Ashley Judd: Divine

There was that weird rumor that Sandra Bullock was the maid of honor at Ashley's wedding...Wrong! According to both women, they became better friends because of the silly rumor and exchange e-mails since both were in the cast of Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, a new film that explores lifelong female friendships and the love/hate relationships between Moms and daughters directed by a gal who knows gals..the writer of Thelma and Louise, Calli Khouri. When we spoke with lovely Ashley recently in L.A., she was a vision in bright pink. She told us of her own long-time gal pals, her relationship with her own mom and how she handled scenes in which her character goes bonkers!

Teenhollywood: You have a famous mom and sister. How do you deal with all the interest in your family?

Ashley: (When people ask me about them) I say things like, "you know what, I haven't asked her, so I'm reluctant to say anything terribly specific because that's personal to her creative process." And that's definitely something that I practice within our family at large. I would never, for example, describe what it was like for my sister in the studio without making sure it was OK with her first. Stuff like that.

Teenhollywood: Have you ever spoken to a member of the press and had them twist something that you said?

Ashley: Well, what we're all guffawing about today is this whole Liz Smith rumor that Sandy (Bullock) and I were awesomely best friends and she was my maid of honor, and in fact, we met twice. You know, and she seems completely fantastic and we've e-mailed a little bit, you know, "What are you wearing on Oprah?", things like that... But that's just a classic example of something seeming being blown up.

Teenhollywood: What about the talk we always hear that your mom didn't approve of some of your movie roles. Is there any truth to that?

Ashley: There isn't. If anything, it was extremely conducive in terms of helping us all remember to be cautious. That was an unfortunate situation and she in particular suffered because she's so inordinately proud of me that it hurts her that people might think otherwise.

Teenhollywood: How did she help you become the person you are?

Ashley: Well, after the small obstacle of giving birth to me [laughs], she made sure that I had a really nurtured imagination and she encouraged me in my individuality, my wackiness.

Teenhollywood: This movie shows so many flashback scenes of happy times and sad times. When you think back on your childhood, do you have any stand out memories?

Ashley: I had a little birthday party and we had a home movie from it. And there's something elusive about it too because I don't actually remember the party. I'm looking at myself obviously having this really special good time, and I'm kind of searching to remember it. I think I was like 10. And our grandparents were just so awesome. We lived with them every summer. I've got gobs of memories of my grandfather. He would come around the golf course, and at a certain hole, he could see the diving boards. And he'd stand there until someone else or I noticed him, and then he'd kind of give me a look and I'd go and do all my dives, and he'd watch.

Teenhollywood: Was there a piece of advice or a lesson that your mom taught you that really sticks with you.

Ashley: Life is more important than show business. I mean, I say that all the time, but it's very true. You know, what's so fabulous about it is that it's specific to us. It can be applied to anyone in any career, but it's so endemic to our particular lifestyles. A really good piece of advice.

Teenhollywood: Do you have something equivalent to a Ya-Ya sisterhood of your own?

Ashley: I think I do. It starts with my girlfriend, Gabrielle, with whom I've been friends with since we were infants, and I've been very blessed to add extremely significant women along the way. My group is small, culled by time, fate, circumstances, but very hardy and very outstanding. And one of the things that I feel anoints my life is that these women are all friends with each other independently of me – they end up having their own relationships with each other.

Teenhollywood: Your character Vivi, really loses it at one point and goes off the deep end. Can you talk about what you did in terms of trying to get to that crazy place?

Ashley: It was written that way. Callie believed in me, and I knew I could do it. I just knew that there was no in between, and I had to use a kind of, the Rubik's cube of my imagination and keep twisting it and twisting it until the right puzzle unlocked itself. It was really fun. When you're doing something physical like that, once you commit to it physically, it really cascades. The thing that was difficult about that was the set up, knowing that I had to create for myself a very imperative, however bizarre reason that that had to happen.

Teenhollywood: This film takes place in several eras. Is it more freeing to play a period character, or do you feel like they're more constrained?

Ashley: I remember talking a lot with Hugh Jackman while he was getting ready for Kate and Leopold, and he had an entire person just for his etiquette and comportment and demeanor, who gave him not only physical cues, but you know deep reasons as to why a gentleman behaves the way a gentleman behaves. And so in that sense, he had to be incredibly historically accurate in his behavior. And then on the other hand, you kind of go with what you remember. People were people, even back in the day.

Teenhollywood: What in life is your anti-drug, or your natural high?

Ashley: Yoga. Yoga for sure. Definitely transporting, and transforming and opening and curative and Love.

Teenhollywood: How important is it to you to still live in the South?

Ashley: It's very important, and while I definitely love the South, I think that the transcending factor is out in the country. That suits my disposition and needs and also my husband's.

Teenhollywood: Your character was really troubled. Did you like her?

Ashley: I loved her. It's kind of hard not to love someone who has all that bittersweet grief. But of course, I had the benefit of things that you all don't in that we shot scenes that aren't in the movie about my relationship with my mother, beautifully played by Cherrie Jones, and getting sent to the convent, and losing Jack (Vivi's first husband who dies in wartime). That scene is eight and a half minutes long, and they could not find a way to show part of it without showing it all, and it slowed the pace of the film too much, but it's in the DVD. That was Callie's compromise with the studio.

Teenhollywood: Is it different working with a woman director?

Ashley: No actually, the thing that unifies all the directors is their clarity and their passion.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.