Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11”.
David Dastmalchian has no doubt been on the wildest ride of his career in the last couple of years, nabbing roles in such Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero movies as “Ant-Man” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” as well as TV series guest shots in DC’s “The Flash” and “Gotham.” Dastmalchian has also been busy creating independent cinema, writing and starring in such acclaimed indies as “Animals” and most recently, “All Creatures Here Below.”
Yet for all his success, Dastmalchian said in a recent interview that perhaps his most satisfying achievement to date is something that brings him back to the place where many great fantasy tales begin: the panels of a comic book as the writer of “Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter.”
“I was a comic book geek who grew up loving film, dreaming of being an actor, and then got to work with the best of the best with David Lynch and Christopher Nolan, getting to be in Peyton Reed’s ‘Ant-Man’ films and part of the MCU, getting to be in ‘Blade Runner: 2049’ and ‘Dune’ coming up and getting to know James Gunn — I’ve gotten to check so many boxes,” Dastmalchian enthused. “And yet, this comic book has truly been the most exciting thing I’ve done yet as a storyteller.”
New on comic book racks from Dark Horse Comics, “Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter” is a four-issue tale that’s rooted in Dastmalchian’s love of horror movies and the local, late-night TV host who presented them to him as a kid.
“I used to watch the ‘Creature Feature’ program in Kansas City growing up. It was ‘Crematia’s Friday Nightmare’ with Crematia Mortem, played by the incredible Roberta Solomon,” recalled Dastmalchian, a Kansas native. “She was our local horror hostess who introduced me to the incredible work of Lon Chaney in ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Boris Karloff in ‘Frankenstein’ and of course, Bela Lugosi in ‘Dracula.’ Those were my early heroes.”
In Dastmalchian’s ‘Creature Feature’ world, however, “Count Crowley” delves more into the life of the host than the movies she presents. The main character is Jerri Bartman, a disgraced journalist who takes a job as a late-night horror show host named “Count Crowley” at a small TV station in her hometown, only to find out that monsters are real and she’s one of the few people who can stop them.
“Her dream is to be the hardest-hitting news journalist in the world in 1983, but life has hit her sideways and she is barely hanging on by a thread. She drinks from sunup to sundown and she has burned every bridge she has left to burn,” Dastmalchian said. “So, she begrudgingly puts on the make-up and the costume, and she introduces the late-night horror show and ends up being quite a hit. People love her bad attitude and her sassy style, but her first little taste of approval is short-lived because she finds out the Count Crowley she replaced wasn’t just a horror host. He was one of the last, great appointed monster hunters among humanity.”
However, hunting monsters isn’t easy, and Jerri needs to get sober to make things work. It’s a page that Dastmalchian has ripped out of the story of his own life, where he’s successfully battled addiction.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to write about for decades. Thinking about monsters and thinking how fun it would be if they had a secret identity,” Dastmalchian, 42, recalled. “Then I grew up, and I dealt with my battles with depression, anxiety and addiction, and I started to recognize that monsters are sometimes good and sometimes truly evil.”
Among the good ones, Dastmalchian said, are “those of us who I considered werewolves who got bit by the addiction disease and just couldn’t seem to control ourselves when the moon was out, but found help, healing and recovery in so many miraculous ways. I also think about the demons within that plague us, and the story really started to take shape.”
As for the evil monsters in this tale, they’re much closer to us than we think.
“I started to think about the news and information, and the monsters who live among us in our own society and thought, ‘How incredible would it be if all that we think we know is a lie?’ Like they’ve been spinning this fake information, and werewolves can’t be stopped with silver bullets and a stake can’t ever kill a vampire,” he said.
Dastmalchian said the year “Count Crowley” is set in is 1983. True, that was the year where he came of age as a boy reading comic books or started watching horror hosts on TV. But he selected that year more because it the dawning of a new age of media.
“The time was the beginning of cable, and I thought it would be pretty fascinating that the monsters were getting their eyes on the power of cable media and access to a wide audience,” Dastmalchian said.
Dastmalchian is no doubt in a unique position as a comic book author. In a way, he’s living a type of parallel universe, in that many of the films and TV series he’s had roles in over the past decade have originated from DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
“There’s been a wonderful renaissance in the last 10 years that I’ve been so fortunate enough to be a part of in a small, tangential way, like my role in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ which I think reimagined comic book adaptation filmmaking,” Dastmalchian said. “Then, I became a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the last five years with the ‘Ant-Man’ films and getting to become a part of cinema history with what (Marvel President) Kevin Feige and his entire army of artists accomplished. And now, I’m part of the Dark Horse family with ‘Count Crowley.’ It’s been pretty amazing for me as a consumer of this type of material.”
And with any luck, Dastmalchian’s life on the pages of “Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter” will continue on after its debut run.
“If it’s just these four issues that are being published, if this is what it ends up being, I’m just trying to be here in the moment, and being as appreciative and as grateful for it as I can be,” Dastmalchian said, humbly. “My dream for it, obviously, is to go many years into the future with many different stories and monsters that I want to explore and battle.”
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
No, the title of Olivia Newton-John’s new memoir “Don’t Stop Believin’’” wasn’t inspired by a certain rock band’s legendary rock anthem, but the legendary singer and actress’ life has been a journey, nonetheless.
Newton-John, 70, admitted in recent phone conversation from California that she never intended on revealing several intimate details about her amazing life in the spotlight and behind the scenes, until news of an unauthorized biopic being made in her home country of Australia prompted her to start writing the tome simply because she wanted admirers to get the right story directly from the source.
“I haven’t seen it yet, but by all accounts, it isn’t bad,” Newton-John said. “I didn’t know that at the time, though, so I thought I better cover myself and that film was what inspired me to get the book started, and I enjoyed it.”
Taken from the name from her own hit single, “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster) chronicles several personal moments in Newton-John’s life extending back to childhood, yet covers many of her professional achievements as a chart-topping singer (with hits like “If Not For You,” “I Honestly Love You,” “A Little More Love” and the monster hit “Physical”) and starring opposite John Travolta in the legendary movie musical “Grease” (which spawned the hits “Summer Nights” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You”).
Released 41 years ago this June, Newton-John is thrilled that “Grease” became not only a hit in the United States, but a worldwide blockbuster — and she doesn’t mind that fans continue to associate her with the iconic role of Sandy Olsson. After all, the film, along with the 1980 musical “Xanadu” has had such of a positive impact on people’s lives — and being positive is what Newton-John is all about.
“I’m happy to embrace ‘Grease.’ I’m very lucky to be part of a movie that is still so beloved,” Newton-John enthused. “I mean, how many people can have the experience of being in a film that not only people love, but that is still being talked about 40 years later? I’ve always been very grateful for it. I haven’t been in many films, but to be in ‘Grease’ and ‘Xanadu’ — both musicals that people have really enjoyed — and to dance with John Travolta and Gene Kelly in one lifetime? I was dancing with the stars way before it was popular, so I think I was very lucky.”
Winning over cancer
Newton-John isn’t afraid to broach painful topics in her memoir, though, including three challenges with breast cancer (she doesn’t like to characterize them as battles, but “winning” instead). Even then, Newton-John found a silver lining, raising awareness of the disease by becoming an advocate. Among her proudest achievements is her help creating and lending her name to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne.
“It was an amazing gift to be offered that opportunity. I didn’t know how we were going raise the money when we started since we had to raise nearly $200 million (to build it),” Newton-John recalled of the beginnings of the facility, which opened in 2012.“ So, we just started doing a bunch of things to raise money for it like walking the Great Wall of China. It was such of an amazing thing to see the dream come true and now it’s a wonderful, functioning cancer wellness and research center and I got to experience it on my 70th birthday. It was the culmination of an amazing dream.”
Essentially, Newton-John has always lived a life reinforced by positivity. True, she recognizes that cancer is dreadful disease, but she’s also maintained the will that, in a way, echoes a line in her classic hit “Magic” — “nothing can stand in our way.”
“You can’t talk about your illness all the time and feel sorry for yourself. There is someone always worse off,” Newton-John said.“I’m breathing and lucky, and you have to keep that in mind because you create your world by what you think, what you believe. It’s all in your head. So, you have to keep your thoughts positive and make your world that way.”
Being positive is something that was instituted in Newton-John as a young girl by her parents, and because of that, she’s essentially adopted the mantra, “If you want it, create it. We create what we believe.”
“It’s worked for me in my life. If you work toward things and you can’t make them happen, you keep working toward them and you don’t give up,” Newton-John said. “The show must go on and you don’t give up. I learned that from my mom and dad, who were both really hard-working people and were very inspiring to me. I wasn’t overly praised, though. My dad would say, ‘Well done,’ and that was big praise. I’ve had an interesting life and a fabulous one.”
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.
With a career in film and television that spans more than 35 years, actor Bruce Campbell has been a mainstay with fans since his groovy debut as director Sam Raimi’s anti-hero Ashley J. “Ash” Williams in the 1981 horror classic “The Evil Dead.” Since then, he’s thrilled fans by reprising Ash in the sequels “Evil Dead 2” and “Army of Darkness,” and reprised the chain-saw handed, boomstick-slinging Deadite slayer in the outrageously entertaining STARZ horror series “Ash vs. Evil Dead. ”
But in between, Campbell has led a remarkable life as an actor and director on several other projects; and he’s also earned a stellar reputation on the pop culture convention circuit, where he’s greeted countless numbers of fans over the years with his trademark wit and undeniable charm. Basically, Campbell has proven despite his successes in the industry that he’s just an average Joe that has worked hard enough to maintain a living for nearly four decades in one of the most competitive businesses on the planet.
Needless to say, Campbell has amassed his fine share of unique behind-the-scenes stories along the way, which he first shared in his memoir “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of B-Movie Actor” in 2001. But since Campbell’s career kept rocketing skyward after 2001, naturally he has accumulated more interesting tales, which led him to do a follow-up memoir “Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B-Movie Actor” (St. Martin’s Press), new on store shelves and online Tuesday.
While often filled with humor, Campbell’s stories, like in the first “Chin” book (an ode to the actor’s square-jawed mug) is also deeply personal and revealing. It’s that sort of honestly in both his screen and personal appearances that fans have glommed on to, mainly because Campbell is so relatable to them.
While most actors give off the whiff of inaccessibility as they attend red carpet premieres, awards shows and other events generally not accessible to the public, Campbell is happy on the flip side to bring the show to the people who have kept him employed all these years. To Campbell, the barrier between stars and fans shouldn’t be so thick.
“I’m always happy to poke a hole in that. I don’t want people to put me up on a pedestal. I don’t want to be seen as anything special,” Campbell said in a phone conversation from New Jersey on Monday. “So, maybe talking about getting a DUI will bring me down to earth a little bit in some people’s minds, which is exactly what I want. Athletes shouldn’t be put up on pedestals, politicians, no one — because they’re all going to fall. We’re humans. We make stupid decisions.”
Thankfully, Campbell believes the real dumb decisions are behind him, because now they’re viewed in a completely different light.
“Nowadays, good God, with all the social media — all the stupid crap coming out of actors’ mouths is now immortalized on the internet, “Campbell observed. “If you have one bad night and someone photographs you? Oh, baby. And if they record your rant that normally wouldn’t be happening, you have to watch out. It’s a different ball game out there.”
Co-authored by Campbell’s longtime assistant, Craig Sanborn, “Hail to the Chin” not only chronicles some of the actor’s adventures on and off the set with his longtime wife, Ida, it tells several of the stories — sometimes pretty, sometimes not so much — of his work on dozens of projects.
Included are tales of his work on the cult classics “Bubba Ho-Tep” and “My Name is Bruce,” as well as reuniting with his “Evil Dead” director Sam Raimi on the box office blockbusters “Oz the Great and Powerful” and the “Spider-Man” trilogy. Campbell also recounts his work on such television series as “Burn Notice” and “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” among many others, and his interesting encounters at conventions.
Whether he’s on the road filming, promoting his work or meeting with fans, Campbell has more than earned his reputation of being one of the hardest-working men in show business. The actor believes a lot of his attitude is rooted in the solid Midwestern work ethic he developed growing up in Michigan, along with the likes of Sam Raimi and his brother, Ted (who also frequently collaborates with Campbell).
“I don’t know any other way. We grew up in a town full of factory workers,” said Campbell, 59. “These are guys who didn’t even like their jobs and yet they worked at them. It was inspiring in a way to take that work ethic and put it towards something that we chose to do. It makes you want to work hard if you’re doing your own thing, and take responsibility for it, too.”
Campbell is no doubt working harder than ever, not only on by embarking on a three-month, 35-city book tour to promote “Hail to the Chin,” but the third season of “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” which is completed but awaiting a premiere date. Of the upcoming the upcoming season, Campbell said, “Season 3 is a piece of work. We’re hoping by the 10th episode that you’ll have to pick your jaw up off the floor.” He also said to “expect the unexpected.”
No matter how long it will be until more Ash, fans not only have “Hail to the Chin” to keep themselves busy in all-things Campbell, but several more offerings from NECA, the major provider of “Ash vs. Evil Dead” merchandise. On the slate for late November/early December is a full-scale replica of the Ashy Slashy puppet from Season 2, which Campbell tried on Monday (“It was perfect. It was exactly like we shot with,” he said.); and a before that, more action figures from “Evil Dead II” and “Ash vs. Evil Dead.”
And while the “Evil Dead II” figures are a wonderful blast from the past, the one thing Campbell said he’s finding is that the new action figures for “Ash vs. Evil Dead” are reminders of just how long he’s been in the business.
“They’ve done a great job, and they’re some of the best action figures that I’ve ever had,” Campbell said. “But I was joking the other day, ‘You know you’re craggy when your action figure is craggy.’ The new action figures got all the wrinkles and the crags, and I was like, ‘Wow. Thanks for nailin’ it.’ You think that they’d cut you a break and make you look 15 years younger, but no, no, no.”
