Jack of all trades: B-movie idol Bruce Campbell balances busy plate
By ALBERT CHING
Get Out
Is Bruce Campbell ready to move on?
In his new comedic novel, “Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way,” the king of B-movies details the misadventures of his fictional quest to land a role opposite Renée Zellweger in a classy new Mike Nichols film.
But don’t think this is a Freudian expression of subconscious desire.
“I have zero desire to be in A-movies,” Campbell says.
“Basically what’s happening now is that all the A-movies are B-movies anyway. If you get bitten by a radioactive spider, I got news for you: That’s a B-movie,” explains the “Army of Darkness” star, whose oeuvre includes memorable cameos in both “Spider-Man” films.
Campbell sees nobility in the low-budget fare he’s championed his whole career.
“B-movies, for all their crudeness and unprofessionalism, are way more imaginative than ‘Dukes of Hazzard' the remake, or ‘Bewitched' or ‘The Longest Yard.' Hollywood doesn’t have a clue,” he says.
He blames this lack of creativity for lagging ticket sales.
“I’m looking at an article here: Box-office slump hits 18th week. Why? Because the movies suck. It’s really simple.”
PURE ENTERTAINMENT
Escalating budgets and the need to deliver a hit have trampled on the more altruistic intentions of cinema, he says.
“I don't put too much stock in any of that sort of stuff that is designed to make money. I think a movie should just be a pure form of entertainment, and if it makes money, terrific.”
Campbell points to his experience in “Congo” as a major studio film that missed the mark.
“If you break that down and look at all the elements individually, you’d think it was a slam-dunk. And the movie sucked,” he says.
Campbell is no nihilist; there are still things about the movie biz that make him proud.
“Films like (2002 Elvis-in-nursing-home romp) ‘Bubba Ho-Tep.’ It was distributed pretty much in a mom-and-pop operation, and then ultimately it wound up at MGM,” he says. “So that kind of thing really gives me satisfaction, because we had confidence in it, and it was nice to see that eventually audience members found it to whatever limited degree.”
IMPACT OF DVDS
Campbell, whose first book was the autobiography “If Chins Could Kill,” says the lack of pressure to have a big opening weekend is another boon for B-movies.
“That’s the beauty of B-movies: You don’t have to have a $50 million opening. You can have a $50 opening and be OK.”
The proliferation of the DVD has further expanded the potential of such flicks, since they can find a greater audience and even (gasp!) make money upon home release.
“DVD is a fantastic format, and it’s actually sort of changed my life, because now I can get money from companies to make low-budget movies because of the DVD sales,” Campbell says.
One such movie is “Man With the Screaming Brain,” his feature directorial debut that he calls “a very strange little tale.” The movie depicts a wealthy American (Campbell) who, through a zany set of circumstances, gets half his brain switched with the gray matter of a KGB Communist.
BUSY WITH WORK
Directing himself was not a completely alien experience, since he had done so on episodes of “Hercules: The Legendary Journey” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.”
“It was not a big mystery, but I enjoyed it,” Campbell says.
He’s also working on an audio edition of the new book (“the radio-play version”), and has supporting roles in two upcoming A-movies: This summer’s family comedy “Sky High” and horror film “The Woods.”
“I've had to put sleep on the shelf,” says Campbell, in the midst of a 44-city book tour. “But it's OK. I got myself into it; it's my own damn fault.”
Bruce Campbell
What: Book signing of “Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way” and screening of “Man With the Screaming Brain”
When: Book signing 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, followed by screenings at 7:45 and 10 p.m.
Where: Harkins Centerpoint, 730 S. Mill Ave., Tempe
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