Bruce Campbell hasn't had his 15 minutes of fame. He may never. He has, however, endured years of being a semi-famous B-movie actor, who has starred in movies and TV shows you may never have seen, let alone heard of.
That kind of unpopular popularity is the driving theme throughout Campbell's book, "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor."
He acknowledges that he never reached the star status that all actors strive for, and he embraces it, not only for his sake but for the sake of every poor schmuck in the entertainment business who works hard for little, if any, pay or attention in the spotlight.
It's nice to get a somewhat real perspective into the business rather than the glitzy, glamorous Access Hollywood view of Julia Roberts' fake smiles and the gossip on John Travolta's silly adventure on the set of his latest action letdown.
Campbell's story, however, is more autobiography than insider tell-all. It begins with his Midwestern childhood, telling of the raucous times he spent with his brothers doing the usual kid stuff: elaborate sock-stealing schemes, spying on girls through their windows and building a playhouse that evolved into a mobile war machine.
Campbell's acting itch came early. At the age of 8 he saw his father acting and figured he could skip all the "adult responsibility" if he was an actor.
By the time he was in junior high Campbell was already making Super 8mm movies with his friends. They continued making the films, with some small success, until high school ended and Campbell became an apprentice at a Michigan theater.
After working in theater and a very short college tenure Campbell joined longtime friend Sam Raimi to make their first film, which would come to be known as "Evil Dead." Campbell writes well of the desperate measures needed to get actors and, more importantly, money into the film.
We learn of everything from the difficulty of finding a spot to film the movie, to the trouble of finding a non-union actor, to the many inventive ways Raimi managed to use the camera (the Ellie-Vator and the Ram-O-Cam I being particular favorites). It's also interesting to learn the inventive ways these people can stretch the dollar with the lack of actors, equipment and time.
It was especially interesting to read how Campbell, Raimi and the rest of the crew used friends and relatives in addition to the usual batch of investors to help provide funding for the film.
This book will be of little interest to those who have never seen Campbell's gritty Ash take on the dead in his film trilogy. And one of my major annoyances with the book, although it's a small one, is the attention payed to some of the smallest moments in his life.
For instance, in one paragraph Campbell spends about two pages on a moment where a fox ate his hat. Sure, this is a humorous little anecdote, but even the most dedicated of fans must have just looked at this and thought, "so what?"
But for the "deadites" out there (the "Evil Dead" version of trekkies), though, and probably anyone interested in film in general, this behind-the-scenes take on the movie and TV industry from many levels will be an educating and often humorous joyride.
It's all surprisingly well done from somebody whose cameo in the film "Fargo" is as subtle as his chin is not.
