Hollywood and Fine

B-movie king Bruce Campbell drops names and a novel.

by Gary M. Kramer

Bruce Campbell may be best known for his work in the Evil Dead films, or from his TV roles on series such as The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. , but he is also an author. Having penned the autobiography, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, Campbell has now written a novel. In Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way (St. Martin's Press, 320 pp., $23.95), the actor recounts his fictional experiences playing "Foyl," a doorman in a Richard Gere-Renée Zellweger romantic comedy directed by Mike Nichols. In an attempt to sort out reality from fiction, we asked Campbell about his life and work.

City Paper: Initially, I thought Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way was a self-help book. What romantic tips can you give readers?
Bruce Campbell: Don't read Make Love looking for romantic tips.

CP: So what prompted you to write this book?
BC: I've auditioned for big movies. I know how Hollywood works. I took familiar characters I knew and turned it into fiction.

CP: You do a lot of name-dropping in Make Love. In addition to Nichols, Gere and Zellweger, you spar with Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Evans and even famed cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. What do you think their reaction will be when this is published?
BC: Probably pretty good because they all are smarter and more talented than me. No one is being defamed. It's a novel. It's a satire. We just did the audio book. We just faked our way through the whole thing. [Campbell mimics Richard Gere (in Buddhist mode) and then does Robert Evans.]

CP: Do you think Make Love will spawn a film version?
BC: It would be fun, but they'd probably get some younger guy to play me.

CP: Have you found that everything you know you learned from making B-movies?
BC: Yes. All everyone needs to know comes from them. It's better than the Boy Scouts. You learn to get out of burning buildings and fight zombies.

CP: So what kind of research did you do to write this book? Did you actually pose as a doorman?
BC: That's the beauty of writing a novel: I traveled in my head. A lot of characters are based on people I know. I changed the names to protect the guilty.

CP: You discuss your work doing action scenes in movies, but the book suggests you do this stuff in real life, too.
BC: That's the beauty of writing about yourself — you can do anything you hate to do in real life. Like, I'd hate to be chased by the feds [as Foyl is].

CP: What about stunts in the movies you make?
BC: That depends on the director and the movie. I'm willing to do most stuff — more than most actors.

CP: And have you ever barfed on a film set like Bruce Campbell does in the book?
BC: Almost, but not quite.

CP: I'm trying to separate what is real and what is fiction here.
BC: I'll never tell… There wasn't much that was changed.

CP: How much Bruce Campbell is actually on the page in Make Love?
BC: I hope that the real Bruce Campbell is smarter than the one on paper. The book was a good chance to make fun of myself. I try to make fun of everybody. Hollywood needs that. It takes itself way too seriously. People think it's cool, but it's kind of a lame place.

CP: Books, movies, TV — if you could only do one, what would it be?
BC: I'd stick with books, because they are a little more highbrow. To be able to have written a book that is successful means a lot to me. To be in a generic B movie is nothing special these days.

CP: Do you generally have "woo-hoo" moments when you act? What about when you write?
BC: You should definitely have one. If not, you shouldn't be doing what you are doing... Do you think readers will be wondering what a "woo-hoo" moment is? Oh — they'll have to read the book to find out.

Bruce Campbell reads and signs Mon., June 20, 6 p.m., screening of Man with the Screaming Brain at 10 p.m., free, The Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322.