Last night we sat in on a screening and question-and-answer session with the star and director of My Name is Bruce, Bruce Campbell himself.  The genre favorite traded quips with and teased a robust audience, and answered questions about the film and his upcoming projects. Check it out!

How much alcohol was consumed in the making of this film?

How much alcohol was consumed in the making?  Why would you say that?  [Laughter.]  Do you think it took someone to be drunk to make the motion picture?  It’s very hard to drink and make movies, I’ve got news for you.

Have a jug of moonshine!

Have a jug of moonshine…who said that?!  Have a jug of moonshine…you know what?  Have you ever had a jug of moonshine?  I have, during Evil Dead I, we had freaking real moonshine down in Morristown, Tennessee and that shit would melt a Styrofoam cup!

Did you do your own stunts?

What like falling off a bicycle?  Yes!  I did my own stunts; we couldn’t afford a fucking stunt man.  What are you talking about?  I used dummies for everything in this movie…as if you couldn’t tell.

In the beginning in the car, there was a corndog air freshener…

In the beginning…in the car…there was a corndog air fresher.  And the significance is?

They wanted me to ask that.

They wanted you to ask that…that was a jackass question!

Where did you find another “Classic”?

You think that’s Sam Raimi’s movie? And that’s Sam Raimi’s car?  Somebody asked that the other day: “Did you borrow Sam Raimi’s 1973 Delta 88?”  And I’m like “No, ‘cause I would have wrecked it!”

Where there any hillbillies harmed in the making of this movie?

Where there any hillbillies harmed in the making of this…boy I hope so!  Where I live, just so you know, they have signs on the front of their doors with, like, a shotgun pointing at you and it says “We Don’t Call 911.” [laughter]…  It’s not that funny when you live there!

Does it anger you when good, independent horror films like this are overshadowed by big-budget remakes?

Well this isn’t really a horror film, this is like a bad Bob Hope movie with some decapitations.  You’re not really gonna lose sleep over this are you?!

But does it annoy you as a filmmaker to see the type of horror out now?

If somebody wants to see a guy’s head in a vice for an hour and a half, knock yourself out, I don’t care!  Me, personally, no I don’t wanna see torture porn, I’m not really interested in that.  I think it’s harder to make things that are scary or suspenseful than just offensive.

Were you influenced by Cat Ballou?

With the idiot singing halfway through the movie?  Sure!  It just sort of evolved, some things just sort of happen.

Where did you get such absurd ideas?

Was this movie absurd to you, sir? [laughter] Absurd…

Absurd in a Ted Raimi kind of way.

In a Ted Raimi kind of way?  Boy, you’re getting obtuse, man!  But where do you come up with these ideas?  In a hot summer night in a dream?  I dunno!  Mark Verheiden got the original concept from a comic book in the ‘40’s called The Adventures of Alan Ladd, where some people kidnapped Alan Ladd the actor to fight pirates, because he played a swashbuckler in the movies.  So it’s the same sort of idea, we just updated it and twisted it…in a Ted Raimi kind of way! [laughter]

What was your favorite part about making the movie?

It was on my property.  Literally, I built the whole town on my property.  The little town of Jacksonville, Oregon didn’t want us to film there. [Audience member says “awww”]  That’s okay, don’t cry for me, Argentina.  And so we filmed it on my property and we found an old rancher, a 76-year-old rancher, who had all this crap on his property and we bought it all.  Now he’s sitting there in his underwear on the property.

What are the odds I can obtain a DNA sample?

A DNA sample from me?  Maybe in the parking lot a little later!  For what?  What are you going to do with that sample?

Save it for future use?

For future use?  So that I can really be in Cave Alien as a clone warrior?  No.  You don’t get to do that with my dead body.

You said it took three years to make.  How long did it take to develop the script and get to principal photography?

Very fancy terms…are you a student of film?  What are you?

Illustration.

Do you work?

Not exactly.

All right.  Well, you’re here tonight so that’s good.  I don’t care where you don’t get your money from.  Where were me…oh!  To develop the script.  Well, it was pitched to me by Mark Verheiden and Mike Richardson and I said “Yeah” and Mark wrote it and as a director you have to kind of make it your own thing and as an actor I wanted to make it my own thing.  So it went through various little stages of development before principal photography.

Was there any ad libbing involved?

Yeah, like in every shot of every take.  You get Ted Raimi and he’s sorta has, like…a mental problem.  So you just let him run and hope he gets the lines out.  I put Ted in all my movies to make me look like a better actor.  I can say that.

Why did you make this?

Why did I make the movie?  Uh…I wasn’t doing anything else that summer?  I don’t know.  Why?  Why, what do you do every day?  Come on!  Let’s go there for a second!

Umm…I actually…

-Why? [laughter] Do you have an answer?

I do children’s television

Children’s Television…why?

To touch the children’s lives.

You like to touch children’s knobs?  Wow…okay…let’s not go there, we’ll come back to that.

What were the actors’ reactions when you called them and asked them to do the movie?

What was their reaction when I called them up and offered to pay them money to do hardly any work at all?  It was usually pretty good.  Does that surprise you?  Was that the answer you were looking for?

Well, it’s like “I’m making a movie where me, myself fights the undead…

I’m making a movie where I, me myself, fights the undead?  Well most people would think that’s pretty cool, most my actor friends could give a shit one way or the other though, they’re just like “just tell me where to go, tell me what to say”.  Would you like to be in the next movie?  Would that be, like, cool?

Did you intend to use Ted [Raimi] in all those different roles?

Did I intend on using Ted in all those different roles or did he just show up and insist on playing them all?  No, see, every time you cast an actor in more than one role the rate goes down, it’s the way to go.  “Ted, good news!  Three parts!” “Cool” and then you just pay him the same amount of money.  It’s pretty simple.  When you’re movie costs hundreds of thousands of dollars!

What was the greatest challenge of playing a version of yourself?

The greatest challenge was being willing to show the real Bruce.  That’s my real trailer, that’s my real dog, that’s my real whiskey, that’s my real life.  If you’re not willing to show your pimply ass as an actor, don’t do it.  That’s why I didn’t do it.

Is it really ten cents a ride?

Is it ten cents a ride?  Is it really ten cents a ride every time a woman lies on top of me?  Yes. [laughter] every woman I have sex with I charge ten cents every time we have sex. [Audience member takes out a dollar] Well that’s a dollar!  What are you getting at?  You want a little humpalicious don’t you?  Save your money I’ll give it to you for free.  Let’s not talk money with you, no more money!  You’ve already paid your money!

This is really selfish but can I have my picture taken with you?

Can you have your picture taken with me?  And make everybody else wait while you can’t figure out how to use your camera?  Later, baby, later.

You’ve mentioned in interviews that you’ve got enough money to do a sequel, will you do a sequel?

Would I be foolish enough to do a sequel is what you’re asking?  No, it would be a little rude to do a sequel before anyone’s actually seen the movie.  We thought we’d let about eight people see the movie and then make the sequel.  I don’t really know why.  No, the money is there for no good reason, we haven’t proved anything to them, but sequels, that’s Hollywood, they have sequel-itis.  Let’s just start on the sequel.  So no, ha, we have no plans to make a sequel unless you want one right now.  I’ll act it out live for you right here. 

Will Dark Horse comics do a comic version of the movie?

It’s out, it’s out now.  So, crawl out from that rock and go get it!

What’s the status of Burn Notice?

Burn Notice, all right.  Are you watching it because it’s cable and cheap?

Because you’re in it!

Oh that’s it?  It’s not because it’s cable and cheap?  Oh, okay.

What’s the real ending of the movie?

What’s the real ending of the movie?  The super happy ending or the shock/terror ending?  Does it really matter? I mean, you…you’re going to be fine either way, right?  Did I kill the monster or not?  You gotta wait for the sequel!  I don’t know…no, please don’t worry about this movie.  It’ll all be okay.

Why so many references to your previous work?

Look, we knew this was going to be a fan-oriented torment-fest.  So it was important to mention those things.

Will you be writing another book?

Just as soon as you give me an idea.  You got one?  One day, yeah, I’ll right a kids’ book.  I’ll do some kids’ television and I’ll play with children’s knobs! [laughter]  There are people recording this tonight, be careful what you say!

I was wondering if you could fill us in on what other projects you have coming up.

Well let’s fill you right in.  I’m coming back in March to do season 3 of Burn Notice in Miami so that’s coming at you.  And that’s plenty.

I’m not a horror fan but I’m a Bruce Campbell fan.  Have you ever tried selling the idea of bringing back Brisco County and being Sheriff in town?

Yeah…I know Bowler comes back.  It’s all fun and games until someone looses an eye.  Unfortunately, old television shows age like fish!  So if they were gonna do that they would have done it…hmmm…15 years ago?  You know, if you want it, we’re gonna do it.  We’re gonna do the sequel, and that Sheriff idea right now.

There’s been a lot of talk about a Prequel to Bubba Hotep, are you involved?

I think they’re gonna make it.  I’m not involved, no, because I could not agree on any…anything.  And so, I didn’t want to get all crabby with Don Coscarelli so he can go make his movie, and Ron Perlman sounds pretty fascinating as Elvis.  With Paul Giamotti as Colonel Tom, so what the hell…sure, why not!?  So that’s what’s going on.  So let’s finish with Evil Dead 4, cause I know we’ve gotta know.  Sam Raimi just signed to do Spider-man 4, and 5, like back to back so that’s gonna take 17 years!  You realize?  It is!  Took him like a decade to do three of them, he’s got two more!  I’m gonna be like 90.  So we would be very happy to do it, but we’ve got to find out when to do it when Sam is done making wheelbarrows full of thousand dollar bills.  And then we’ll make it.

Hey, I know you can do many other things with your time.  You can spend your money on other movies.  I want to thank you for supporting this theater, because the Landmark chain, if you want to watch alternative, strange, weirdo cinema, you gotta pay for it.  And by supporting this movie, regardless of this movie, you’re actually helping out alternative cinema.  Because for every Transformers, you gotta have an antidote for that shit.  And this may not be it, but I do appreciate you supporting it because it’s important to have all kinds of entertainment, it doesn’t all have to be big, fat, Hollywood movies and all the 9 million sequels.  So thanks for supporting this movie and this theater and I’ll see you for the sequel right after Evil Dead 4.