Click HERE to visit MovieWeb to watch an exclusive clip from the Burn Notice series finale, premiering on my birthday next Thursday March 5th at 10PM EST.
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Finally! ‘Touch The Top of the World‘ is on DVD.
Peter Facinelli (Can’t Hardly Wait) stars in the exciting tale based upon the best-selling autobiography by Erik Weihenmayer, a rock and ice climber who overcame insurmountable odds to become the first blind man to reach the top of Mount Everest. This breathtaking story follows Erik’s journey from the time he was a three-year-old boy diagnosed with a rare eye disease through his childhood when his parents challenged him to live a normal life despite his limiting handicap. It’s a story of dreams, determination and heroism, and one man’s passion to do the impossible while inspiring his community and an entire generation of vision-impaired athletes. The film also stars Bruce Campbell as Eric’s father.
Told you I’d find it. Order on Amazon.
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(Thanks to my good friend Missy for the link!)
Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we ask actors for memories about roles that defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about.
The actor: Sure, Bruce Campbell has a long string of B-movies to his name (Moontrap, Maniac Cop 2, something called Torro. Torro. Torro!), but some of his films, like the Evil Dead trilogy, have stood the test of time. The longtime cult favorite can currently be seen on USA’s Burn Notice and in his mock-autobiographical film My Name Is Bruce—a deep satire of Campbell’s storied career, now available on DVD.
The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Army Of Darkness (1992)—“Ash”
Bruce Campbell: I wrote a book about it. There is so much to tell. I have hours worth of anecdotes. Is there any way you can hone that down for me?
The A.V. Club: How about something for the benefit of those who haven’t read the book yet?
BC: You know, I must be honest with you. Funny stories on set—there are thousands of them, but they are only funny to the people who were on the movies. You start to have inside jokes and gallows humor. You have all kinds of things you laugh at, but as soon as you tell somebody, the joke falls flat because they don’t know the context of it. That’s the best thing I can tell you. The dynamic between all these people, half of whom have never met before, is always interesting. On the first Evil Dead, half the people were people we didn’t know, and the other half were people we knew really well. Of those people we knew really well, we didn’t know how hard this experience was going to be. So we knew each other much better by the end of that 12 weeks, as far as who could put up with what and who could tolerate what. You really found out what people were made out of. You get to see people at their best and at their worst.
AVC: When were you at your worst?
BC: When you are up all night and it’s 23 degrees outside and you can’t feel your hands anymore. That was a 12-week show that was only supposed to be six weeks.
AVC: In your opinion, is Ash worthy of more movies?
BC: No. I think there should be an end to everything. I mean, did anyone really want Indiana Jones 4? The answer is no. I’ve taken a poll in about seven theaters now. Of 300 people, three hands go up. You are bound to disappoint. I would rather disappoint with a brand new original movie. People worship Army Of Darkness,and God bless them for it. It’s a beautiful thing. The movie bombed when it came out, and not many people are aware of that. Twenty years later, the thing has picked up speed, and it’s on American Movie Classics now. That was a long time ago, and whatever we do next will always be compared to Army Of Darkness, and I don’t see how we can win. You make that movie, and I can tell you the quote right now, “Oh, it’s not quite as good as Army Of Darkness.” Then we would have gone through immense physical pain and anguish to bring something out that ultimately disappointed. That’s really not what I’m into these days.
Read more @ The Onion
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(Well they’re playing with my head with this one. I detest movie remakes, especially horror, and in particular movies I grew up with like Madman. But, if it’s got Bruce, I could get behind it!)
Lest we forget, back in 1982 there was another madman with a painful past that stalked the backwoods of summer camps and hacked campers and counselors to bits! While everyone has the remake of Friday the 13th on their mind, Madman Marz, the legendary farmer-turned-killer who axed his family to pieces and stalks the woods near his former home, is making a comeback of epic proportions. Since FEARnet is currently airing Madman online and on VOD, we had to catch up with Madman producer/co-writer Gary Sales and star Paul Ehlers, who are gearing up for the Madman remake already in the works! In our exclusive conversation, they didn’t just confirm the remake, they revealed details on the reimagining’s plot, the writer, director and some possible stars — including Scarlett Johansson and Bruce Campbell! Hit the jump for full details.
Sales tells us: “There has been more than talk. We’ve been actively pursuing it. There’s a great tale behind it. Paul is deep in it. He of course has been Madman to the fans all this time. Fans have been finding him and sending him tokens and gifts of their esteem all this time. The truth is he’s also been discussing the movie [with] me and the son of Madman, as it were, who was born during the making of the movie…”
Ehlers eagerly interrupts “Gary let me tell that… We were shooting, it was fall. I was in costume. We shot only at night, which gave it a very creepy feel. We’d have lunch at 12 midnight, which was cool. Anyway, I’m in the costume and Gary was kind enough to get me a beeper so I would know when my wife went into labor. Sure enough, I had the costume on, make-up on, blood covering me and the beeper goes off at 1 or 2 in the morning. I panicked, since I had to drive about an hour and a half to the hospital, and people are pulling latex off of me, and I’m going “No, no. I’ll be back in a while.” I get in the car and zip to the hospital, and I get there in costume and the nurses come running over yelling, “Sir can I help you?” and I’m like, “Where’s maternity?” They’re like “No, no, no, you want emergency.” But it was of course maternity, and my son Jonathan was born November 15th, 1980, so that’s kind of how I keep track of how old the film is. He was a little kid. Gary had a shirt made up that said ‘Little Marz.’”
“As time went on, he went about his career, and a while back I discussed thoughts about Madman, since he’s a screenwriter,” says Ehlers. “We got together and wrote a reimagining of Gary’s original storyline.”
So how likely is the remake?
“[The remake is] very likely,” Sales continues. “All the pieces are falling into place. It’s going to be a question of mostly getting the casting worked out and dealing with the studio that has the interest for it. We’d like to create something that has the qualities that we had in the original. That was suspense and good dramatic story, used with the great things you can do with prosthetics and things that are available now. There’s no question we can shock the audience, but I’d rather have them interested in liking the story and the characters.”
Ehlers adds on, “We’d like to create something in that same vein and take advantage of all the new technologies that are there. Anybody can throw blood around. We don’t want to do that. I and Gary want to really try to scare some folks. The first Madman killed 10 people or something. With this one, no more Mr. Nice Guy. The character has been fleshed out a bit more, not a lot more, but a bit more. We know a little more about this guy. The early part of the legend of Madman Marz and how he became what he is in the original film, we show that in a very short time. We flesh that out a bit more about why that happened to him and why he’s so pissed off. I think that’s going to make a lot of sense. It’s going to an interesting, more intense approach to some of the things that were in the first one.”
If you could pick your dream cast…
Gary jumps on the question, “That’s a difficult one to answer right now. I would love to get, like, a Scarlett Johansson in her younger days. I have some ideas of who I’d love. I haven’t discussed it with them yet, but I thought a number of times that it might be interesting for the role of Max to reach out to maybe Meatloaf or Bruce Campbell. We’d be looking for really interesting people who wouldn’t be expected for camp counselors. I’d want to find some known but unexpected people for this kind of role.”
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There will soon be two Evil Dead films on Blu-ray Disc with only one left to go.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced a new “Screwhead” edition of Army of Darkness is coming to Blu-ray Disc and DVD on May 19. It joins Evil Dead II on Blu-ray leaving the ball in Starz Entertainment’s court to complete the trilogy on Blu-ray by releasing The Evil Dead film that started the cult phenomenon.
What makes this Army of Darkness edition screwy is the original ending fans have been clamoring for is now available as a bonus feature. The Blu-ray edition will additionally benefit from U-Control and other BD exclusives as outlined below.
* U-CONTROL: Universal’s exclusive signature feature, U-Control puts viewers one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie. (BD Exclusive)
o PRODUCTION PHOTOS: Access interactive production photos from the set without interruption to the movie experience.
* BD-LIVE: Access the BD-Live Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more! (BD Exclusive)
* MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage. (BD Exclusive)
* ALTERNATE ENDING: See the original ending planned for the film.
* DELETED SCENES: Additional scenes that never played in theaters.
* THE MEN BEHIND THE ARMY: Go behind-the-scenes with star Bruce Campbell.
* ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE: See extra footage shot for the film.
* FEATURE COMMENTARY with director Sam Raimi, star Bruce Campbell, and co-writer Ivan Raimi
* THEATRICAL TRAILER: The original promotional trailer for the theatrical release.
Army of Darkness will be presented on Blu-ray in 1.85:1 1080p video and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Retail pricing has been set at $29.99.
We’ll check back with high resolution cover art and pre-order information for Army of Darkness in the days ahead.
Browse for Army of Darkness on Amazon.
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SOURCE, thanks to the wonderful Missy for the fab link! (She has great fanlistings you might want to join.)
Fanbolt Interviews Bruce:
We had the honor of sitting down with the legendary Bruce Campbell recently to talk about the upcoming season of USA Network’s Burn Notice. Here’s what he had to say.
How much creative input do you have with your character for the show?
B. Campbell: Well, every situation is different and Burn Notice is very structured. Matt Nix, it’s his show, it’s his concept, it’s his idea. So when I came on board, I’m going to give smaller stuff. You know, I might ad lib some stupid joke at the end of a scene or whatever. Or I might suggest a tone of maybe treat Michael’s mother more gently at some point. So it’s really for me mostly smaller stuff; the captain of the ship is Matt Nix and he’s also allowing us to think through scenes and if we want to throw in a line or so, he doesn’t have a problem with that. But I never show up on a set going, “Man, I got to ad lib today.”
Did you see the success of the show coming up? Like did it surprise you? Are you at all surprised about how successful it has been?
B. Campbell: I’m surprised by everything these days because you never know. My basis for accepting this script when it came across my desk was I loved the fact of what it wasn’t. It wasn’t a cop show, it wasn’t a doctor’s show, it wasn’t a lawyer show. There’s plenty of stuff that goes on, but this is basically the human side of spies and I went, right, I can get into that. And I really enjoyed the fact that it’s a good blend of a show that does have strong main characters, and not a lot of them. It’s got four main characters. And that’s what the emphasis is. And oh yes, stuff blows up and every week there is a caper where you defeat the jerk of the week. But I think it’s mostly you watch these characters from week to week, and that’s what I enjoy. And that’s what appealed to me and that’s what keeps me interested in the show is it’s not really about the explosions, it’s about the people who are doing the explosions.
Do you have a most memorable moment you’ve had from filming the seasons?
B. Campbell: For me, I’m just convinced one day that some bystander’s going to shoot me with a gun. And the reason why I say that is because my character Sam has a rifle with a scope and often he’s up on high rises and overpasses taking potshots at people. And sometimes you can’t see the crew connected to me, because they put me sometimes far away. And Miami has a lot of guns, and so I’m just afraid some do-gooder’s going to see me up there firing away and they’re going to save Miami from that criminal. And then Burn Notice will have three main characters.
Carla has been the main archenemy on Burn Notice this season. I’m expecting her, of course, to return for the second half. Is there going to be anyone else beyond her, her boss, perhaps, or another arch villain coming into the picture?
B. Campbell: I think I’m allowed to say very likely. Very likely. Everyone has a boss, so I think the season will prove no different. Because Michael’s being manipulated by someone who might be manipulated by someone. You never know. I think the layers are going to get deeper this season and it will start to get to the point where something’s gotta give.
(Keep reading, it’s a loooooong, satisfying (just like Bruce) read!)
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(Burn Notice (plus a few other shows, made USA number one this year. Bruce is bringing home the bacon! The important info is in bold for your convenience.)
Third Consecutive Year as #1; USA First Cable Network To Beat Broadcast Network USA was the #1 network in basic cable prime, delivering more P25-54 (1.33 million, +23% over #2 TNT) and P18-49 (1.30 million, +16% over #2 TBS) than any other network the third straight year. In 2008, USA was also the top network in basic cable prime among total viewers (2.84 million, +19% over #2 Disney Channel) and households (2.11 million, +17% over #2 Disney Channel).
USA’s 2008 average for P25-54 (1.33 million), P18-49 (1.30 million), total viewers (2.84 million) and households (2.11 million) is the highest ever for a basic cable network in Primetime. USA delivered more P25-54, P18-49, and total viewers than the CW in prime (Mon-Sun 8P-11P). This is the first time a cable network has beaten a broadcast network.
USA swept the year, winning the race for P18-49 and P25-54 entertainment viewers in each of the four quarters for the second year in a row, a feat no other network has ever accomplished. The victory in 4Q08 marked the 10th consecutive quarterly win for USA among P18-49, P25-54 and total viewers for ad-supported entertainment networks — an unrivaled winning streak.
20 of the top 50 P25-54 entertainment telecasts of 2008 were on USA, more than any other network, including the #1 new series of the year, IN PLAIN SIGHT; returning originals BURN NOTICE, MONK, and PSYCH; the year’s most-watched weekly series, WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW; and the most watched movie of the year, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.
BURN NOTICE was the #1 original scripted series in basic cable prime among P18-49 (2.76 million). Proving again that USA is the home to new hits, IN PLAIN SIGHT was the #1 new original series of the year for both P25-54 (2.66 million) and P18-49 (2.28 million). This is the third year in a row USA has had the #1 new series in these key demos. (PSYCH in 2006, BURN NOTICE in 2007)
Half of the top ten P25-54 & P18-49 original scripted series were on USA with BURN NOTICE, IN PLAIN SIGHT, MONK, PSYCH and LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT. The top three P25-54 acquired series in press prime in 2008 were on USA.
#1 HOUSE (1.44 million), #2 NCIS (1.06 million), and #3 LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (1.04 million). HOUSE was also the #1 acquired series among P18-49 (1.48 Million). USA was also the #1 destination on basic cable for movies in 2008. More P25-54, P18-49, and P18-34 choose USA as a movie destination than any other network in basic cable prime. USA was the only network to deliver
over 1 million in P25-54 movie viewers (1.11 million, +16% more than #2 TNT), 1.15 million in P18-49 (+14% over #2 TBS) and 562,000 in P18-34 (+4% over TBS).
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Saw “My Name is Bruce” and, let me say this: I had a fantastic time watching this movie. It was no “Bringing Up Baby” (my favorite comedy), but it was a lot of fun. It was breezy and funny, so, what else could you ask for? It even made my husband laugh, and I consider him the toughest critic around! Full review coming later.
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(Never saw this before. A couple of ads for The Evil Dead Musical, which wrapeed in Toronto, recently. Via AdFreak and Ads of the World.)
(Editor note: To those who lurk and leech from the blog, a word of warning. We always credit and never hotlink, so why do you? If you do hotlink, you will get a big and ugly banner on your forum/blog/etc. You’ve been warned.)
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Have you visited the ladies, yet? Click the image to visit the Ladies of the Evil Dead page.
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#24: Ash!
Played By: Bruce Campbell
Film: Evil Dead I, II & Army of Darkness
Why He’s On The List: Iconic horror characters are always bad guys - Freddy, Michael, Jason, Chucky, Pinhead. Well, almost always: Bruce Campbell’s indestructible Ash is a truly iconic horror hero and, in Evil Dead II especially, Exhibit A in any argument that Campbell deserved to be a bigger star. Morphing from shrieking, possibly insane shrinking violet to grim, grey-haired Mad Max-a-like in the blink of an eye, Ash is a delirious, delicious, dimwitted parody of action heroes.
Finest Hour: Virtually the whole of Evil Dead II, but we’ll go for the tooling-up montage which ends with Ash, chainsaw bolted to his missing hand, reborn. Groovy, indeed.
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(Capone of AICN talks with Bruce about MNIB, Burn Notice and those pesky Evil Dead 4 rumors that don’t seem to want to die. And, lest we forget, Ain’t It Cool News were the ones who broke out the news about the supposed sequel in the first place, and not us simple bloggers.)
Capone: Well, Sam Raimi was at Comic-Con this year promoting DRAG ME TO HELL. And he said that he and Ivan [Raimi] were going to sequester themselves soon thereafter and work on some sort of a script, either a remake or a new chapter.
BC: Sure, Sam, sure.
Capone: I’m just telling you what he said.
BC: Oh, I know. It’s all been verified with bloggers with cell phones and all that. [laughs] I think it just verifies that we all have a fondness for those movies. I don’t think either of us would ever rule out making one some day, but as far as when, I think that’s impossible to say, because Sam just agreed to do SPIDER-MAN 4. Each of those movies takes at least two years to make. I’m under a five-year contract for “Burn Notice.” So I’m not going anywhere really; neither is he.
Click here to read the whole interview.
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(Burn Notice could be on last legs in Miami; filming execs, city officials debating lease extension for season three!? Say it isn’t so!!)
Will burned agent Michael Westen return to his hometown of Miami for a season three? Two years ago, the popular cable series “Burn Notice” transformed the Coconut Grove Expo Center into its filming studios, but now city officials and filming executives debate over a season-three lease extension.
Since season one, “Burn Notice” — considered the largest video production in the state — has featured Miami as its tropical backdrop. But now the USA Network show’s filming schedule clashes with the City of Miami’s plans to demolish the expo center by early July, because the series would need at least until September to wrap up production. Its future in Miami is in limbo. With the lease expiring this month, the city and Fox Television Studios have just days to wrap up an agreement to guarantee “Burn Notice” a third season here. The series was renewed for a third season in October and is now slated to start shooting in March its 16 episodes. Each episode takes about a week to film. City Manager Pete Hernandez said he’s willing to cooperate with Fox executives but is concerned with the timeline because the TV drama needs an additional three to four months to complete production. Mr. Hernandez said he’s awaiting an official letter from Fox detailing why producers need more time. “We want to cooperate and support “Burn Notice,’” he said, adding he wants to be clear on the requested timeline because he needs to proceed with a bid process to select and hire a contractor for demolition. He wants the site to be ready for the wrecking ball as soon as “Burn Notice” wraps and packs up.
At a summer commission meeting, city commissioners agreed to allow “Burn Notice” to use the expo center to film a third season. The production crew and local fans attended the meeting cheering for the extension. But no filming deadline was set because the show was still awaiting renewal. At that meeting, Mr. Hernandez emphasized that the facility is not safe for public use and said funds are available to demolish it. Fox Studios has requested an extension until at least late September or October as shooting delays, production breaks and weather interruptions have to be taken into account, said Graham Winick, president of Film Florida, the state’s entertainment industry marketing and legislative association. Another reason for rushing demolition is that the structure sits along land that city officials are looking to revamp under the approved waterfront master plan that promises new parks and world-class sailing centers along Biscayne Bay from Peacock Park to Kennedy Park. Phase one of the master plan calls converting the site into a park. But Mr. Winick wants the city to consider the show’s economic impact.
“Burn Notice,” one of the most watched series this summer, attracted more than 4 million viewers weekly, he said, adding that it’s also gaining popularity with foreign audiences. It’s considered South Florida’s largest film industry provider of jobs and revenues, he said. Fox is spending more than $20 million in South Florida to shoot each season, he added, and each episode costs $1.7 to $2 million to produce. Producers hire about 125 local crew members, buy camera and lighting equipment, vehicles and pay local businesses to film at their establishments, he said. “The money flows through the system and there is a multiplier effect that trickles down.” Mr. Winick said through this cable production, the local industry has in the past two years trained a talent pool that is now ready to cater to new productions coming to Miami. But to retain that talent pool, jobs are needed. And that’s something the industry is struggling with as film-related revenues continue to evaporate, he said.
At the last legislative session, the film industry took a hit as lawmakers slashed funds for film industry incentives from $25 million to $5 million, he said. With the economic woes, he said, production companies are looking at states such as New York, Georgia and Louisiana that are offering better incentives. Now, most of Florida’s $5 million in incentive money is slated for “Burn Notice.” “We are relying on that production, so that is why it is critical for the City of Miami to close this deal with Fox as soon as possible,” Mr. Winick said. What about a season four? While all sides agree they would like to retain “Burn Notice” in Miami if it gets picked up for a fourth season, they can’t agree where. Mr. Winick said he thinks if the waterfront master plan doesn’t move forward, “Burn Notice” could negotiate filming a fourth season at the expo center. But Robert Parente, Miami’s director of film, arts and entertainment, has other plans. The city is looking at two possible locations to where it could relocate the cable show, he said.
However, he said it was too early to discuss those options publicly. Within city boundaries, soundproof stages include Ice Palace Film Studios in Overtown. But Mr. Winick insists asking “Burn Notice” to move is costly for the production company, which has to pay to relocate and rebuild its large-scale sets, he said. “It could affect whether they stay in Miami.”
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I hadn’t seen this before! I was reading an interview with Bruce when I noticed the link to this page:
It has a synopsis of the movie, cast bios and My Name is Bruce Tour dates. Click here to visit the page.
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