Category Archives: Interviews

Interview vault: Bruce Campbell reminisces about ‘Evil Dead’ in 2002

April 28, 2018 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

NOTE: To celebrate the entire “Evil Dead” film and television experience as “Ash vs. Evil Dead” approaches its series finale Sunday night on STARZ, the following is a reprint of an interview I did with Bruce Campbell in 2002 for the Anchor Bay Entertainment release of the “Book of the Dead” special edition DVD of “The Evil Dead.”

Thanks for all the memories, Bruce, and Hail to the King, Baby!

By Tim Lammers

April 2002

Although some actors despise being associated with one particular role, it doesn’t bother Bruce Campbell in the least that fans continue to kiss his Ash nearly 20 years after the release of the cult horror film classic “Evil Dead.”

“I don’t have a problem with ‘Evil Dead’ — people misinterpret that sometimes,” Campbell told me in a recent interview. “This film gave us the most creative freedom of any movie we’ve ever done in the following 20 years.”

Ash, for those who are familiar the film, is the square-jawed moronic anti-hero who battles his way through a haunted cabin, possessed woods and a trip back to the medieval times in the film and its two sequels, “Evil Dead 2” and “Army of Darkness.”

Although many know him as Ash, Campbell is hardly a one-trick pony. Since the debut of “Evil Dead” in 1982, he’s gone on to act and direct in several other notable projects, including such television gems as “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.,” “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.” Sure, the “Evil Dead” keeps coming back to haunt him, but in his case, that’s a good thing.

Directed and produced by longtime friends Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, respectively, the trilogy of films have developed an enormous following over the past 19 years, culminating in the latest release “The Book of the Dead,” a limited edition DVD of the film that not only chronicles the making of the film, but examines the impact it’s had on fans with Campbell’s documentary short “Fanalysis.”

Even keeping true to the (evil) spirit of the film, the DVDs producer and distributor, Anchor Bay Entertainment, has packaged the disc and other contents in a replica of the Necronomicon from the film. For the lack of a better word (as Ash would say), it’s “groovy.”

But anybody familiar with the movie knows that there’s much more to this “book” than its creepy cover. Shot on a shoestring budget in Tennessee and their home state of Michigan, Campbell, Raimi, and Tapert weave together a bloodstained tapestry of movie magic, madness and mayhem.

Marked by Raimi’s wild, kaleidoscopic point-of-view shots and hyperkinetic pacing (and Campbell’s willingness to playfully and painfully get his butt kicked on cue), it puts that other lost-in-the-woods movie, “The Blair Witch Project,” to pitiful shame.

But more than anything, it’s the end result of a group of friends’ effort to defy all odds and see their dreams and passion to make a movie come to fruition.

“It thumbs its nose at the system and I think a lot of people can identify with it,” Campbell said. “‘Evil Dead’ is completely independent and off the grid. There was no studio financing whatsoever. People get behind it because it’s the David against Goliath, it’s the little engine that could, because it only cost $350,000 to make, but in 1998 when it got released on video, this crappy little movie got to No. 3 on the charts behind ‘Titanic’ and ‘Lady and the Tramp.’ People like to see little things succeed.”

•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks Kelly Maxwell’s journey (NEW)
•Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ season 3
•Interview: Groovy Bruce Campbell talks ‘Hail to The Chin’

The continuing success of the film and its sequels, of course, contributed to Campbell’s opportunity to write his critically acclaimed book “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor.” For those who haven’t read it yet, it takes a few shots at few celebrities, but is far from being a trashy tell-all tome.

“It’s about making low-budget movies and I mention a few people along the way,” Campbell said. “But I don’t go out of my way to trash anybody, and if I did, it’s because I felt that they were idiots. It’s not that I’m not an idiot, it’s just that I thought they were bigger idiots.”

Readers reacted favorably to “If Chins Could Kill,” propelling it to peak at No. 19 on the New York Times Bestseller’s List. The success, as a result, has given Campbell a whole new status in the entertainment industry.

“It’s better, because you get more respect,” he said. “That’s what is hard, is to get any respect. I’m actually tempted to write a novel and try and make it into a movie because it will get read more easily than if I wrote it as a script. It’s bizarre.”

There’s no question that Campbell has earned a massive amount of respect from the fans: His website is wildly popular, and in the past two years, the merchandise relating to the films has been coming out at a fast and furious pace to whet the appetites of those who can’t get enough of the films.

Among them, McFarlane Toys has released three different action figures from “Army of Darkness,” while National Entertainment Collectibles Association has produced a plethora of products ranging from “Evil Dead” and “Army of Darkness” lunch boxes to an Ash “Head Knocker,” which is reminiscent of a bobble-head doll.

And, there’s even more to come: Sideshow Toy, praised for its dead-on (no pun intended) creation of the 12-inch Universal Monsters doll series, will soon be releasing Ash and Evil Ash dolls from “Army of Darkness.”

“Dead” merchandise aside, the ultimate experience for any fan of the films is to get to meet Campbell in person, and the actor has given his followers plenty of opportunities. Although he’s frequented the convention circuit for the past few years, the release of “If Chins Could Kill” in 2001 gave many more “Evil Dead” fans the opportunity to talk with the man. He made tour stops in 65 cities, and is up for it again for future projects as long as he remains in demand.

“As long as people keep buying what I’m doing (I’ll do it),” Campbell said. “I’m an actor, a gypsy, a dog-and-pony show sort of guy. At one point it might be because I’m working on a TV show, or it could be because I’m writing a book or in a movie. It’s nice to have job rotation within the entertainment factory.”

Part of Campbell’s most current rotation came with a small, but memorable role in Frank Darabont’s “The Majestic,” where he played the swashbuckling hero of screenwriter Peter Appleton’s (Jim Carrey) classic-style adventure film “Sand Pirates of the Sahara.” The call for the role came from a high-profile fan: director Frank Darabont.

“Darabont had known of me from the ‘Evil Dead’ movies so he gave me a holler — So Jim got to star in the ‘A’ movie and as always, I got to star in the ‘B’ movie,” Campbell mused.

Of course, anyone who has seen “The Majestic” or Darabont’s prior two films “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” know the filmmaker has an incredible handle on recreating the atmosphere of the classic films of yesteryear. In the case of “The Majestic,” Campbell believes Darabont’s deft touch was ultimately the downfall of the film, which was a disappointment at the box office.

“There’s a strange demographic change happening,” Campbell said. “Movies never used to be marketed at teenagers, they used to be marketed at adults. So when your marketing changes, your movies are going to change right with it and unfortunately it’s led us into an embarrassing, tragic phase of filmmaking in the last 20 years.”

But there is hope. Campbell and Raimi have teamed together again, if only briefly, in the director’s big-screen version of “Spider-Man” which debuts in theaters May 3.

“It’s a pivotal role, because I give Spider-Man his name,” Campbell said. “You won’t see much of me, but its pivotal.”

No matter the amount of screen time, there’s no question it will be, well, groovy. What else would you expect from a Campbell and Raimi movie?

Tim Burton Book 2 — Click book cover for info on how to buy!

Film, Interviews

Interview: Hayley Atwell talks new TV adaptation of ‘Howards End’

April 6, 2018 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

The past seven years have been quite eventful for acclaimed actress Hayley Atwell, who has been working non-stop on the big and small screens following her breakthrough role in 2011 as Agent Peggy Carter opposite Chris Evans in “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

The role has not only provided Atwell an opportunity to reprise the role in three more Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, but on TV’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” and her own series, “Agent Carter.” On top of that, Atwell’s good fortunes landed her a small but pivotal role in director Kenneth Branagh’s opulent live-action adaptation of Disney’s “Cinderella,” and in August, she’ll appear opposite Ewan McGregor in Disney’s live-action/animated hybrid, “Christopher Robin,” based on the animated tales of Winnie the Pooh.

Suffice it to say, Atwell is more than used to the daunting task of tackling time-honored stories and characters in her career, and on Sunday, fans will get to see the 36-year-old performer take on perhaps her most challenging role yet — as the legendary character Margaret Schlegel on STARZ’s miniseries adaptation of E.M. Forester’s classic novel “Howards End.”

In a recent phone conversation from London, Atwell said she was thrilled that director Hettie Macdonald and scribe Kenneth Lonergan could give “Howards End” time to breathe as a four-hour miniseries. Without question, there’s so much more to the narrative than what film fans were treated to with the critically lauded, 2 hour, 22 minute Merchant/Ivory version of “Howards End” a quarter-century ago, and Atwell couldn’t wait to help tell it.

“They wanted to take the time to explore the intellectual depth of E.M. Forster’s book, and I don’t mean intellectual in the sense of trying to make it academic or inaccessible. Instead, I think the heart of the story is about emotional intelligence,” Atwell said. “It shows our ability to move forward as human beings, as long as we are willing to engage in conversation about our differences rather that divide ourselves because of them. The story doesn’t shy away from questions and big ideas like social reform, and understanding social status and economic backgrounds, and the opportunities that one had back then, merely based on the family that you were part of.”

Set in Edwardian London in the early 1900s, Howards End tells the story of three families from different classes — the well-to-do Wilcoxes, the middle class Schlegels and lower class Basts — and how their lives fatefully intersect despite their vast differences in wealth and lifestyle. Atwell stars as Margaret Schlegel, who along with her sister, Helen (Philippa Coulthard), boast fiery independent spirits who find a cause in helping Leonard Bast (Joseph Quinn), an insurance clerk who is sliding deep into poverty. The dynamic between the sisters begins to change, though, when Margaret marries Henry Wilcox (Matthew Macfayden), the widowed patriarch of the Wilcox clan and head of the family’s business empire.

Establishing new pathways

There’s no doubt a giant looming in the background of the new TV adaptation in the form of the acclaimed 1992 film version of “Howards End,” which starred Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter, and earned three Oscars including a Best Actress statuette for Thompson. Atwell is well-aware that some fans are going to want to compare it to the 1992 film, yet is confident that this new adaptation of the 1910 novel has established its own identity.

“It’s a question that just never comes up in the theater. When I played ‘Major Barbara’ on the Olivier stage at the National Theater, the question in the press was not, ‘Do you feel pressure because Judi Dench played her in 1960s?’ because I would have been like, ‘No, the reason I’m an actor is that I want to have a go at telling the story of a character,'” Atwell said. “I like telling stories in theater because the pieces transcend time and deal with universal themes, and then each production gets an opportunity within that place of time that they are to interpret that text.”

Effectively, Atwell wants viewers to look at “Howards End” through the same sort of lens, because while the story is set in the exact same time period as the source material, people’s views of how they look at the world have changed. Besides, Atwell, who describes herself as a “restless mind that longs to be challenged intellectually as well as emotionally,” wouldn’t have engaged in the project if it didn’t provide new promise.

“Our version of ‘Howards End’ is an adaptation of a classic book and a masterpiece told in 2017. The sensibilities that we have now are different than they were 25 years ago. There’s really no cause for comparison,” Atwell said. “While Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins so beautifully told their version of that story very successfully, it doesn’t mean that our path has already been paved. The material is so rich that now we can do something exquisite with it. In 2017, we became the custodians of these characters and we’re choosing our path now.”

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
Copyright 2018 DirectConversations.com

Film, Interviews

Interview: Oscar nominee J. Miles Dale talks ‘The Shape of Water’

February 28, 2018 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

There’s no question that director Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy romance “The Shape of Water” has received a lot of love this awards season, including the Directors Guild of America award for del Toro, and the best picture trophy from the Producers Guild of America for the filmmaker and his fellow producer, J. Miles Dale.

And yet, while “The Shape of Water” is up for a leading 13 Academy Awards Sunday, including nominations for Best Picture, Best Director for del Toro and Best Actress for Sally Hawkins, Dale said there truly is no better honor for any filmmaker as the heartfelt feedback he’s heard from fans about how deeply moved they were by the film.

“It’s gratifying that the movie is resonating with audiences. It has universal themes, no doubt, with love, tolerance and inclusion and all those things,” Dale said in a recent phone conversation from Los Angeles. “But I think what the movie has really going for it is nobody goes into it knowing what it’s going to be. Sure, from the trailer you can think, ‘Ah, it’s a Cold War thriller’ and it’s a little bit ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon,’ but I don’t think anybody is ready for where the love story lands. So, it’s really satisfying to see that people really get the movie, and maybe how it helps move the needle a bit with how they treat other people.”

Co-written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor, “The Shape of Water” follows the unlikely path of Elisa Esposito (Hawkins), a mute janitor in a top-secret government research facility at the height of the Cold War in the early 1960s who forms a unique bond with an amphibious creature (del Toro’s longtime collaborator Doug Jones) with human characteristics. Finding a way to effectively communicate with the creature, Elisa’s love for the amphibious being grows, but since he’s being subjected to torturous experiments by the leader of the research project, Col. Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon), Elisa must formulate a daring escape for the creature from the facility before he faces a certain death.

Dale — who previously collaborated with del Toro as producers on the 2013 Andy Muschietti-directed, Jessica Chastain thriller “Mama” and most recently, as a producer and director on the del Toro-produced FX horror series “The Strain” — said pitching “The Shape of Water” to its studio, Fox Searchlight, wasn’t that difficult. That’s a pretty startling revelation, considering the film’s unconventional interspecies romance narrative — a narrative that ventures to daring, if not unfathomable lengths before all its pieces intersect and flow into the film’s genius conclusion.

“It’s funny, because I have made many jokes about how it should have been a hard pitch, but it actually wasn’t,” Dale said. “To Guillermo’s credit, he took them out to the museum that he has in his house in the San Fernando Valley, so he pitched it in the context of his incredible museum.”

Dale is speaking of Bleak House, where del Toro houses countless artifacts from horror, sci-fi and fantasy films and television series, as well as other mediums. The atmosphere of Bleak House (despite the foreboding implication of its name) no doubt enhanced del Toro’s pitch to Fox Searchlight’s executives.

“They loved it off the top. They saw the beauty of the idea from the beginning,” Dale said. “It should have been harder than it was. If he pitched it to the studio anywhere else, it probably would have been difficult. But Searchlight has been incredible partner and they’re not afraid to take chances, especially with great, visionary filmmakers, and I think they saw the opportunity to do something with Guillermo that was unique instead of fearing it.”

Dale believes by showcasing his otherworldly artifacts for Fox Searchlight, the studio fully realized the commonality that exists within many great filmmakers: a passion for the work not only because they know the material, but because they’re fans of it. And with the artifacts that he harbors in Bleak House, as well as a film collection that includes the “Hellboy” films and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” del Toro is completely at home with “The Shape of Water,” Dale said.

“What (Bleak House) really drives home is that Guillermo is such a fan,” Dale enthused. “He’s really just a fanboy who’s found his way. It’s cool that he has that purity of spirit. He’s dyed-in-the-wool with this. He’s not into sports or anything else. He’s all-in on arts and culture and spends half his money on movie props.”

Interviews, TV

Interview: Dana DeLorenzo talks ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Season 3

February 19, 2018 Tim Lammers Leave a comment

With renewed efforts in the entertainment industry for the search of great women roles in film and television, the powers-that-be needn’t look any further for an example of greatness than in a series that’s had fans buzzing since 2015. It’s in the STARZ horror comedy “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” where the effervescent Dana DeLorenzo fully realizes the potential of Kelly Maxwell – an electronics store trainee-turned-no-nonsense, F-bomb slinging demon hunter — who aids the lovably flawed antihero Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) in his fight against gnarly, netherworldly beings known as “Deadites.”

While Kelly was initially billed as one of Ash’s sidekicks (along with Ray Santiago’s Pablo Bolivar), the character has easily asserted herself as a force to be reckoned with in the first two seasons of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” where she’s gotten just as drenched with blood, guts and goop as Campbell via devices appropriately dubbed “blood canons.” The great thing is, if you’ve loved everything Kelly has stood for so far in the first two seasons of the series, you’ll find out in Season 3, which premieres this Sunday on STARZ, that she’s only getting started.

In a recent phone conversation from Los Angeles, DeLorenzo said that while it’s a thrill to have such a memorable role in the series, it’s even better to know that the role is in a genre known to stereotypically portray females as sex objects and/or victims — where “women fell into the horror movie trope of being the girl running naked through the woods and being the damsel in distress.”

The tricky part about how things play out in “Ash vs. Evil Dead” is that the character of Ash — who first appeared in “Evil Dead” in 1981 and was back for “Evil Dead 2” in 1987 and “Army of Darkness” in 1992 — continues to be a bad-Ash in the series, even though times have changed considerably for the aging lothario. Basically, Ash is a 1980s and ’90s character living in 2018, and Kelly isn’t having anything of it.

“What we love about Ash Williams are his great flaws. He’s ignorant. He has antiquated views about a lot of things, including women. What I love is how ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ had the foresight to keep Ash Williams as Ash Williams and not apologize for who he is, yet put him toe-to-toe with a strong female character like Kelly who was going to call his ass out and not let him get away with it. It still gives Ash the opportunity to say those spectacular one-liners that only Bruce Campbell can do, yet it lets Kelly hold her own and allows her to be the voice of the audience. I love that in the very first scene of the series where we meet Kelly, Ash is being Ash and is immediately hitting on her. She’s looking at him like, ‘Are you kidding me, dude?’ and then ‘thump!’ she just throws his ass down on the counter. I love that scene.”

•Interview: Groovy Bruce Campbell Talks ‘Hail to The Chin’
•Interview: Bruce Campbell Talks ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’ Season 2

As refreshing as that first scene is, DeLorenzo is thrilled that there’s much more to Kelly than her toughness. Apart from the character’s physicality and her keen ability to handle any weapon she can get her hands on to dispatch her Deadite foes, DeLorenzo feels fortunate that Kelly can display real human emotions, too.

“While it’s nice to play a badass female that kicks ass, what I like most about Kelly is that she’s flawed and vulnerable. She’s not afraid to show her fear. You can see when she’s afraid — she’s not just gritting her teeth like Annie Oakley — you can see these vulnerable moments with her,” DeLorenzo said. “But I think what makes her a true warrior is that she pushes through that fear. She has the courage to dive into the deep end, because that’s when we root for the underdogs. That’s what we want to see, to go into a situation when you’re most afraid and take the leap. I love that most about her, that she’s multi-layered, and that she’s got a bit of a mouth on her. That’s pretty fun to play.”

Without question, part of the reason Kelly resonates so much with fans is her willingness to say exactly what she thinks, which oftentimes includes her authoritative use of F-bombs and mother F-bombs. The bonus for the audience is, since DeLorenzo has such a command on the delivery of those curse words, her prolific use of the F-bomb and its variations easily ranks her alongside Jack Nicholson and Samuel L. Jackson in the pantheon of the all-time great screen swearers. When Kelly curses, the audience listens — sometimes laughing out loud and other times pumping their fists — because it’s so (insert F-bomb here) entertaining.

DeLorenzo said it was a conscious decision by Campbell and Tapert to have Kelly the character swear the most on the show, mainly because she was able to give those curse words some extra meaning.

“It was in Season 2, after we had a whole season under our belts, when Bruce and Rob both said, ‘I really think that only character that should really swear is Kelly,” DeLorenzo recalled, gleefully. “Swearing can be something done for just a cheap shot — swearing for the sake of swearing — but they very much enjoy the way the lines are written and the creative ways that Kelly can swear, so I’m happy to take on the role of the sailor.”

Not toying around

One particularly memorable time where DeLorenzo got creative with her use of the F-bomb was in Season 2, where Kelly got into a verbal battle and physical throwdown with a demonic hand puppet named “Ashy Slashy” (think one of the puppets from Broadway’s “Avenue Q,” except that it looks like Ash Williams). The scene was such a hit that collectibles company NECA made a full-scale replica of Ashy Slashy, which DeLorenzo can’t wait to get her hands on … maybe.

“I was at first thinking, ‘Do I really want that thing my house?’ I’m sure I will be tormented by it,” DeLorenzo said with a laugh. “I honestly feel like I’ll have to chain the little brat down.”

For those who were knocked out by the Kelly-Ashy Slashy battle in Season 2, DeLorenzo promises there’s a scene in episode 6 this season that rivals it. This time, though, it involves Ruby (Lucy Lawless) — the villain of Season 1 who becomes allies with Ash, Kelly and Pablo in Season 2, only to return to the dark side for Season 3. The stakes are raised this season because Ruby is going after Brandy (Arielle Carver-O’Neill), the teenage daughter Ash never knew he had.

“I stay relatively clean in the first five episodes, unlike the bar scene in the opening episode of Season 2, where I had 26 gallons of blood on me,” DeLorenzo cracked. “This whole season for Kelly is about forging her own path. She finally gets an opportunity in episode 6 — a small window — to potentially end the battle with evil once and for all and goes toe-to-toe with Ruby. But since Kelly has this pent-up rage after being painted in this bloody corner for the first five episodes and having her hands tied, she goes ballistic. It’s reminiscent of the Deadite deli slicer scene from Season 1.”

Anybody who can recall that magnificently manic scene (or countless others) well knows that DeLorenzo has an incredible passion for her work, and it shows everywhere, whether it’s on-screen, off-screen at conventions with fans or in phone calls to talk about the show. DeLorenzo is in the unique position to help build upon one of the best horror comedy franchises of all time, and that’s something she’s never lost sight of. Even casual fans don’t have to look hard at one episode of “Ash vs. Evil Dead” to see DeLorenzo gives her all to the series.

“I’m exceptionally passionate as well all the people who are involved in the show, from the crew to the stunt people to the writers, it truly is a passion project and a bloody love letter to the fans,” DeLorenzo said, humbly. “For me, not a day goes by where I don’t think about how I finally got that little streak of luck after so many beatdowns for so long while chasing the dream. I was working at a bar when I got the audition for this job. In fact, I almost couldn’t go to it because I was working at the bar until 2 a.m. and I had to learn my lines driving in the car as I was on the way the audition.”

But lucky for fans, DeLorenzo made that audition and they’ve embraced her and the indelible character of Kelly — something DeLorenzo is reminded of in and around the course of making “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” if not every day.

“It’s great to meet with fans and talk with people like you who share our excitement and are entertained by our over-the-top silliness and gore,” DeLorenzo enthused. “I mean, what more could you want? Give me a blood cannon in the face any day.”

Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers