Having directed The Exorcist and The French Connection, two movies from the '70s that have had a major impact on many filmmakers and films to this day, William Friedkin is arguably one of the most imaginative and influential filmmakers currently working. His latest movie is Bug , a creepy social thriller based on the Tracy Letts' stageplay, starring Ashley Judd as a small town waitress who gets involved with a potentially crazy ex-soldier, played by Michael Shannon, recreating the role he played on stage. The movie watches as these two fractured people spiral down a bottomless pit, believing that the government has planted bugs in them and doing whatever it takes to get them out. Friedkin is fairly well-rounded, not only having made some classic films but also having directed opera and theatres, and though he may seem a little eccentric at times--before we talked to him, we watched him take charge of a large press conference with his stars--he's still one of the most outspoken and eloquent filmmakers when talking about his craft. Not only that, but he also looks unbelievably young for his age, so one wonders if he was only 15 years old when he made all those classic films of the '70s

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