Home Media Magazine - November 25-December 1, 2007 - (Page 22)

PIPELINE www.homemediamagazine.com His Name Is Bruce 10 questions with the king of ‘B’-movie horror By Billy Gil ew are on the fence about Bruce Campbell. Mention of the actor tends to elicit one of two reactions: a head-scratching, puzzled look or pure adulation. As Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Home Entertainment prepare to release the three-disc The Evil Dead: Ultimate Edition Dec. 18 (DVD $34.97), we were able to catch up with the cultish actor, who recently has added director to his resume with such fare as Man With the Screaming Brain (re-releasing from Starz/Anchor Bay Dec. 18 at $9.98). F I Best of Campbell In addition to his cameos, Bruce Campbell has a wealth of work on DVD. Take a look: I Evil Dead II (Book of the Dead Limited Edition) – Starz/Anchor Bay I Army of Darkness (Boomstick Edition) – Starz/Anchor Bay I Army of Darkness (HD DVD, HD DVD/DVD combo) – Universal I Bubba Ho-Tep (Hail to the King Edition) – Fox/MGM I Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters – Warner Campbell: The DVD is going to wait until we can do a proper theatrical release first. We are madly racing to finish up the film. Look for the film in the first half of ’08 — 100% guaranteed. It’s basically a Bob Hope movie with carnage and mayhem — the I HM: What can you say about the DVD story of a ‘B’-movie actor named of My Name Is Bruce, the upcoming film Bruce Campbell who gets kidnapped you directed? by a small Oregon town to help them with their monster problem, which turns out to be a really bad idea because the “real” Bruce Campbell is a loser and a jerk and couldn’t kill a monster if his life depended on it. It’s the journey of how a movie hero learns to suck it up and be a hero in real life. Bruce Campbell (third from left) stars in, directed and co-wrote My Name Is Bruce, in which Campbell, playing himself, is abducted to help fight a real monster. released on DVD. What do you think fans of your work can expect from these films? involved? Campbell: Honestly, I didn’t even know they were being re-packaged. I don’t control the rights to those movies, so I have little say over I HM: Man With the Screaming Brain and what they do (or don’t) with those Alien Apocalypse (also due Dec. 18 from films. Starz/Anchor Bay at $9.98) are getting reI HM: What do you attribute to the longevity of Evil Dead that it’s being released for the sixth time? Campbell: Sorry, I don’t really know anything at the moment. I HM: You pop up in a number of Sam Raimi’s films (such as Spider-Man 3, playing a maître d’). Where will viewers see you next? Campbell: I never plan that. We’ll have to see where Mr. Raimi goes next. I HM: You recorded a full-length commentary for Bubba Ho-Tep in character as Elvis. What other DVD special features can we expect from your upcoming releases? Campbell: While crude, Evil Dead is a really cool and stylish horror flick with classical, timeless elements. The funny thing is — it’s tame by today’s standards. I HM: How do you feel about Evil Dead being referred to as a great “horror-comedy”? Did you guys take it completely seriously while filming, or was there a sense of fun about the whole thing? Campbell: There will be great stuff on My Name Is Bruce, but I’ll give you the dirt on that when we know a release date. I HM: With all the work you’ve done over the years, what are you most proud of? Campbell: The first Evil Dead is a melodrama, but because it has such absurd stuff happening, folks laugh while they’re being grossed out. Evil Dead II is when we got more into “splatstick,” intentionally adding comedy to horror. I HM: Is there a social commentary to the Evil Dead films, where an evil spirit inhabits people’s bodies and makes them evil? Campbell: I don’t play too loose with that pride stuff. That comes before a fall, as the old saying goes. I’m grateful to have made a good living doing what I love for a good while now. I HM: Recently you’ve said you weren’t going to be involved with a sequel to Bubba Ho-Tep. Is that still the case? Can you tell us anything on that front, such as if Paul Giamatti has been nailed down to star? Campbell: I think you’re better off just strapping yourself in and going for a ride. I HM: Evil Dead is being remade. Anything at all you can tell us? Are you Campbell: That’s a bit of a silly question. Since I’m not involved, how would I know any more details? I do wish the film — and Paul G. and [director] Don Coscarelli — well. Animal Planet and Genius Products Promote Primates By Kyra Kudick DOCUMENTARY This February, Animal Planet and Genius Products bring primates to center stage with the DVD debut of Romeo & Juliet: A Monkey’s Tale and Saving a Species: Gorillas on the Brink. Romeo & Juliet: A Monkey’s Tale arrives Feb. 5, 2008, (prebook Dec. 26) at $14.95. This wildlife story takes place in the mountainous Thai town of Lopburi, where two-Macaque monkeys from different families attempt to mate against the objections of their clans. Saving a Species: Gorillas on the Brink is due Feb. 19, 2008, (prebook Jan. 8) at $19.95. Animal expert Jack Hanna and actress Natalie Portman journey to the Rwandan rainforest to raise awareness of the endangered species. 22 Home Media Magazine November 25–December 1, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - November 25-December 1, 2007

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