November 29, 2006
**Updated gallery (30 pictures)

Judd hails Bono for charity encouragement
Actress Ashley Judd has thanked U2 rocker BONO and his crusade to end poverty with inspiring her to become a global ambassador for YouthAIDS. The Double Jeopardy star joined the global fight against HIV and AIDS in 2001 after receiving phone calls from Project Red co-founders Bobby Shriver and Bono. In May 2006), she travelled to Central America to visit communities devastated by the disease. She explains, "(U2's) music has been absolutely fundamental to my development as an activist. It's always great when Bono calls, for obvious reasons."
>> contactmusic.com

Ash's Super Spouse
Behind every good man is a good woman, as the saying goes.

But for Ashley Judd it's vice versa. She has praised her husband for helping her to overcome a bout of depression earlier this year. The Kiss The Girls actress checked into the Shades Of Hope Treatment Centre in Texas back in February. She was suffering from depression and an eating disorder, and completed a 47-day programme to aid her recovery. She's now confident she's beaten the illness: "I have so many more tools now. My self-care is really good." And she thanks her husband, racing driver Dario Franchitti, for standing by her during the treatment: "He is so supportive in just the right way. Pitch-perfect." It's nice to hear of a celeb couple sticking together.

November 27, 2006
Ashley Judd has one film in theaters (Come Early Morning) and another on the way (Bug, due in early 2007) – but it's her role as activist that has her most excited.

In May, Judd, 38, traveled to Central America as a global ambassador for YouthAIDS, a nonprofit dedicated to educating young people around the world about HIV/AIDS. Now a documentary about her trip, Ashley Judd and YouthAIDS: Confronting the Pandemic, is set to debut on TLC on Dec. 1.

The film, which airs on World AIDS Day, chronicles Judd's journey – along with pal and fellow YouthAIDS ambassador Salma Hayek – through communities in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua that have been devastated by HIV/AIDS.
>> Ashley Judd Talks About Her Passion Project

November 17, 2006
The Good Fight As the global ambassador of YouthAIDS, actress Ashley Judd has stepped into the role of a lifetime: a knowledgeable, caring, committed crusader hell-bent on making a difference.

"My belief is that none of this will go away until the revolution takes place, and girls and women have the same status as boys and men and have the same universal access to education, the same opportunities for economic empowerment. It would begin from childhood with the complete freedom to pursue one's interests."
>> marieclaire.com

November 15, 2006
*Updated gallery (16 pictures)

Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy) makes her feature film writing and directorial debut with Come Early Morning. Adams’ independent drama tells the story of Lucy Fowler, a small-town Southern woman (played by Ashley Judd) who wakes up most mornings with a hangover and next to a guy she doesn’t want to be with. The film follows Lucy’s story as she learns to recognize the source of her behavior and deal with the issues in her life that have led her to jumping into bed without forming relationships. >> Ashley Judd Talks About "Come Early Morning"

While doing the press rounds for Joey Lauren Adams' independent film, Come Early Morning, Ashley Judd answered a few questions on her movie Bug, co-starring Michael Shannon and Harry Connick Jr. >> Ashley Judd Discusses "Bug"

Is "Come Early Morning" a parallel universe imagining of what would've become of Ruby Lee Gissing had she stayed stuck in her small Southern town? As the titular twentysomething of Victor Nunez's 1993 "Ruby in Paradise," Ashley Judd went off to Florida to find herself; as thirtysomething Lucy in this Sundance successor--written and directed by "Chasing Amy" muse Joey Lauren Adams--she likewise comes to various realizations. >> IndieWIRE Review:"Come Early Morning"

Ashley Judd delivers the most convincing performance of her career as a hard-drinking, unstable southern woman in Come Early Morning, Joey Lauren Adams’s directorial debut. But when she spoke with Logan Hill, she was more interested in talking about Indian brothels, activism, and murderous rage >> Mouth of the South: Ashley Judd

November 10, 2006

Ashley Judd likes small films, revels in being true to herself
Ashley Judd has never tried to fit the Hollywood mold. "I don't waste my time chasing around after material, after movies and after a lifestyle in Hollywood that is not authentic to who I am," Judd says somewhat defiantly. "I definitely wanted to succeed. But all I really wanted was to act. I didn't want so much to be perceived as a star or a bankable box office performer." >> Chicago Tribune

A Fine 'Morning' for Ashley Judd
Actress Joey Lauren Adams goes the Damon/Affleck route with "Come Early Morning," writing a meaty part for herself between job offers. But to get her character-driven, regional drama made, Adams needed an A-list star, which meant her dream part went to Ashley Judd with Adams settling into the director's chair.

In one respect, it's not a bad trade, as Judd delivers an emotionally complex portrait of a woman haunted and hindered by the legacy of her family's history of alcoholism and infidelity. While Adams' direction isn't particularly distinctive and the movie fails to deliver much beyond a tidy tale of personal triumph, the film does provide a small measure of hope to those despairing that Judd's career would be forever mired in a quagmire of bad psychological thrillers >> LA Daily News

'Early Morning' becomes Judd
We are so used to seeing films about men using women as sexual objects -- usually in story lines about guys unable to commit to any relationship -- it's almost refreshing to see a picture where the roles are reversed...
''Come Early Morning'' is a terrific accomplishment by Adams -- a commendable first effort, making me hope that it's merely the beginning of a promising new aspect of her career as both a director and a writer. She is true to her Southern roots and has constructed a realistic, non-judgmental portrait of small-town life that mirrors so many tiny communities in Adam's native Arkansas. This is a little gem of a film >> SunTimes

REMINDER:
The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS): Ashley Judd - 10/10

More Links:
Come Early Morning: Movie Review
Southern story feels just right
Judd’s ‘nap hair
Ashley Judd's ego bigger than her career

**Updated gallery (2 pictures)

November 8, 2006

Ashley Judd to Adapt The Burning Time
At the New York press conference for her new movie Come Early Morning, actress Ashley Judd mentioned that she just bought the rights to Robin Morgan's novel The Burning Time with plans for Judd to adapt it into a screenplay. The novel is about an Irish priestess named Alice Kyteler, who refuses to give up her land or faith when the Inquisition arrives in Ireland during the 14th Century, putting her into a battle of wits with the bishop.

"I might fail spectacularly or succeed modestly," Judd told ComingSoon.net, "but I'm going to give it a go and probably reach out to other people who are writers to godmother or mentor me through the process. I'm going to spend some time doing that this winter and going to India* and stuff like that."

Judd's new film, , written and directed by Joey Lauren Adams, comes out in New York and Los Angeles on Friday >> comingsoon.net

Ashley Judd Gets Naked For AIDS
Ashley is baring all for the cover of the new issue of style magazine Marie Claire. She covers her naked breasts with her hands in the eye-catching cover shot. Inside the December 2006 issue, Judd talks about her efforts to increase awareness about AIDS in Africa.

November 6, 2006
Ashley Judd returned to the University of Kentucky to send up a "cry from the heart" to help the millions suffering from such maladies as disease, malnutrition, exploitation and sexual abuse.

Judd, who attended UK from 1986 to 1990 before she launched her career in Hollywood, underscored her point by urging a sense of "empowerment" among the powerless masses.

The former UK honors student and French major said her "cri de coeur" (cry from the heart) is taken from President Truman, who said, "Give Americans the facts and they will do the right thing."
Full Article

This Week on TV:
The Early Show (CBS): Ashley Judd & Joey Lauren Adams - 10/07

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (CBS): Ashley Judd - 10/10

Articles:
Q&A With 'Come Early Morning' Actress Ashley Judd
New York Magazine

A shot at substance
LATimes.com

November 1, 2006

Lecture invitation is a major moment for Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd has had the "biggest grin on my face" preparing for her appearance at the University of Kentucky on Thursday night.

"I am so excited," she said in a recent phone interview about her invitation to deliver UK's prestigious Blazer Lecture, created in 1950 by Ashland Oil founder Paul Blazer of Ashland, Judd's hometown...

So, make no mistake: Ashley Judd -- an honors student and French major who attended UK from 1986 to 1990 but remains one course shy of graduating -- is dead serious about what she plans to say and where she will say it.

She wants it clear that "I'm not going to talk about basketball, and I'm not going to talk about Eastern Kentucky, although I flirted momentarily with talk about mountaintop removal coal mining." But she said to do that she would have had to draw upon studies and findings of other people, so "I elected to go with what I know firsthand and speak from my personal experience."

This led to her autobiographical lecture title: At the Root of My Longing: Social Justice, Feminism and Spirituality.

Full Story @ kentucky.com

Come Early Morning Review: I don't normally see films with titles like Come Early Morning unless vampires are involved. However, I was intrigued about the feature directorial debut of Joey Lauren Adams, who also wrote the script, and I liked Ashley Judd so well in Bug that I thought the movie might be worthwhile. Unfortunately, Come Early Morning suffered from an amateurish script, predictable characterizations, and a lack of vampires... cinematical.com