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.
Can you talk about working on the horror thriller Bug with William Friedkin? What was that experience like?
“The experience was really good. Holly Wiersma, who was a producer on Come Early Morning, also helped produced Bug, so it was a very seamless transition for me. It was also shot in the South. We shot the movie consecutively on a small stage that was built. It was a single location, and we worked French hours for most of the film. I actually woke up on my own one time, without the alarm clock, which is unprecedented in the annals of movie making - for me, at least.
Working with Michael Shannon, in particular, was really a joy. I felt like that must have been what it was like to work with Al Pacino on Dog Day Afternoon’ There were times when the crew literally erupted into astonished applause. He was remarkable in the role.
It didn’t feel like a horror movie while we were shooting it, and I suppose that no good horror movie would feel like that. I don’t really know. But it was a very screwed up, psychological situation in this motel room with two lonely people who bond over their delusions. That’s really, for me, what it was about. Hooking into the really damaged soul of my character was what that process was about. That it turned out to be so terrifying [laughs] is just kind of cool.”
Did you feel any pressure competing with The Exorcist (also directed by William Friedkin)?
JUDD: “No. I very much believe in things unseen, both from positive and destructive energy, and I have never seen The Exorcist through from start to finish. I find it too realistic, frankly, and too disturbing for me. I absolutely believe in spiritual warfare and have experienced it in my life, so I respect Mr. Friedkin’s extraordinary success with that. But it’s not a picture I’ll ever see.”
