Bruce Campbell: Horror icon. Self-proclaimed B-movie actor. New York Times best selling author. Consummate convention headliner. Game show host. Touring act?
Campbell is hitting the road this spring for Bruce-O-Rama, a 22-city tour in which he hosts the pop culture game show Last Fan Standing before introducing a screening of one of his classic films. “It’s hybrid entertainment!” Campbell tells me.
“We’re kind of mixing it up here. I’ve toured with a game show before, Last Fan Standing, and I’ve toured with Evil Dead movies, but we never really mashed them together. It gives folks a little more bang for their buck and breaks things up a bit.”
Last Fan Standing was originally created by Steve Sellery as a military trivia challenge before Campbell suggested a pop culture version. The result is something like Jeopardy for film geeks, with Cambpell serving as a sardonic yet affable answer to Alex Trebek. “It’s sort of an evening with Bruce wrapped in a game show,” Campbell notes. “It’s not really a game show. Some of the questions will trigger something that I’ve been in, which of course launches me into a ridiculous story. It’s a competition via storytelling.”
Last Fan Standing is unique in that everyone who attends the event has the chance to get on stage and play. Campbell explains, “Everybody who walks in that theater, one person’s gonna win it and no one knows it in advance. Everyone gets to play on their device. You get to vote. We haven’t vetted anybody. We don’t know the answers ourselves either. Everyone’s involved!”
He adds, “It’s not like you sit in a seat and mind your business. You’re actually part of the process, and it gets very exciting. The audience will get behind certain players that are coming from behind, and they’ll hate other players who are assholes. It’s really funny. We’re there to have a blast and watch an old movie.” In addition to bragging rights, Campbell hints that there may be Evil Dead Rise swag up for grabs as part of the winnings.
While it’s up to each promoter which movie will be shown, Campbell looks forward to seeing the audience react to his movies. “They all have their own different joys. Evil Dead is a little crude, so you get some nervous titters sometimes, but then it hits them in the face because it’s really gory. Evil Dead 2 has some funny laughs through it. Army of Darkness is just completely over the top, like an adventure movie gone bad. Bubba Ho-Tep might sneak in there. A little something for everybody.”
Speaking of Army of Darkness, although the film celebrated the 30th anniversary of its theatrical release earlier this month, Campbell is quick to note that they filmed it two years prior to its 1993 release. “Everyone says it’s the 30th anniversary. They forget the saga of actually making the movie. The movie was made in ’91, and it took two years to finish between [producer/financier] Dino De Laurentiis getting in a lawsuit with [distributor] Universal.”
He continues, “It was really a horrible two years there, then the thing comes out and bombs. Sam [Raimi, director], myself, Rob [Tapert, producer], my wife [Ida Gearon] was the costume designer on it, we all shiver when we think of that movie. We’re really glad that people like it, and I like to watch it with an audience because it’s a crowd-pleaser, but man, that movie gives me the chills — and not because it’s scary.”
With several Bruce-O-Rama events having already sold out, additional shows are being added on the same day in select cities. But be warned: these are the only planned appearances for the year. “We’re not going to add anymore dates,” Bruce mentions. “This is a way to get a bunch of cities quickly so that the rest of the year isn’t gobbledegook-ed up with dates all spread out. This is a way to just do it in a compact way. I have publishing to do, man!”
After pursuing the traditional publishing route on his first three books — 2001’s If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, 2005’s Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way, and 2017’s Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor — Campbell is now savoring the independence of being his own publisher. “I decided to go my own way. I’ve got a pipeline now of things that maybe a mainstream publisher wouldn’t have done. It might have been two quirky or oddball or whatever. I don’t have to get anybody’s approval for anything.”
The experiment began in 2020 with The Cool Side of My Pillow: A Book of Essays, the inaugural publication from Campbell’s Eastmoor Media. “I’m glad that technology has changed enough that I can put out my books through Amazon. I don’t have to go to New York City and plead with a publisher in a high-rise building to take my books. It’s been a fun exploration.”
Campbell teases some of his upcoming publishing ventures: “I have two diaries from my grandfather that I think are really interesting. My mother wrote two westerns I’m going to publish, and then I’ll read that as a full, old-timey radio play thing. That’s my side hustle, and it keeps me out of trouble.” He also promises a third memoir down the line. “There’s a George Lucas trilogy in there. In about 10 years or so, I’ll do The Final Confessions.”
Stay tuned for the second half of my chat with Campbell, in which he provides insight into Evil Dead Rise and more, next week. In the meantime, be sure to get your Bruce-O-Rama tickets.
April 5: Greenville, SC (Gunter Theatre @ The Peace Center)
April 6: Cincinnati, OH (The Taft Theatre)
April 7: Pelham, TN (The Caverns)
April 8: Atlanta, GA (Variety Playhouse)
April 10: Durham, NC (Carolina Theatre-Fletcher Hall)
April 11: Richmond, VA (The National)
April 12: Reading, PA (Santander Performing Arts Center)
April 13: Rockville, MD (Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center)
April 14: Glenside, PA (Keswick Theatre)
April 15: Patchogue, NY (Patchogue Theatre)
April 16: Beverly, MA (Cabot Theatre)
April 18: Buffalo, NY (Buffalo Riverworks)
April 19: Pittsburgh, PA (Stage AE)
April 20: Cleveland, OH (Agora Theater & Ballroom)
April 21: Columbus, OH (KEMBA Live!)
April 23: Royal Oak, MI (Royal Oak Music Theatre)
April 24: Indianapolis, IN (Clowes Memorial Hall)
April 25: Chicago (The Vic Theatre)
April 26: Des Moines, IA (Hoyt Sherman Place)
April 27: Kansas City, MO (Uptown Theatre)
April 29: Oklahoma City, OK (Tower Theatre)
April 30: Dallas, TX (Texas Theatre)
The post Interview: Bruce Campbell Previews This Spring’s 22-City “Bruce-O-Rama” Tour! [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.