This summer, Bruce has released an autobiography entitled If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor. It chronicles the story of a young man from the suburbs of Detroit, and his involvement with the dark powers of Hollywood.
My wife bought this book for me, and I devoured it in two sittings (the second being an all-night marathon session). It is a tremendous joy to read, and I recommend it to anybody who is a fan of Bruce Campbell, as well as anybody who is interested in what it's like to be a working actor in the business today.
In this book, I learned about the formation of the "Detroit Mafia" - a group of teenagers bound together by a love for film, and a strange sense of humor. You may know that Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, and Josh Becker are all part of this elite group, but did you know that John Cameron was a member as well? (You may know him better as James Cameron, director of a little movie called Titanic?)
(For those who are wondering, Rob Tapert became part of the crew later, when he met Sam Raimi in college.)
I discovered a strange habit of director Sam Raimi, and learned of Bruce's quest to destroy "the classic." It seems that Sam's 1973 Delta Royale has been used in a lot of films. It was the car used in the Evil Dead trilogy, but has been used in several movies over the years - up to and including Sam's recent work - For Love of the Game, and The Gift.
The book focuses quite a bit on the early years - several chapters are devoted to the making and marketing of the original Evil Dead. Fans of the series will no doubt find this fascinating - but others will enjoy this story as well, because Bruce writes with a conversational style that really draws you in (Reminiscent of his short essays available through his website, www.bruce-campbell.com).
In addition to Bruce's engaging style, the book is chock full of mini-interviews with Sam, Rob, Josh, and other friends "in the biz". Photos (with humorous captions) appear on nearly every page, and the trivia (and embarrassing stories) you will uncover will leave you chuckling for hours.
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