SCI FI PI

Bruce Campbell, for many, is the messiah.

Not just the greatest actor of his generation, but the greatest man that ever lived. Not only has he appeared in all the Evil Dead films, but he has also defined how a generation understands Elvis Presley with his iconic role in Bubba Ho-Tep.

Having shared his adventures in the film trade with a tell-all autobiography, Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, he's also given the world How To Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way, and branched into directing - his debut effort was Man WIth The Screaming Brain.

He's now gone one better, combining his unique army of fans with his love of horror in the new spoof, They Call Me Bruce. Its a horror comedy aimed squarely at those who know their Ash from a hole in the ground.

Bruce took time off a twenty two city tour to have a chat with us about his film, his loves and his career.

HOW TO BE A JERK THE BRUCE CAMPBELL WAY

Hello there Bruce, get ready to bend over because we're about to blow a whole lot of smoke up your arse.

BC: Lovely!

Still though, the way you go about being Bruce Campbell, it's an inspiration to... hundreds the world over.

BC: To jerks everywhere!

(laughs)

Indeed!

BC: How to be a jerk by Bruce Campbell.

MY NAME IS BRUCE

The interesting thing about My Name Is Bruce is that you've gone out of the realms of fiction and into mainstream documentary making.

BC: It's good to mess with people's minds. I'm sure they're going to be some people who finish watching that movie being thoroughly confused as to who Bruce Campbell is - does he really drink cheap whisky out of dog bowls? And only I know the answer to that...

Obviously - it's expensive whisky.

BC: Very expensive. And my trailer in real life is much bigger than that one. And almost as clean.


When does self-parody cross the line into self-loathing?

BC: Well, you never know, do you? It's strictly based on the character. Regardless whether that idiot in the movie is named Bruce Campbell, we needed the actor to be the wrong guy for the job. So the trick is to make him the wrong guy for the job. You have to start him so he can then have a Joseph Campbell mythical journey.

The wronger he is, the more fun it becomes.

BC: Yeah!



This is your second directorial effort (after debuting with Man With The Screaming Brain) - is it getting harder or easier?

BC: Hopefully easier. I've been looking to finance low budget movies so I can do this on side. I want this to be a fun hobby as I retreat into my golden years. The second one was much easier because it was shot in the United States, where I live, the crew spoke English, as opposed to my last crew which was in Bulgaria. And god bless the Bulgarians, but it's not a place I would race to make another movie.

Were you surprised that 'they' let you make another movie after Man With The Screaming Brain?

BC: Whoever 'they' is! I was able to get financing from a DVD distributor for the second one, and they seemed quite happy to give it up.

SCARY FANS

The movie is as much a parody of fans as actors. One sequence in the film knocks down and describes 1000's of hours of your life dealing with things such as this interview. Is there a difference between a 'good' Bruce Campbell fan and a 'bad' one, or is it all just degrees?

BC: It really is just degrees. 99% of the fans of the stuff that I do are rational, mostly shy, introverted people who on the outside appear extroverted. They have this big scary skeleton with spiked hair, piercings and very goth. But they also won't look you in the eye because they're too shy.

It only crosses the line sometimes. There was one time in New York where I'd just come from a signing and this guy pops up. I'd just finished an event and I wanted to give some back "where were you, you could have got your signing if you'd bothered turning up' - I'd just finished signing hundreds and hundreds of signatures. So I blew the guy off, went and had dinner, walked out of that restaurant and there was the same guy with the same picture and a pen. And I'm like you sonofabitch, you followed me without me knowing it, from that hotel to that restaurant. It was as close to stalking as I've ever got, I almost punched the guy in the face. I almost went Sean Penn on him. I know why actors kick a camera down the street. I really do. It creeps you out. It's almost like finding your place has been burgled after you come back home. Very disturbing intrusion. Most fans are fine. This movie is about the other 1%.

DIRECTING MOVIES

In Confessions of a B-Movie Actor you come across as a man happy to come to work, have some fun, say his lines, pretend to do things, get physically abused by Sam Raimi and then go home. Are you constantly flabbergasted by the world of actors and their "craft"?

BC: Most of them are pretty good. Although it's surprising how many don't know their lines when they turn up, or they don't have a concept of time, or work ethic. That's when I have an issue. If they're asking legitimate questions about the scene, I have no problem. Tear it up. Let's hear your ideas. But if they're talking about stuff that has nothing to do with the movie, like the position of their trailer or pants with flared bottoms - then, that's more of an issue. Anyone who's willing to ply their craft but doesn't succeed is better than one who doesn't try.

It's not the easiest profession that I've ever attempted. Especially for the A players. That's a tough game: but as a result, you've got to parade yourself for magazines, have people over to your house. I don't have to do any of that! If I've got something to sell, I'll talk to folks, that's fine. But no one's coming over to my house to watch my wife and I make pasta. It ain't going to happen. I'm off duty.

So you've got the best of both worlds.

BC: Well, I don't try to compare my life with anybody else's but I have no complaints.

What was the most horrific experience you've had working on a movie?

BC: Movies that are hard to work on can sometimes be good movies. Movies that are easy to work on can sometimes be hard to watch! Because you're not working hard enough. I've had the bad experiences, but mostly I try to learn from them and never to repeat them. Now my list of 'what not to do' is much longer than it was fifteen years ago or twenty years ago or twenty five years ago.


What do you never do when dealing with your fellow thespians?

BC: As a fellow actor? You never block their light.

Anything else?

BC: Don't jump their lines.

And as a director?

BC: Don't take any of their shit.

A bit of a nightmare.

BC: Yeah, but a good nightmare, if you're running the show.


Is appearing to know what you are doing the best ability for a director to bring on the set?

BC: Sure. You always must know. Quick, forceful answers, even if they're wrong. Should I park the truck over there? OF course, you fool! Or if you don't know, you just go on the attack. Why would you ask me, you idiot?! So there's lots of ways to handle it. Good diplomacy.

THE EVIL DEAD

When you mention the name Bruce Campbell, the Evil Dead films invariably pop up.

BC: Sure.

Have you discovered why this film strike such a chord in audiences?

BC: They're very irreverant. He's not your typical hero - he's a blithering idoot - in the first one he's the hero by default because he's the last one to get possessed. The one who knew what was going on, got killed.

The second one, he matures into a psuedo, unhappy leader and by the third one he's just an Ugly American.

I think college kids like it because it's irreverent. It's not your usual film or hero. In Army of Darkness, that hero is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent villagers. And that's not your average. That's why college kids go 'oh my god!' pass the bong around and laugh at the movie.

It doesn't really toe the movie line.


Is there something that annoys you more than being asked about Evil Dead 4?

BC: No. Not much. Or just the remake. That's the other thing. But you know what - I can never blame someone for their interest. And it's not their fault for being interested. But it doesn't mean that making it is in their best interest, either. I'm terrified of a lose, lose situation.

Let's say we take the two years out to make the movie. So that's very physically demanding, two years of your life, it comes out and people go 'oh, yeah - that was okay' or 'not quite as good as Army of Darkness' - that would be my fear. We're gonna go 'okay folks - we're finally going to give it to you!' and they go 'meh - no thanks..'

If there is demand though - whatever - go for it. It's all good.

AN ACTOR'S PROGRESS

Burn Notice has been doing well.

BC: Yeah, it's coming around.

You get to be a character, a 'person' in this one, rather than say a 'hero'. Do you find this kind of acting daunting?

BC: No it's great. I'm moving into my middle age now and I'm playing a character who's fifty. I just turned fifty in 08, so it's great. I'm entering the crooked politician phase of my career, the gym teacher, next door neighbour kind of deal. I'm good to go!

One day I'm going to do a football coach movie - it's bound to happen.



My Name is Bruce is an out and out comedy for Bruce Campbell fans - do the gags come first ahead of the story?

BC: Oh no no no. You have to have a story. It has to drag people along for the ride, act 1 act 2 act 3. Then you can pepper it with all the fun stuff - like Ellen Sandweis from Evil Dead, TIm Quill who was the blacksmith in Army of Darkness and Ted Raimi who was in all of them. It's loaded up with as much fun stuff and references as possible. This movie really is for the fans, I don't make any bones about that - I don't give a rat's ass what reviewers say - it's for the fans. The paying customers have enjoyed it so far. We've toured it through 22 cities so far.

It's not meant to be a commentary on my life, and I have no intention of playing myself for the rest of my life. Someone accused me of making an 'ode' to myself. I'm like you've got to be kidding me! What kind of self esteem would I have to have?

But you're an actor!

BC: Yeah, well, there you go.

The JOY OF B-MOVIES

B-Movie ideas tend to be a bit more extreme, hence they're more fun, like having a Chinese God who is the protector of Bean Curd...

BC: Well you know, that is actually true! We went to find a demon - because every horror movie, you need your demon, and we had to find out how to defeat the demon. You have to have the rules and the principles, and they have to make sense. And Guan Di, is, in Chinese Lore the protector of the dead and of bean curd, because he was a former Bean Curd seller before he became a deity. I didn't make that up! I just used that verbatim. Because it was a mining town, just like my hometown of Jacksonville Oregan, it was built on the backs of Chinese labourers. Guan Di may be roaming these hills.


Is there a premise that you've had pitched to you in a professional context where you've thought - no, that's too much.

BC: Bubba Ho-Tep, I think. I read the script and it was by far the weirdest thing I'd ever read from someone who was serious about making it. And it started off with the guy with cancer, and he's looking at his penis because he has cancer of the penis - and so my only question to Don Coscarelli was - 'are you going to show the penis?' And he said 'no' and I said 'then we're good'.

Because there IS a line. This movie gets recommended to people all the time, but they still have to get past the first thirty seconds where he's talking about masturbating with cancer on his penis.

Well, that's just one of the curveballs that life can throw up at you, isn't it?

BC: Exactly.

Still, what attracts me to B-Movies still is that you are allowed to tell a slightly weirder story.

LITERARY PURSUITS

Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way is, if you like, a step in between the world of fact and fiction.

BC: That's right, it's an intermediary literary step.

Do you see a full blown Bruce Campbell novel emerge from within you in between your acting and directing gigs?

BC: No (laughs)! No. I do have another book I'm going to write - it's kind of a humorous travel essay type. The off screen adventures. Working and living in Bulgaria, making a movie, that sort of thing.

Do you have a title yet?

BC: Currently it's Vagabond - The gypsy life of an actor.


Is there something that people should never eat in Bulgaria?

BC: No! The food there was great! Just watch out for the packs of wild dogs. I carried a bag of dried dog food with me, everywhere I went.

Being torn to shreds by dogs, not a good way to die?

BC: Well, you'd disappoint the fans.


Have you reached the point in your life where you can look about you and say 'yes, this is satisfactory'.

BC: Just to be a working actor, for a start, gives you satisfaction. I've already gotten over that hump - that was the big goal - 'can you make a living in the business?' - everything else is gravy - and I've been able to do it for a while now. I'm pretty satisfied. Every year you're trying to improve your skills - it all continues to evolve. I'm at the point where I don't have to crawl through as much broken glass as I used to, and that works for me too.


My Name Is Bruce will be available in Australia in March on DVD.