug also ups the ante at frequent intervals. While far from Friedkin's glory days, it's still one of the year's most enjoyably gonzo American thrillers. Eye.net
May 25, 2006
Ashely Judd is for sale, not the real Ashley Judd, but a life-size cutout.
The cutout of Judd, actress and extreme UK basketball fan, has been on display at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance office in Shelbyville to promote organ donations for the Kentucky Circuit Clerk's Trust for Life, but is now helping to support Crusade for Children. Judd is the spokesperson for the organ donor program and is co-sponsored by Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance and the Kentucky Circuit Clerks Association >> Full Article
Updated gallery (9 pictures)
May 22, 2006
'Exorcist' Director Takes 'Bug' to Cannes
May 19, 2006
Judd bugs out-- Ashley didn’t go to Cannes for her tour de force in “Bug,” one of the most disturbing horror movies imaginable.
Based on the hit off-Broadway play and directed by the legendary William Friedkin (“The Exorcist”), “Bug” boasts Judd’s first nude scene as it charts the mental disintegration of an Oklahoma divorcee as she sinks into a mutually insane paranoid relationship with a man (Michael Shannon) who is convinced he has bugs devouring his system. Full Article
"Judd's first nude scene", is this guy serious or was that a joke?
Bug Review:
Set largely within the confines of a couple of rooms in a rundown motel, Bug’s initial focus is on Agnes (Ashley Judd), a lonely waitress who has learned to mistrust the world. Insulated from life by booze and drugs, she fears the return of her abusive ex-husband Jerry (Harry Connick Jr) who has just been paroled...
In a welcome change of pace from the women in peril thrillers that have defined her screen image, Judd shows great dedication... Full Review
May 18, 2006
Standing up for Mrs. Franchitti
Franchitti, who is a really nice guy, blew off some steam about a local reporter who took a written shot at Ashley Judd, Dario's actress wife, in a blog. The writer intimated that Ashley acted uncaring when one of her two beloved dogs momentarily disappeared, leaving her husband to deal with the possible problem... Full Article
Updated gallery (12 pictures)
May 16, 2006
Updated gallery (10 pictures)
May 15, 2006
Updated gallery (12 pictures)
May 13, 2006
Updated gallery (14 pictures) and...
May 9, 2006
Ashley has visited Honduras as part of a week-long visit to Central America. Judd, world ambassador for the Washington-based YouthAids group, met in Honduras with Vice President Elvin Santos, first lady Xiomara Castro, Aids patients, activists and other political leaders.
"I always dreamed about having this kind of life. This work changed my life. I have dedicated myself completely to helping others, and this activity has given my life meaning, in helping humanity."
May 7, 2006
Updated gallery (9 pictures)
May 3, 2006
Ashley Judd met with AIDS patients Tuesday and urged Guatemalans to eliminate prejudice against those who have the illness on the first day of a Central American tour as world ambassador for a private AIDS organization.
"I know that there is misinformation, that there is a stigma and superstitions that only contribute to the spread of AIDS," Judd, world ambassador for the Washington-based YouthAIDS group, said while visiting an AIDS clinic run by Maryknoll nuns in the town of Coatepeque, 165 kilometers (100 miles) west of Guatemala City.
Fellow actress Salma Hayek and Colombian singer Juanes, who also represent the group, were expected to join Judd later Tuesday. The three planned to stay in Guatemala for several days, during which time they will meet with President Oscar Berger to discuss the AIDS situation in the country. Judd and Hayek will then continue the tour in Honduras and Nicaragua.
Read Article
May 2, 2006
The Cannes Film Festival sidebar Directors' Fortnight will be a largely Franco-American affair when it kicks off May 18.
U.S. fare for the sidebar includes Bug, a psychological thriller from "Exorcist" director William Friedkin, starring Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon in a story about a mentally disturbed war veteran who holes up with a lonely woman in a motel room.
Article: on Bug