On Tuesday evening, Ashley Judd hosted a showing of her latest movie, ‘Big Stone Gap’ at the Carmike Theater in Franklin.
Before the movie began, Judd shared with the audience the beauty of Big Stone Gap, Virginia (the location of the movie) noting her character’s mother was a couture seamstress and to be sure to take in the details of her character’s (Ava) wardrobe. Big Stone Gap is a book written by Adriana Trigiani who also wrote the screenplay as well as directed the movie based off the book.
Unfamiliar with the story? It’s 1978, and Ave Maria Mulligan is the 35-year-old self-proclaimed spinster of Big Stone Gap, a sleepy hamlet in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She’s also the local pharmacist, the co-captain of the Rescue Squad, and the director of The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the town’s long-running Outdoor Drama. Ave Maria is content with her life of doing errands and negotiating small details-until she discovers a skeleton in her family’s formerly tidy closet that completely unravels her quiet, conventional life. And if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie which comes out in theaters on October 9 nationwide, we don’t want to spoil the rest of the story.
We can tell you this—it is a feel good, must see movie this fall. As the story unfolds you will see how a small town pulls together to take care of its own.
After the viewing of the film, Judd fielded a few questions from the audience. One patron asked if the dog in the film was Judd’s dog Buttermilk. “Yes, it is like a little Easter egg that pops up in most of my movies,” said Judd.
Not ever to be forgotten, the University of Kentucky vintage shirt which makes an appearance towards the end of the movie.
When asked if she likes to watch herself in films? ” I get a kick out of seeing myself in my movies, it’s really the first time I get to see what the scene looks like.”
Judd does incredible humanitarian work, supporting women’s issues which is what prompted her to host the sneak peek of ‘Big Stone Gap’ as a fundraiser for Bridges, a domestic violence center right here in Williamson County.
At the end of questions, Judd was very candid about her removal from public life back in 2006 when she entered treatment at Shades of Hope for depression, grief and co-dependency. Her return to acting took place in 2010 in ‘Tooth Fairy.’ Since then she has had roles in ‘Dolphin Tale’, ‘Divergent’, ‘Insurgent’ as well as the TV series “Missing.”
Learn more about Bridges and the work they are doing in Williamson County along with more information about the movie ‘Big Stone Gap.’
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