She's written emotional songs about her troubled relationship with her father and crashed her car speeding away from paparazzi photographers, but Lindsay Lohan says she faced her darkest days while on the set of the upcoming movie "Bobby," which revolves around the 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Just as Lohan was preparing to film a traumatic scene in which her character's friend is shot during the Kennedy incident, one of the actress' real-life best friends, who suffered from meningitis, was also on the brink of death (see "Lohan's Grown-Up Roles Put Her At Big-Screen Crime Scenes"). Lohan had to choose between being on the set of the movie or at her friend's bedside, she reveals in the new issue of Interview magazine.

"Our families are best friends and she was like a cousin, so you can imagine," the actress told the magazine. "I was on the phone with her parents every single night, and just before she died, I wanted to fly back to see her so badly."

But the timetable for "Bobby" was tight — the filmmakers only had 35 days to shoot the project, which takes place over 16 hours on June 4 and 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The building, a crucial part of the story, was scheduled to be demolished by a wrecking crew and replaced with a school. Though director Emilio Estevez was able to shift some locations to another faded hotel, he was trying to get as many shooting days at the Ambassador as he could.

Then there was the issue of juggling the schedules of the cast's many big names, since the screenplay focuses on the guests and workers at the hotel the day of the shooting.

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Anthony Hopkins plays the hotel's retired doorman, William H. Macy the hotel manager, Sharon Stone the manager's wife, Laurence Fishburne the chef, Heather Graham the phone operator and Christian Slater the food-and-beverage manager. Also present for the action are Elijah Wood, Martin Sheen, Helen Hunt, Demi Moore and Joshua Jackson.

Lohan plays a Kennedy volunteer named Diane who is getting engaged to Wood's character — though she's actually dating his brother — so he can avoid being sent to fight in the Vietnam War (see "Lindsay Lohan Falls For Elijah Wood In 'Bobby' ").

"Even though no one else died, a number of other people were shot as well," Lohan tells the magazine of the 1968 shooting, "so I had to stay and shoot it. My [real-life] friend ended up passing away that same day, so the scene is really personal for me. It was the most tragic one I've ever had to do and required the most acting. Other roles I've had didn't require as much acting, because my character was closer to my own age and experience. This time, I had to go to that darker place and use that for my work."

That work pays off, according to Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. just picked up "Bobby" for distribution and is already eyeing potential Oscars for the film. Weinstein approached Lohan and her manager about the role, saying along with her work in the upcoming "A Prairie Home Companion," she could do two Oscar campaigns this year ("That's what I've aspired to my whole life," Lohan tells Interview).

"She's fantastic, and a matter of fact, a big reason for getting me involved," Weinstein told MTV News. "This is going to be a stand-out performance this year for Lindsay, absolutely."

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Calling "Bobby" an "important movie," Weinstein said that today's generation will be surprised to hear what Kennedy had to say. "When you hear his words, they're not going to believe that in this country, 40 years ago, there was a voice that dealt with all the issues head-on and wasn't full of political spin," Weinstein said. "And Lindsay speaks to that generation."

"She's a doll and a brilliant girl," Weinstein added. "People don't know that side of her; they just see [her] going out. If I was 19 and had that much — well, I went out way more than Lindsay Lohan, but no one was around to catch me."

"Bobby" opens November 22.

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