If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of A B Movie Actor

by Bruce Campbell

Book Overview

Okay, so at least you're interested enough to pick up this book and look inside. I think you and I are going to get along just fine.

Life is full of choices. Right now, yours is whether or not to buy the autobiography of a mid-grade, kind of hammy actor.

Am I supposed to know this guy? you think to yourself.

No, and that's exactly the point. Bookstores are chock full of household name actors and their high stakes shenanigans...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312291450
• ISBN13: 9780312291457
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: L.A. Weekly Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Are you looking to conquer the world of underground kick boxing?

If so this book will not help you with your leg sweeps but it may just inspire the "stick-to-it-ness" required to hold your head high and victorious in the streets of Cedar Rapids. Bruce Cambell is a hero to us work-a-day stiffs chasing our dreams before the morning comes, proof positive that a mid-western boy can and will show up to a job and ask himself "how am i the most competent person in the room?" Happy reading, Todd

A Grade-A Look at B-Movies and More

Bruce Campbell's autobiography is an immensely fun read. Written conversationally (admittedly one-sided, unless you're given to talking to inanimate objects), the book provides a frank and surprisingly objective look at Campbell's life and career. The book begins with Campbell's childhood in rural/suburban Michigan and the transformation that took place in high school when he met the Raimi brothers. How Campbell's career intersects time and again with the Raimi's and other high school cohorts is presented throughout the book. When one thinks of Hollywood bigshots, backstabbing and betrayal come to mind before lifelong friendships. Perhaps that explains why Bruce Campbell isn't a Hollywood bigshot - but why he has a huge fan following nonetheless. In detailing the blood (Karo syrup-based and real), sweat and tears that went into making the first Evil Dead feature, the book presents scenes that are as horrifying as anything in the movie itself (it also provides the best tangential recipe I've come across since I read Clifford Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg), but it also makes it seem like a ton of fun. Probably a quarter of the book is devoted to the Evil Dead process: conception, prototype, capital-raising, filming, editing, distribution, etc. Even with the documentary features on the Evil Dead DVDs, there's plenty of new information here. If you're not aware of what goes into making a feature film, this is an eye opener. Campbell doesn't go into as much detail about what goes into TV production, but he does share some interesting and amusing anecdotes (including details of David Duchovny's embarrassing flatulence problems). Perhaps the most interesting part of the autobiography deals with the impact the 9/11 attack had on the promotional tour for the first edition of the book. Three years later, when most discussion of the event involves finger-pointing and blame-placing, it is interesting to read Campbell's take on how he and his wife did their best to keep their lives on course in the days and weeks after the WTC bombings. If you hadn't already gotten that Campbell is a do-whatever-it-takes trouper in the main body of the book, it becomes eminently clear in the appendix. If you're a Bruce Campbell fan like I am, buy this book. Even if you don't want to make it big in the film industry, you'll find yourself yearning for a digital camera and a couple gullible friends by the time you finish reading it.

Bruce is Loose

If you only read one book this year, then you are an illiterate fool. But this should be the book you read. Bruce Campbell, cult hero (and actor), wrote the perfect book for his fans - it drips with charisma, his clever and self-depreciating humor, and a genuine personal and honest touch you rarely find in your run-of-the-mill, ghost-written Hollywood memoir. And it has everything a Deadite could want - very amusing anecdotes of his early childhood and teen years, tons and tons of photos, fascinating behind-the-scenes info about the making (and funding) of the Evil Dead movies, and tons of valuable insight into the Hollywood system, from the point of view of the low man on the totem pole.I found his casual, anecdotal writing style really fun, although I agree with critics that he doesn't get too detailed or self-analytical about his personal life. He also breezes over his television work, which might frustrate Brisco and Xena fans. But in general, Bruce Campbell - an extremely likeable guy - succeeds with this extremely likeable book.Hail to the king!

For anyone who appreciates Bruce Campbell and his works

OK, maybe it could be better organized, maybe it has a few moments of weird formatting, but this book is a fascinating journey through the life and mind of the beloved, hard-working, slightly off-kilter Bruce Campbell. It's as close as many people will get to sitting down and shooting the breeze with the actor about life, film, and television.Quite simply, this is one man's story - but like anything from the heart, you learn a lot about quite a few other things - and in this case, most of what you learn about is film, television, Holywood, and the fact that acting, when you get down to it, is difficult work that doesn't make most people rich - if they stick with it at all.Find out how the Rami brothers started. Read about Bruce's love of acting and the hardships he endured for something he really enjoyed. Get the dirt on Evil Dead. Read about the ups and the many downs of movie and acting careers. Get a little insight into how Hollywood has changed over the years. Read about the horror of special effects and makeup.If you've ever enjoyed Bruce Campbell in a role and want to get a glimpse of the non-glamorous, real side of Hollywood, get this book. You'll meet a remarkable individual who's really not different than the rest of us, and he'll show you all the sides of movies and TV most people forget to mention.In the end, the book is both interesting, educational, and actually inspiring - seeing one boy from Detroit make it in movies and telvision will really make you think. Seeing what he was willing to face will make you think about what you'd be willing to give up for what you love.

A witty, breezy read!

This book is just plain fun to read. Okay, sure... you get some interesting insight into the struggles it takes to be a working actor in Stage, Film, TV and that spore-infested place called Hollywood. I certainly enjoyed anecdotes about the Evil Dead films, Brisco County Jr., Congo, Hercules, Xena, the X-files and more... But lets face it, Bruce Campbell brings one thing to his roles that got me interested enough to buy the book in the first place: a sense of fun. And *that* is represented in his writing in spades. For proof, I merely had to catch my wife (whose usual reaction to any Bruce Campbell masterpiece is to groan in despair) happily reading this book herself... This turned out to be fairly easy, since every other page had her laughing out loud.I didn't complain, since I had already finished it... I read the entire thing cover to cover (a fairly meaty 300 pages) the same day it arrived. It's written in such a lively, engaging style that it was never put down for long.If you're interested enough to read these reviews, then you're interested enough to buy the book and enjoy the heck out of it.

Interesting, funny, and a good read.

When I stood in line at Borders waiting to get this beast signed, Bruce himself past the line virtually unnoticed. He stopped, turned around and said, "What are you people standing around for?"A humorous moment for me. And this book is filled with quite a bit of funny, a lot of insight, and it kinda turns into a guide on the ins and outs of Hollywood and stardom. There's a major look into the young Campbell and Raimi trying to pick up enough dough to make their first REAL movie, and then the hell they went through to get it done.All in all, a great look at his film and television career's ins and outs (boy howdy, the outs are many!). Well worth whatever you pay for it. I got it and read it front to back in less than a day. Which isn't to say it's short, it's like 300 pages long, I was just engrossed to no end. In the car, in the car some more, at a friends house, and finished just before I went to bed. Great stuff. I highly recommend it. 5 stars, 10/10, whatever review form you go through it's at the peak.