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Listen Up You Mealy Mouthed Monkeys! Capone ain't interviewing no chick, but a man's manly man, BRUCE CAMPBELL!!!
Hey Folks, Harry here - You want to laugh so hard your ribs crack and your spleen shivvers? You want to make women tremble with quaking thighs at the very sight of your initials? Well - read HOW TO MAKE LOVE THE BRUCE CAMPBELL WAY but read it while acting out all the scenarios with your ASH action figure (you know you have 3)! The various pictures and illustrations in this book - in addition to the joyfully conceited gleeful writing style of Bruce - just makes the book a joy to read. Had to miss THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN - when Bruce hit town due to my secret identity's work related activities - sigh. Now - behold the sheer artistry with which Bruce and Capone frolic!
Click The Book To Own The Greatest Aphrodesiac Known To Geek-kind!
Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago, following up my line-up announcement for
this year's Flashback Weekend in Chicago, July 29-31. The guest of honor
this year is a returning favorite to the Flashback event, Mr. Bruce
Campbell, and this year the man is busy. He’s got a new book (“How to Make
Love the Bruce Campbell Way), and three new movies out or soon to be out
(THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN; SKY HIGH; and THE WOODS). But I’ll let
him tell you all about it. I conducted this phone interview with Bruce while
he was in the midst of his whirlwind “Summer of Love” book tour. On this day
he was in Phoenix, on the eve of his ComicCon appearance. Let’s dive right
in, shall we?
Capone: You many not remember, but you and I spent the better part of
evening together in Chicago for the opening night of BUBBA HO-TEP about two
years ago.
Bruce Campbell: I remember it like it was yesterday…I just can’t remember
what I did yesterday.
Capone: The only reason I bring it up is because during our talks between
screenings and Q&As, we discussed the subject matter of “Make Love…,” but
according to my notes you had a slightly different approach to this subject
matter. You also mentioned in that interview THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING
BRAIN as being a film that has been torpedoed out of development at the
time.
B.C.: That happened every six months. It would come back, go away.
Capone: But at least you got it made. My brother saw you and the film in
Seattle last week and said he really enjoyed it.
B.C.: That was a fun screening, because it was at the Neptune Theatre, which
is this big old 750-seat house with a balcony. The coolest part about this
44-city tour is…Well let me say that when I was touring for the first book,
I’d show up at a movie theatre, but they’d be showing EVIL DEAD II or ARMY
OF DARKNESS, and that gets old. But I said, wait a minute, now I’ve got this
new movie, let’s make everything new on this tour.
Oh, and good news, we just jumped from 35 to 20 on the New York Times best
sellers list. So we’re kicking some ass.
Capone: Well your autobiography was a bona fide success, unexpectedly so.
B.C.: It would definitely qualify as a surprise success from the publisher’s
point of view. They had no idea what that book even way. They just said,
“What’s the book that’s making money for us?”
Capone: So “Make Love…” covers your fictional adventures in Hollywood.
B.C.: It’s a mockumentary in book form, yes.
Capone: There have certainly been many novels about the Hollywood scene, but
most of those books use fictional characters with made-up names. But you
opted to use the names of real people even thought their personas are
bogus…we assume. Why did you think that was the better approach?
B.C.: I just said, let’s use real people. It was really the only approach I
thought of; it wasn’t like I compared the two approaches. It was a way to
put it in a context that I could understand. It’s my first novel, and it was
a way for me to stay in familiar territories, safe waters. And there’s a lot
of stuff I didn’t tell in the first book that I could sneak into the second
book and change the names to protect the guilty, pretend it’s fiction. For
example, I do know an executive that smells his fingers all the time. There
have been actors who fuck with you during auditions, things like that. I do
know the Paramount back lot. I have met Robert Evans. I thought, let’s go
for it. I think people will think the stories are more real.
Capone: That was my next question. I assume there are some people mentioned
in the book whom you haven’t met…
B.C.: I haven’t met any of them. I haven’t me Richard Gere, Renee Zellweger,
Mike Nichols. I’m sure he’s a delightful man, but I wouldn’t know for sure.
I perpetuated a public persona of them. Mike Nichols is known as a classy
director, and I refer to him as a classy director. I’m terrified of him
because he’s a real director. So I’m not revealing anyone’s secret drug
habits or anything like that. Same with Gere and Zellweger; I just went with
commonly known things about them. Richard Gere is a peace-loving Buddhist,
so I thought it would be fun to trash his apartment during a rehearsal.
Capone: Is this the book you set out to write? Because when we spoke in
2003, I got the impression you were going for more of a parody of
relationship advise books.
B.C.: Honestly, my editor and I were having a bunch of lengthy notes
sessions, and we got to the point where there was a long pause on the phone.
The original idea way, way back was a nonfiction book, a gag relationship
book. But we kind of said during the notes sessions that we were crossing a
line here into fiction, aren’t we? That made it more fun. The relationship
advise angle is still in there, but now it’s part of a story. I’m not
qualified to write about that shit, even making fun of it. I wouldn’t touch
that with a 10-foot pole.
Capone: Okay, you’ve written a novel in which some version of you is the
main character…
B.C.: I know, it’s scary. Some good friends of mine have read it and they
said to me, “Bruce, you better be careful because you come across like a
real jerk in this book.” And I tell them, “Hey, that’s just the writer
talking.”
I should mention, later this summer, we’re releasing a six-hour unabridged
version of book. A 6-CD radio play version of the book where people act out
Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger. Different actors. Our tag line is: You’ve
read the book, now here the movie. That’s through Ryko. Ted Raimi is all
over it, he probably plays 15 characters. Also, I live in southern Oregon,
which recently played host to the largest Shakespeare festival in the
country, so I got myself some Shakespearean actors for this radio play, and
they were so excited to do something that wasn’t Willy for a while.
Capone: Right. And now I’m reading that your about to make another film with
Dark Horse where you’re playing yourself again.
B.C.: Yeah, that whole playing myself thing is taking center state in my
life. I swear it’s not a conscious effort.
Capone: The idea for the Dark Horse film reminds me of GALAXY QUEST, wherein
the townspeople come to an actor known for fighting supernatural beings to
help rid their town of zombies.
B.C.: And in my case it’s especially ridiculous because I’ve never owned a
gun or worked a chainsaw, and when I show up to help, more people die than
before I show up there. It’ll be fun. I’m directing that one too. Mark
Verheiden, who wrote TIMECOP and THE MASK is writing it. My desire is to
pepper the cast with every people that those at horror cons would watch and
go, “Oh, cool!” Like Ted Raimi. If you’re going to make a movie making fun
of the whole concept of actors being identified with their roles, the
sheriff should be so-and-so, the mayor should be so-and so. And I’m trying
to shoot it in Oregon.
Capone: That’ll be good for you.
B.C.: Yeah, because I’m sick of going to frickin’ Bulgaria.
Capone: Well, Bulgaria is apparently the new Toronto in terms of places to
shoot instead of the U.S.
B.C.: Yeah, well that sucks as a place to shoot. Let me just go on record.
Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver I’ve been to. Bulgaria isn’t even close.
They’re going there to save money. They don’t give a shit whether it’s good
for the movie or not.
Capone: I just read that they may shoot RAMBO IV there.
B.C.: [Snoring sounds]. Well that’s because the average Bulgarian worker
makes $110 a month, so forget about it. But they also have packs of wild
dogs there, so it’s not a normal place. You have to carry a bag of dry dog
food in the van.
Capone: Was there anything good about shooting there?
B.C.: It was incredibly charming. It’s also very healthy as an American to
just get out and see the rest of the world to see what people think of you
as an American. I lived like a Bulgarian while we were there. I lived in an
apartment building for two months, hauling my groceries up the stairs. They
don’t do elevators there. They get by on so little and it’s bizarre to see a
country that’s completely emerging. It’s such a strange dichotomy. But I
enjoyed feeding the wild dogs every morning.
Capone: You ended up there as part of your arrangement for Sci-Fi Channel to
make ALIEN APOCALYPSE, right?
B.C.: Right, Sci-Fi Channel wanted to do two movies with me back to back. It
all started with this film TERMINAL INVASION, which they didn’t really care
for so they just dumped it on the air [in 2002], but it did well thanks to
fine people like your readers. And they were confused, and they were asking
themselves, Who was this guy that’s drawing viewers? So I got a call soon
after asking, What else have you got? And I told them that SCREAMING BRAIN
has been rotting on your shelf now for two months why don’t you take a look
at it? So they took a fresh look at it and suddenly were interested. And
because they were going to Bulgaria and wanted two movies, so I called my
buddy Josh Becker and said “Good news, bad news, buddy. Good news: we’re
going to make your movie [ALIEN APOCALYSE]” because I knew he had this
script which I thought was a very appropriate Sci-Fi Channel movie. “Bad
news is you’re going first to Bulgaria.” And he cursed me every day,
e-mailing me saying you fucker. Do you know what I’ve had to go through?”
And since we had all of these Bulgarian actors playing many of the roles, we
had to loop them, which is why ALIEN APOCALYPSE has kind of a bizarre feel
to it, like “Speed Racer” cartoon. And that movie is set in Portland. And my
original story for SCREAMING BRAIN is set in East L.A., and I said to
Sci-Fi, “Who are my Latinos, the gypsies?” So, just rewrote the damn thing
for Bulgarians, set in Bulgaria. It was the smartest thing I ever did, for
budget reason too, because we don’t have the time or money to change signs
and bring over cars that look American. They had these old Soviet SUVs
driving around. They have these old East German cars where the shell is made
out of pressed paper with 2-cylinder engines, like a weed-whacker on wheels.
I did another rewrite while we were making ALIEN APOCALYSE to include scenes
with crazy cab drivers, because they were out of their minds. And I stole a
whole character. My character is based on a real cab driver. That’s the
B-movie world, you tap dance as fast as you can. It was invigorating because
we were trying to be troubleshooters every day. We took over a military
compound that had been abandoned. When communism fell, everybody walked away
from so many things, and the military shut down. There are a thousand
unfinished buildings, because no one who owned it anymore. So we cut down
trees in the parking lot of this base and created the first Bulgarian back
lot. That was a smart move because they don’t block streets there; they’re
just not set up to do it. It was like making a giant Super 8 movie like when
I was in high school.
Capone: It sounds like your old days with Sam Raimi, where you just worked
with what you had and no one had any money or resources.
B.C.: Absolutely. In a way, it’s half-maddening because you ask yourself why
do I have to go through this. If we’d stayed in the United States, this
wouldn’t have been a problem. I’m taking a bunch of extreme steps to shoot
in the U.S. again for this next movie.
Capone: Is SCREAMING BRAIN getting any kind of traditional theatrical
release?
B.C.: No, and I don’t care. This has been satisfying to show it in these
great old revival house theatres with big screens. You know, as a result of
doing it this way, SCREAMING BRAIN has been shown on bigger screens than I
would ever get in a multiplex, where they’d dump me on screen #19, which
would be just a little bigger than your plasma T.V. In this case, I’m
showing the flick in 600-seat houses, 750-seat houses with balconies and
great velvet curtains. In a way, I’m getting the royal treatment. It’s been
great, and I think audience members like to get out of the multiplex,
especially the people who follow what I do, they don’t like normal anything.
I should mention that SCREAMING BRAIN is premiering on the Sci-Fi Channel on
the last Sunday in September and will come out on DVD through Anchor Bay
around Halloween, as it should.
Capone: And in Chicago, the film is showing in a drive-in setting.
B.C.: Go figure!
Capone: And with SCREAMING BRAIN, you’ve also got the comic book version
with Dark Horse, which you’ve called the Director’s Cut of the movie.
B.C.: Not every movie lends itself to a comic book, but this one, come on!
It’s called THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN! And we liked one of the covers
so much, we went, “That’s the poster for the movie.” And in the low-budget
world, why hire a guy to design a new poster if you’ve already got it? The
executive producer jumped all over that. “We don’t have to spend any money?
Good idea.”
Capone: This is a busy year for you. SKY HIGH is actually coming out the
weekend you’re in Chicago.
B.C.: I hope SCREAMING BRAIN defeats SKY HIGH in Chicago, but I doubt it
will. We’ll check the one-day grosses. It’s hard to go toe-to-toe with
Disney, though.
Capone: You play a teacher in the film…
B.C.: I’m Coach Boomer, the loser gym coach.
Capone: Does he have a power?
B.C.: He has a sonic booming voice. When he yells at the kids, you see their
hair go back.
Capone: And the last time we saw each other you were excited about THE WOODS
[from MAY director Lucky McKee].
B.C.: That’s coming out in the fall. Now that I’m aging, I get to play
fathers. Agnes Bruckner is the lead woman, my daughter. It’s great to play
the father because the young person gets covered in blood, and I walk in and
say, “What did I miss?” It’s not as dirty as a job anymore. It’s fun to play
other types of roles. Here, it’s a geeky, nerdy professor-type father, who
had no martial arts skills and doesn’t brandish a weapon. No, that’s no
accurate. I do brandish an axe, I won’t lie to you, but only to come to the
aide of his daughter. It’s not like, “Yo, she-bitch, let’s go.”
Capone: I’m now going to attempt to ask the inevitable EVIL DEAD sequel
question in a slightly different way. Would you a perfectly happy man if you
never played Ash again? Or is it something you’re burning to do just one
more time?
B.C.: No, I never think about it. It’s not part of my program. Although THQ
is coming out with yet another EVIL DEAD game, so my feeling is that as the
video game technology improves, it actually becomes more like a sequel.
They’re employing this new rag doll technology in the current game, and it’s
cool shit. I voice it, and we added Ted Raimi as a sidekick, he plays a
little Deadite, so now I have a guy I can kick the shit out of and talk to.
Capone: Have you been told by Sam Raimi what pivotal role you’ll be playing
in the next SPIDER-MAN film?
B.C.: No, he never tells me. He just tells me when to show up, gives me the
silly costume, tells me my four lines, GO! Plus, honestly, the studio is
very cagey about sharing information. I don’t even get the whole script. I
only get the pages with my character in them. And each page in big 4-inch
letters, it says CAMPBELL 001, CAMPBELL 002 on the next page. If I ever ran
to Kinkos, they’d know who to sue. So I memorize my lines and give the pages
right back to assistant director; I don’t even want to hold this thing.
Capone: The roles are always small, but always significant.
B.C.: Absolutely. I named him in the first one, and I defeated him in the
second one. No one can say they defeated Spider-Man except me. He did not
get into that theatre, I don’t care what his powers are.
Capone: Now I’ll ask a sequel question in a more traditional manner. Is a
follow-up to BUBBA HO-TEP still a possibility?
B.C.: MGM was interested, but they just go purchased by Sony, and there’s
that uncomfortable year-long period where everyone is looking at everyone
else asked “Who are you? Are you my boss? You’re fired.” And executives take
projects with them. It’s all very secretive. So who knows? We have an idea
mapped out, it’s like a prequel and a sequel at the same time. When the
smoke clears, I think someone will step up because it’s actually done really
well for them. I hope they see it that way.
Capone
If You Have Ointment For My Ass, Click Here
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I saw him live a few years ago, promoting his first book. He is the poster boy for how celebrities ought to interact with their fans. A class act through and through.
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Ah Bruce Campbell, what a legend.
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Bruce made it to Toronto and Vancouver, but never makes it to Edmonton. Some day I will have to jump a plane and go see him on one of his tours or at a Convention. I'd do it for a band, so Bruce should be a given.
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commericals for the Southern Oregon Historical Society. It's a little disconcerting to see him on a major network pimping for new society members.
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I lent to a guy I worked with oce. A few days later her was fired. I've yet to get my book back! Argh!
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"Listen up you primative screw heads! Join the SOHS now! Klatu, Barrada, Nictoh. Ok, that's it then."
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My above post is full of typos and errors. Bad form. Incidentally, my job title is "Editor." Huh. Really makes you think...
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Bruce is hitting our fair city on Monday, and there is NO SCREENING of The Man With the Screaming Brain!
This sucks! This is total BS! -
Because he'd be great, that's why.
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He was great at comic-con this year. He went on a long tirade about how shitty the Hollywood machine is, and how they are bankrupt of originality. He went on to talk about all of the crappy remakes and TV show movies, and told the audience to avoide big studio movie at all costs and embrace the originality of indie films.
Except for Disney's Sky High
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Isn't he pretty much talking to someone from AICN every 24-48 hours these days? It's like stories about Apple on Slashdot or something. Bruce is great, good, excellent even. Does he ever talk to anyone who isn't going to post his words here though? Just curious because I don't think mainstream press even knows who he is anymore.
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It could've been good, I tells ya!
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my experience with Bruce wasn't so cheery. Is it just me? Anybody else go to the Portland show and think he was being pretty much a prick to people? Or am I mistaken? I'm confused.
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...the next one of you primates... even _touches_ me... YAAAAAGGGHH!
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Bad spelling always stands out.
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and they're just frickin cool, fun books to read, with his first one being essential for all budding filmmakers. Bubba rocks, and I can't wait to see "Screaming Brains", sounds fucking ridiculous.
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Nope. Just me, baby. Just me.
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I saw him last week at Comic Con. The What has Bruce Campbell Been Up To panel was great. Basically just him taking questions from the audience and being hilarious. Later I got in line to get an autograph. I hadn't planned on it but I wanted to buy his new book so I thought, what the hell, I may as well get it autographed at the same time. When it finally was my turn I found him to be, well, not a prick, but not the same guy I had seen a couple of hours earlier. But I can't really blame him for not being the overly friendly guy with everyone. After all, by the time he had signed my book he had probably signed 200 autographs and had just as many still to do, and had done 900 the day before (so we had been told). And was doing it all again the next day. Plus, I think I kind of rubbed him the wrong way. The rules for an autograph were posted when you got in line, plus they were hollered at us several times as we waited in line. Basic rules were he would sign one autograph unless you bought a book, then he would sign the book and one piece of memorabilia, and if you bought a book he would personalize the autograph. And they even handed out post-its so you could write how you wanted it personalized. Anyway, after about an hour I finally got to the front of the line. The woman herding us through took my book, removed the dust cover to make signing easier, took the post-it, then told me to go. I was trying to process the fact that she took my post-it, which I had carefully held onto for the past 45 minutes. I put the book down in front of Bruce Campbell and thought maybe I'm supposed to tell him who to make it out to, and I did. He half looked up at me and flatly said "Sorry buddy, we're not doing that today" and signed my book. I made some half-assed remark like "long day, huh?" but in the back of my mind I was trying to understand what the point of the post-its were or when did they change the rules. Anyway, he finished signing and said "thanks" as he looked to the next person in line. He did not come across as the fan-friendly guy I expected. But maybe he was tired or bored or hungry, or maybe I had pissed him off by asking "Could you make it out to...". Whatever the reason, though, I didn't think he was prick. The guy can't be "on" all the time. My negative feelings have to do with those controlling the event. Why hammer us with rules that you're going to change without notice? I don't really care if my autographed book is personalized, I just thought since he was doing it, it would be cool to get it done. I just wish they had let us know they had changed the rules so I would not have come acoss as an asshole looking to get a personalized autograph when no one else was. I didn't think Bruce Campbell was a prick but there is every chance he thought I was one.
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I saw him last week at Comic Con. The What has Bruce Campbell Been Up To panel was great. Basically just him taking questions from the audience and being hilarious. Later I got in line to get an autograph. I hadn't planned on it but I wanted to buy his new book so I thought, what the hell, I may as well get it autographed at the same time. When it finally was my turn I found him to be, well, not a prick, but not the same guy I had seen a couple of hours earlier. But I can't really blame him for not being the overly friendly guy with everyone. After all, by the time he had signed my book he had probably signed 200 autographs and had just as many still to do, and had done 900 the day before (so we had been told). And was doing it all again the next day. Plus, I think I kind of rubbed him the wrong way. The rules for an autograph were posted when you got in line, plus they were hollered at us several times as we waited in line. Basic rules were he would sign one autograph unless you bought a book, then he would sign the book and one piece of memorabilia, and if you bought a book he would personalize the autograph. And they even handed out post-its so you could write how you wanted it personalized. Anyway, after about an hour I finally got to the front of the line. The woman herding us through took my book, removed the dust cover to make signing easier, took the post-it, then told me to go. I was trying to process the fact that she took my post-it, which I had carefully held onto for the past 45 minutes. I put the book down in front of Bruce Campbell and thought maybe I'm supposed to tell him who to make it out to, and I did. He half looked up at me and flatly said "Sorry buddy, we're not doing that today" and signed my book. I made some half-assed remark like "long day, huh?" but in the back of my mind I was trying to understand what the point of the post-its were or when did they change the rules. Anyway, he finished signing and said "thanks" as he looked to the next person in line. He did not come across as the fan-friendly guy I expected. But maybe he was tired or bored or hungry, or maybe I had pissed him off by asking "Could you make it out to...". Whatever the reason, though, I didn't think he was prick. The guy can't be "on" all the time. My negative feelings have to do with those controlling the event. Why hammer us with rules that you're going to change without notice? I don't really care if my autographed book is personalized, I just thought since he was doing it, it would be cool to get it done. I just wish they had let us know they had changed the rules so I would not have come acoss as an asshole looking to get a personalized autograph when no one else was. I didn't think Bruce Campbell was a prick but there is every chance he thought I was one.
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"Remember when you were in the Beatles? That was AWESOME."
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as much as the Q and A. He was being pretty smart assed about people who watched his stuff. The "you'll watch whatever shit I do, even though it's shit..because you're that stupid" kind of attitude. When one guy asked if he was going to write anymore books the reply was "How many of mine have you bought? Two? Well we're well on our way. Keep buying, I'll keep writing."
We're your fans dude. If it wasn't for your fan base you wouldn't have the stuff you do. You wouldn't be able to direct the POS Man with the Screaming Brain (which Campbell himself said was the same bad shit the sci-fi channel churns out as it's movies) because those fans who watch the "shit" you do did in fact watch it. Enough in fact that they offered you the opportunity you'd been wanting.
He just came off as mean spirited. Alot. And bashing the remakes and Batman Begins as he did there was in bad taste when he's doing the same thing. So I don't know.
I'm sure Campbell could give a flying fuck that I'm disenchanted by his attitude. He's got another million fans out there that will shell out another 30 bucks a pop for another "special" edition of Evil Dead 2. -
At ComicCon Bruce definitively answered this question so nobody better ask it again! They had a meeting with whoever owns Freedy and Jason and the main question on the table was would they have control over the entire movie or just the bits with Ash in it. The answer was no, they wouldn't even get to decide who will win the fight. With absolutely no creative control over the film, Campbell and crew felt like there would be no reason to make this movie because they could not guarantee the quality of the other segments or have control over the overall story. Direct from the man at ComicCon.
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I saw/met him in NY. he certainly has a "wall" up but he has to. Ya can't be Mr. Nice Guy to hundreds of people for hours, it'll drain you faster than a Singapore hooker on Veteran's Day. He was "a prick" to the audience during the Q&A but it was all tongue-in-cheek and funny. I wouldn't take him so seriously. As an actor. Wait--no! I mean--!
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hehe thats gonna rock. I can see it now: Bruce Campbell walks up to a zombie with a shot gun and chain saw...a fanboy sees him and says "thats the coolest thing i've ever seen..." then bruce accidentally shots the fanboys head off (because hes never shot a gun before). THIS IS GONNA ROCK!!
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This coming Monday, July 24th he will be signing books in Toronto. Visit the following site for details:
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/article.asp?section=home&artcode=events_main&Lang=en&zxac=1
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Tattered Cover totally screwed up the book signing here in Denver. They didn't tell people that you had to buy the books from the store and not at the signing. The store says that you won't be lining up in ticket number order- only to find out that they are at the theatre. The signing was done on the tiny balcony of The Mayan which was very crowded- with the spacious bookstore right down the street. Also printed on the flyer that the ticket was good for one autograph on anything- to get there and find out that its the book PLUS one thing. Instructions said to print your name on a sticky note & put it on the autograph item- only to have them tear it off and write their own when you got there. In addition, they never stopped selling autograph tickets. So even though the autograph session was supposed to be from 6-9:30 and then screen the movie, Bruce signed that entire time- then did the intro to the flick- and was still signing when we left after MIDNIGHT. And the man was not happy. I can't blame the guy if he doesn't deal with The Mayan or Tattered Cover again. After being to many a book signing and convention, it was possibly the most bassackwards, poorly arranged book signing I've ever been to. Although it was great to meet the man, even if he was PISSED off.
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I live in central IL, he's coming to a local theatre here August 1. Just ordered a copy of the book. Theatre owner said if you bring a copy, he'll sign anything. Friend of mine wants to have him sign someone else's book.
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Sorry, Chin.
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Jul 21, 2005 6:03:37 PM CDT
I love Bruce, but Man with Screaming Brain is just.... painful
by toxic frog
I saw Screaming Brain in Austin, with Bruce signing books and introducing the movie, with a QnA beforehand. Worst movie I've ever sat through in its entirety. I think it's fair to say that 90% of the film's problems were due to a complete lack of any budget whatsoever. With that said, I'd still go back again, because just hearing him speak and respond to questions was a riot. He's so damn funny - if you get a chance to see him, do it! The upcoming Bruce vs Monster movie sounds very promising. I hope it comes out well.
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Jul 21, 2005 6:33:53 PM CDT
Hey Capone do you spell check and read this stuff before you pos
by russman
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Jul 21, 2005 7:11:29 PM CDT
Does anyone remember his turn on Homicide:Life on the Street?
by kuryakin
I thought it was excellent, one of the better Homicide story arcs (which is saying something) and he played his part really well. It's too bad he's defined as such a genre actor because he misses out on doing stuff like that more often. he's probably reading this too, that's the funny thing. Refreshing every couple of minutes and going "Goddamn geeks"
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... I can't wait to see some of his new shit.
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Jul 21, 2005 9:48:57 PM CDT
"No one can say they defeated Spider-Man except me. He did not g
by shan
Heh, classic ...
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I saw him in Boston last month, and I have to say that he really was a nice guy. He was very animated and friendly during the Q and A. At points he put up a sort of combatative demeanor, but it was clearly meant in a tognue-in-cheek way. He made the "Will I write more books? Well have you bought the ones already out there? Then we're halfway there" comment there too, but I'm pretty sure all he was saying was that he will only be able to get more books printed if the ones he's already written sell. As in, nobody will publish him if his books sell poorly. He seemed a little dazed at the signing, and was anxious to keep the line moving, but he gave me his full attention when I talked to him and answered my questions thoughfully. Overall, I'd have to call him a genuinely friendly and entertaining guy. Especially considering that many of his fans seem to be a little eccentricl (based on what little I saw). And I should add that he handled every strange question and request he got with a lot more composure and courtesy than I probably would have, although he has had a lot more practice, I'm sure.
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Also at ComicCon, the first guy to ask a question asked him if Alien Apocalypse was going to be on DVD soon. Bruce's quick response was, "Why, because it was so good?", audience laughs and then he says, "Are you really asking or are you just being a smart ass?" Now that was funny as fuck!
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Jul 22, 2005 8:38:11 AM CDT
With the right director (i.e. Me) Bruce could be the next Cary G
by workshed
He just needs a great leading lady opposite him. He definitely needs to move away from the horror and sci-fi genre to acheive the mega-stardom that should have been his by right twenty years ago. Comedy-thrillers a-la-Hitchcock has to be the way to go. I can't think of any other actor working today that has as much goodwill among cinephiles as Bruce engenders. Sam should pull some strings at Sony to up Bruce's stock - give the man decent role in Spiderman3 - not just some tossed-off cameo. Infact let him play f*ckin' Spiderman as long as it gets Maguire out of the picture..
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Jul 22, 2005 1:55:53 PM CDT
I saw Bruce in Dayton, and he was anything but rude...
by hamtaro_hentai
But he did get a little irritated at some of the stupid questions he got asked. Someone actually asked him why he hated his fans, and he got asked about the possibility of Brisco on DVD twice, by two different people! The fact that he can stand up, day after day, answer the same questions over and over, and NOT be a raging alcoholic is a testament to his patience.
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what his reaction to the "why he hated his fans" question was.
What did he say?
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So, I live in Southern Oregon also- was proudly the first in line to meet Bruce. You know what? He really is cool, in the old Marlon Brando-James Dean-Steve McQueen kind of way. Very charismatic. He handled the audience at the Medford Q & A with style and flair. The session lasted about a half an hour before he started on the autographs. The policy was explained pretty clearly, ie, only one piece of "legitimate" memorabilia in addition to the new book. His reaction to the crowds' questions was very tongue-in-cheek during the q & a. Yet he seemed happy to be there. I was proudly first in line, but was gracious enough to let a lady in a wheelchair go ahead of me and the 200+ anxious fans. What, was I supposed to be a jerk in front of BC and insist on being first???
When I took my turn at the signing table, he seemed to appreciate the gesture.
I stayed behind for a while to watch his interaction with the fans, and after about an hour of signing, you could tell he was a little stressed, but from what I saw, he never acted like an a$$hole to any of the fans. It seemed like he was genuinely interested in what every person had to say, and if there weren't ginormous amounts of people waiting in line, he would have happily chatted with every fan. But hey! Cut him some slack- Bruce lives around here, and unless he's carting his family around with him on the book tour, this is a chance for him to spend a few hours at HOME with the wife and kids before his next appearance. So, cut him a little slack if he didn't listen to everyone's life story!
At least he took the time to sign your stuff.
Some of which is already turning up on eBay- the epitomy of tastelessness, imo.
There's a special level in Hell reserved for those of you that did that- and you know who you are.
BC would not approve...or would he?
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is with the tude that he seemed to have. I waited for a fucking long time at that Portland con. I was trapped in a theater with very little, to no A/c to see this guy and to get a book signed. I don't care that he couldn't spend an huge amount of time talking to me. You just made 25,000 bucks in book sales buddy. At the Q and A he was pretty much saying we're stupid for liking the movies he's been in. Maybe we are if you don't appreciate the fact we do and the fact that we pay for this stuff. I just want to know if he truly feels that way or not. Because it bothers me. I've been a Campbell fan since I was like 12. And that hurts to hear and to feel like this.
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I meant to say signing not Con. He should have been happy go lucky guy there since he lives in Medford and was back home.
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By the way - that is Monday July 25th - not the 24th. I bought my copy at the Bay Indigo and you need to bring your receipt. I was there today and was told that "his people" had contacted the store to say that he will be signing only ONE thing and that is the book. I did point out the website says plus one other item with purchase of book and was answered with the same monotone statement. As for him not being overly friendly - I expect that - the fact that we see someone in a movie or on tv does not make the person an instant friend.
Lain -
BTW I just thought I would say something to Purgatori. I was writing while you were posting. I've been to a lot of cons like most of you guys and had some not so great experiences with signings. Out of a whole bunch of autographs the only ones I really have good feelings about when I look at them are Jimmy Doohan, George Takei and Leni Parker. When we go to these events they ARE supposed to be fun but because of poorly trained security people or totally bored store employees it is often forgotten that we have paid money to be there. Often everyone working an event have information to pass on and none of it reliable or official. Then the "star" walks in assuming everything is taken care of and probably knowing deep down inside that everything is totally mucked up from the start. I have waited hours at times, been abused by convention people and then found the subject of my attention come across as a jerk. This is how fans become undone and in my case money stays in my wallet. In the case of Bruce Campbell I expect to be insulted at some point because it is sort of his thing. I kinda hope the insult is written next to the autograph I hope to get.
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Okay, I admire him for his Evil Dead films and his place in B-Movie history. He is truly a character in that world.
Am I the only one who really looks at his ACTING and cringes?? Looking at his TV shows, his movies, etc. I can't help but wonder why everyone is so gung-ho about him. There are plenty of B-Movie actors out there worth kudos. Bruce Dern anyone? Heck, at least Dern has been in some pivotal films.
I don't hate Campbell at all. He's interesting. I just think fanboys here SOOOOO overblow his status in the film world. And if you ask me, every appearance in the Spiderman films that he makes are distractions. They slow everything down so fanboys can go, "Hey look... that's Bruce Campbell. Wow."
When people were saying that Campbell should be Batman or Superman years ago... just made me wonder what the hell is the big deal. Sure, you can preach his B-movie status all you want. His acting is tongue in cheek. Sure. But enough already. -
Okay, I admire him for his Evil Dead films and his place in B-Movie history. He is truly a character in that world.
Am I the only one who really looks at his ACTING and cringes?? Looking at his TV shows, his movies, etc. I can't help but wonder why everyone is so gung-ho about him. There are plenty of B-Movie actors out there worth kudos. Bruce Dern anyone? Heck, at least Dern has been in some pivotal films.
I don't hate Campbell at all. He's interesting. I just think fanboys here SOOOOO overblow his status in the film world. And if you ask me, every appearance in the Spiderman films that he makes are distractions. They slow everything down so fanboys can go, "Hey look... that's Bruce Campbell. Wow."
When people were saying that Campbell should be Batman or Superman years ago... just made me wonder what the hell is the big deal. Sure, you can preach his B-movie status all you want. His acting is tongue in cheek. Sure. But enough already. -
You know - Campbell does a ton of these signings (just got done reading "Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way" and laughed my balls off) and takes what must be a TON of photos with people. Can you imagine being the guy who - probably more than Shatner, Englund, Mark Hamill, etc. (all actors with big fanbases who make time for the fans) - has more photos of himself with people he doesn't know on the planet earth? I mean, even the President isn't that accessible except, perhaps, in a campaign year and sure-as-hell he doesn't let people just line up and take snaps. I wonder if there's some kind of record to be petitioned for here. As far as the "Campbell is God" of it all, I wish I could deny it, but I'll be there at "Sky High" to check out Campbell in it (isn't Kurt Russell just a cameo or something?). Just like I did with "Serving Sara" (hilariously, I actually snuck into an NRG TEST SCREENING of that film in Westlake Village and made it into the focus group - when they were asking what people liked about the movie, I said, "Who was that cowboy guy? He was fucking hilarious!" and a couple of other people joined in telling the pollsters, "Yeah, there should be more of him in the pic!") just like when I bought that used VHS of "Moontrap" and "Menno's Mind," just like I did when I bought all that Ash merchandise. It's a way of life. And, honestly, if you question his acting ability, watch "Bubba Ho-Tep."
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this is true. Please join me in boycotting the Portland Borders store for their outright stupidity and the cluster fuck they made this signing. They even had it out that the signing was at their store, not the theater. "Crossed Wires" they called it.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he came off abrasive. Everyone else seems to think he's great at these events. Or maybe the bigger cities he's acting a lot nicer to because of bigger sales.
I'll let it go (like I'm sure Campbell cares) but I'm still curious as to his response to that question.
Ruby I'm part of that sad group as well. Moontrap was like getting a colonoscopy with a garden weasel to watch, but I've seen it three times and have it on tape.
Oh, and does anyone else realize that Mindwarp was doin the whole Matrix thing way before the Waschowski brothers? Just a thought.
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He basically looked at the guy like he was crazy, and said, "Why do I hate my fans??? Um, I don't!" then he shook his head and went on to the next question
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I agree that some of Bruce's stuff is really unbearable to watch, but occasionally he does give a great performance (Bubba Ho Tep and Brisco County are probably his best performances) and I think it all comes down to the material. I think Bruce is a good actor. He's not the best in the business, but he's good. The problem is that he rarely gets good material. Even the best actors look like jerks when reading poorly written dialogue. I think he does the best he can with what he has to work with. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
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