Ashley Judd was a fan of Rebecca Wells' novel, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" since she read the book when it was first published. Judd immediately saw in 'Vivi' a character she'd enjoy playing. "I could easily imagine being Vivi, I so identified with the character," said Judd. She jumped at the chance to play the role as soon as it was offered. "It was a great opportunity for me to portray a character whose development follows a realistic arc."
"She's definitely a survivor," Judd continues. "Vivi is a force of nature - full of life, energy and potential. Due to a series of tragedies she experiences as a young girl, some of that passion gets drained out of her. She's able to survive because of her friends - the Ya-Yas."
Three actresses play the role of 'Vivi' during different stages of her life. Writer/director Callie Khouri believes all three completely captured the character and said of Ashley Judd's portrayal, "Vivi definitely has passion and that can work negatively as well as positively. In those moments when Vivi is kicking up her heels, Ashley is radiant and you really feel that she's having fun. It's pure joy. Then in the darker moments, Ashley leaves no doubt about the abject desperation Vivi feels. It's a beautifully nuanced performance.”
ASHLEY JUDD (Vivi)
Could you see yourself growing up to be Ellen Burstyn?
Wouldn't that be heavenly? She is so beautiful, too. She's neat. I like her very much.
Do you two have anything in common?
I don't think I am nearly as cool as she is. She's also very serene. It's almost like when they talk about The Buddha, in terms of being alert and curious and soft all at the same time.
You don't you see yourself like that?
I can be like that. I'm just a little in awe of her.
Has your mom seen this yet?
No. She's gonna die! Everyone should take their moms to see this. [Mine] is gonna love it. The other day they sent me some clips to approve. She got this extremely accusatory tone in her voice: "Ashley, what is that?" I'm like, "It's my work, mom." And she goes, "Is that the movie? Is that the video? Are you not showing it to me?" She's dying to see it so much.
Part of the reason this movie strikes home is because we all have mother issues. Did you have a time when you had some things to work out?
As you said, everybody has issues with their mother.
Was your mom strict?
She tried grounding me. She tried everything. She tried to invoke the presence of unseen others. She's this solitary person standing there saying, "Everyone thinks you're blah, blah, blah." Like, "Ma, you have a frog in your pocket?"
Did you enjoy playing the happier times with this character more than the angry times?
That's the wonderfully perverse joy of acting. The sad stuff is the funniest. It's exciting and very challenging and rewarding. I was kind of speculating earlier that joy is great to play, but in order to be really profound, and enduring, how epic does it have to be...? Like what? You hear Beethoven's 9th Symphony in person the first night he conducts it himself? What can you have that is so earth shattering like that that it sticks with you your whole life? There's something so cathartic and transitory about doing the sad stuff. Maybe it's a little sweet spot with me because I am confident about taking it on and I enjoy it.
Do you have girlfriends who are like the Ya-Yas?
My best girlfriend from when I was itty bitty. We met when we weren't even a year old. We were months. And my best girlfriend from college. Although talking about all this girlfriend business really makes me want to look up Beth Inman from the sixth grade because I loved that girl so much and I would like to talk to her again. She was lovely. She was so dear to me. She was such a great girlfriend.
How long has it been since you've talked to her?
We parted ways after junior high. I went to a different school, but I stayed with her mom and her a lot. She was such a cool friend. She let her Golden Retriever lick her on the mouth before I had a dog and understood.
Are there any other Ya-Ya types for you, besides those two?
Yeah, I picked up some real quality women along the way. They all know and like each other, which is extraordinary. To know that everyone has a friendship independent of the nucleus that you have provided is a huge blessing. I love that.
How hard was it to film the scenes where you beat your kids?
The kids were so great. It was so cold and as soon as they yelled cut, we were all huddling together and dunking our feet in hot water and drinking hot things and scurrying back and forth. The older boy, in particular, was such a capricious kid. He was like, “That was a really good one. I was so scared.” They were into it, really into it. They had been very well rehearsed and were extremely prepared for the day.
Did you do any fun girl stuff on the set?
We had a good time. I got there on a Friday and I went full tilt with my accent. I just did instant immersion - no going back. I felt so conspicuous because it sounded clangy to my ear at first.
We went out and had a nice supper as a group and just immediately hit it off and just started carrying on. We didn't let up until we left. We had some good gag takes. It was so special. The moments when Cherry [Jones] was there were so great. I don't go out after work. Morgan says I'm too professional and the reality is I'm just too tired. We'd go and have something to eat late night and Cherry, being a woman of the theater, has a tendency to smoke and I don't smoke but I would hold a cigarette just because I wanted to be like her, and look at her, and talk about the theater.
Were Ellen and the older actresses around when you were?
No, we overlapped by about 4 days because they came in to do some of their preparations and fittings and tests.
Did you contact Ellen Burstyn when you found out you were playing the younger version of her character?
Yes, we visited. It was really special for me because she has so much integrity and she does what she does. She's just honorable about it. She doesn't make it glamorous or act coy. She doesn't pretend like she is somebody slumming to care about her characters. She is a very inside out actress in how she works. She's very honest and candid about it.
Did you try to pick up on her mannerisms?
We talked about a few things. Not that anyone will notice consciously - but we have a lot of similar physical expressions in the movie. I haven't seen the final cut. It's also in the way things get framed. Say we do something but it ends up being a close-up - but we know.
Can you talk a little about your role in "Frida?"
It's a small cameo. I went down to Mexico City as a favor. I was very proud to have been asked.
As a favor to whom?
To Salma [Hayek].
Could you see yourself going back to do more independent films?
Sure. It's all about the script and the director.
Why do you think you've become so mainstream?
I never had an overall plan, except to try to do work that was interesting and challenging to me. Maybe now is a good time. I've had some time off. I've gotten this little body of work together so it might be an appropriate moment to pause and say, "How do I become Ellen Burstyn...ala Ashley Judd?" But I'm pretty detached from the whole process.
Have you thought anymore about how you are going to approach "Catwoman?"
Yeah. One of the things I love about "Spider-Man" is that, for the genre, they made it very real. They played the emotion very genuinely. Even the news editor, who is the most campy, iconic cartoon figure... there was something really great and plausible about him. So it definitely reinforced the direction that we had been planning on taking "Catwoman" in all along, which is why we worked so hard on the script.
You're married to race car driver, Dario Franchitti. Are you able to just relax when you're sitting at the track?
It was a little harder at Indy because there were so many people and all the practices are open to the public. The first day I thought, "There are 300,000 people. I'm not going to sign a single autograph. I am just going to respectfully say to people, 'Look, if I sign for you, I have to sign for everybody else.'" I was so bitter by the end of the day and I felt so negative from saying "No. No. No." all day long that I went home and I had to have a word with myself. I said, "How am I going to make this better?" So I decided - let's try the reverse. I'll sign for every person who asks. So that's been working out better.
Are you slightly isolated at the track?
It's the way that particular race is. The track is open five days a week for three weeks. Everybody is around the garages - and I don't mind in the garages. But in the pit I just don't think it's appropriate, because there are people working. I don't come to where you work and bother you.
You're doing so much. How do you keep it all together?
It's an illusion. We wrapped "Ya-Ya" in May and I've been home since then. I did the "High Crimes" junket. I'm doing this junket. I went to Japan with Dario for his race and promoted "High Crimes" while we were in Japan together - and popped through London and Paris, which was very beautiful. I got to have a couple of days off.
You are so committed to your career. Do you factor in taking some time for a family?
It will happen when it happens, if it happens. It's for God to know and for us to find out. I don't think it's a subject about which to be presumptuous.
