BRUCE CAMPBELL SPEAKS TO FOG!

This interview was considered "lost" after several computer snafu's and the long-in-hiatus return of FOG! We're happy to have located it and are even more happy to recommend Bruce in Spider-Man 3 and appearing in the latest television commercials for Old Spice cologne.


Bruce Campbell is not only one of the founders of Renaissance Pictures, but he is also a Renaissance man, writing, acting, directing and producing both film and television. With his distinct voice, impressive chin and rabid cult following, Bruce was kind enough to talk to FOG!

You tend to have a very blue-collar attitude toward the entertainment industry, treating your work as a job as opposed to "glitz and glamour". Are you happier working in the industry with some recognition and an incredibly devoted and faithful following as opposed to being a "movie star" whose every movement is tracked by paparazzi and is documented for the public's consumption?

Yeah, because then I can just be an actor. If you maintain a healthy amount of anonymity, you never lose sight of why you are an actor in the first place - for the fun of it. Once you lose that, it's all over.

Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, you made films regularly with Sam and Ted Raimi, Josh Becker, Scott Spiegel and later, Robert Tapert. When you reunite with any of these people in a work environment, is there a different atmosphere and/or shorthand than you encounter on other sets?

Oh, sure, you can't help that. I just did a film called Alien Apocalypse with a pal, Josh Becker who I met in 8th grade study hall. We work well together because we don't have to reinvent the wheel.

You've made mention in the past and it's also evident in some of the physical humor that you've performed that the Three Stooges have been an influence on you. In your opinion, which Stooge has been the greatest personal influence to you and why?

Well, I don't know about "personally," but "comedically," I'm a big fan of Shemp - he was always underrated.


With several cancelled cult television series (Strangers with Candy, Firefly) being resurrected as feature films, would you have an interest in reprising Brisco County Jr. for the big screen?

Sure, but that's assuming somebody at three different companies wakes up in the morning and decides to get it done - these things don't "do" themselves. Old TV shows generally age like fish.

You've spent years trying to get your screenplay The Man With The Screaming Brain produced. You recently completed directing - producing - writing and starring in the project for the Sci-Fi Channel. What's it about and after having worked on it for so long, are you happy with the finished product?

It's a horror/sci-fi flick where an American Capitalist gets the brain of a Russian Communist in his head and the two must learn to live together in order to extract revenge on a Gypsy woman who killed them both. I'm happy with the end results, but I'm itching to show it to humans.


Your autobiography If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a 'B' Movie Actor was a hit. What can you tell us about your latest tome, Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way?

Well, it'll cost the same! Actually, it's a fictional romp through the whacky world of Hollywood with me as a central character.

You recently played Elvis Presley in the cult hit, Bubba Ho-Tep opposite the great Ossie Davis (as J.F.K.). You portrayed Elvis as an old man, something that has never been done before. What's the secret to playing the King and is there any truth to the rumored sequel, Bubba Nosferatu?

The secret is singing in the shower a lot and melting under lots of make-up - it makes you feel old and crabby! There is some truth to the rumor, but nothing to write about yet...

Besides directing series television and now features, you have also made documentaries including Fanalysis and the more recent, A Community Speaks which deals with land stewardship issues in Southern Oregon. With much of your career in front of the camera, what draws you to directing, and in particular, documentary filmmaking?

I like "job rotation" just like the next sap. I get tired of doing the same things all the time, but mainly, I like taking what I've learned about filmmaking and applying it toward subjects I'm interested in.

Sam Raimi has said that you are the best reverse actor in Hollywood. What is reverse acting and what makes you the best at it?

Well, you only understand that if you've been in a Sam Raimi movie. The point is, he used to shoot things backwards in order for a certain special effect to work, so I had to learn to perform backwards so that when you reversed the film, it still looked normal.


You've appeared in over fifty films and among the cult characters you've portrayed are Ash Williams, Elvis Presley, Brisco County Jr, Autoclycus and the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills. What kind of popular culture; films, literature, music do you enjoy?

I like 70s music - the finest decade in my opinion. I read almost all nonfiction because I get plenty of fantasy in my every day job.

BRUCE'S LATEST OLD SPICE COMMERCIAL

BRUCE'S SPIDER-MAN 3 APPEARANCE

MY FIRST DAY AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AT MARVEL COMICS

I can tell already that my tenure at Marvel is going to anger many readers. No more Ultimate line. It failed. The original point of the line was to make the books accessible to new readers. Ultimate continuity is as boggled as mainstream Marvel U. Instead of a ground zero relaunch, I'm proposing a new take. We're instituting some major changes, but how it fits into the history of the Marvel Universe doesn't matter.

Clear, concise storytelling.

The most major change is that no longer was Steve Rogers Captain America during World War 2. The original Captain America was Nick Fury, who fought as Captain America alongside his Howling Commandos during the second World War. He is currently the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and leads the Avengers in a Mission Impossible type scenario. If you are a super-hero in the Marvel Universe, you're an Avenger. Each mission designates it's own group of characters, which in turn allows more action, less soap opera and more opportunities to create interesting stories.

Here are my first five books, their creative teams and the pitch.

1. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN by Jeph Loeb and J. Scott Campbell





















Teen-age Peter Parker has been Spidey for 18 months or so (all the characters throughout the line have been active for approximately 1-2 years). No need to reintroduce bad guys, but gives the opportunity to play around with the strong Lee/Ditko/Romita supporting cast.


2. THE FANTASTIC FOUR by Darwyn Cooke

The best cartoonist in comics today needs an opportunity to tinker in Stan and Jack's toybox.

3. THE UNCANNY X-MEN by Warren Ellis and Salvador Larocca


Warren Ellis' strengths include incorporating science into pulp conventions. If the next stage of evolution isn't scientific enough of an opportunity to play around with genetics, pop-sci and futurism, then I don't know what is. Larocca has proven to collaborate well with Ellis with his clear storytelling on newuniversal and has a history with the characters. Excelsior!

4. THE AVENGERS by Joe Casey and Arthur Adams

Nick Fury runs the Avengers (as a division of S.H.I.E.L.D)

Every super-hero in the Marvel Universe is game.

Including the new Captain America, Steve Rogers.

5. THE INCREDIBLE HULK by Erik Larsen



Larsen can draw action and mayhem (and monsters!) Make the Hulk a book about a man on the run searching for a cure and redemption, throw in plenty of destruction, the military and creatures and you've got the opportunity to tell Hulk stories on par with Lee and Kirby's first six issues.

FOG! INTERVIEW - JEFF PARKER, COMIC BOOK WRITER

Jeff Parker is a renaissance man in the comic book world. He's an Eisner nominated cartoonist (The Interman) and publisher (Dear John - The Alex Toth Doodle Book) and has been writing a variety of titles for Marvel Comics and has recently collaborated with Eurythmic Dave Stewart on Virgin Comic's Walk In. Among Parker's latest work is X-Men: First Class, Marvel Romance Redux, Marvel Monsters, Marvel Westerns, the new Spider-Man/Fantastic Four mini-series and Marvel Adventures The Avengers. Last week, Marvel Comics published a collection of Parker's latest project, The Agents of Atlas in a definitive collection which includes the entire mini-series AGENTS OF ATLAS #1-6 plus the Agents’ first appearances in stories from YELLOW CLAW #1 (Jimmy Woo; October 1956), MENACE #11 (Human Robot; May 1954), VENUS #1 (August 1948), MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #82 (Namora; May 1947), MARVEL BOY #1 (December 1950), MEN'S ADVENTURES #26 (Gorilla Man; March 1954) and WHAT IF? #9 (1950s Avengers; June 1978). The book also includes creator interviews, character designs and material found from the series blog and website.

Jeff took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with FOG!

HOW DID THE AGENTS OF ATLAS ORIGINATE, DID YOU PITCH IT OR WAS IT ASSIGNED TO YOU BY MARVEL?

It, like a lot of things was one my editor Mark Paniccia asked if I might have a pitch for. Not because they had an agenda to get old unused characters in, but because he was looking at the old What If with the Agents (then the Secret Avengers) and had a hunch. I'm glad he thought of me with that hunch.

THE CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN AGENTS OF ATLAS HAVE THEIR ROOTS IN MARVEL'S GOLDEN AGE, YET MANY OF THEM ARE UNFAMILIAR, EVEN AMONG MOST READERS. WAS THIS AN ASSET OR AN OBSTACLE?

More an asset, because it can be a real challenge writing current characters with decades of continuity behind them. The Agents were relatively an open book.


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE COLLECTED EDITION OF THE BOOK?

It's the nicest production I've ever been part of. They really went all out on that book with the original stories of the characters, the nice paper, everything.

YOU TEND TO WRITE IMAGINATIVE ALL AGES STORIES SUCH AS SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR, MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS AND X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. DO YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT WRITING IN THIS READER-FRIENDLY STYLE OR DO YOU WISH THAT YOUR WORK WAS FIRMER EMBEDDED IN CONTINUITY?
It depends. Some things I would happily jump into the continuity, and others have had storylines that I wouldn't want to have address. The all ages work is only restrictive when I want to explore more mature themes. But I'm getting more outlets to do that. And I believe strongly that there need to be more all ages books from Marvel and DC, or we'll die out. And kids could be becoming better readers.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS IS BECOMING AN ONGOING SERIES. WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR SERIES HAS DONE DIFFERENTLY THAT HAS MADE IT SUCCESSFUL VERSUS PREVIOUS FAILED ATTEMPTS THAT COVERED THE SAME CONCEPT?


Just by the nature of the setting, we've been able to pare things down and try to find the core of what readers like about the characters. And they make a perfect entry book into the world of Marvel and mutants, I think. Really we're just embracing escapism as hard as we can.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE CHARACTERS TO WRITE AND ARE THERE ANY CHARACTERS THAT YOU WANT TO WRITE THAT YOU HAVEN'T YET?

Almost any of the characters that were around (and long before) I was a kid are interesting to me. That, or characters where I'm given a lot of freedom to interpret them. At Marvel, I would like to write some Dr. Strange. Brian K. Vaughan did a great job with him in "The Oath".

MANY OF YOUR FANS MIGHT NOT BE AWARE THAT YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER AS AN ILLUSTRATOR, EVENTUALLY WRITING AND DRAWING YOUR ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL, THE INTERMAN. DID YOU INTEND ON BEING A WRITER AND DO YOU NOW THINK OF YOURSELF AS A WRITER WHO DRAWS OR AN ARTIST WHO WRITES?

I always planned on writing for others along with doing my own cartooning, but it just never saw the light of day until recently. In the 90's I had editors who were trying to get me on books as a writer, but it just never happened. I even wrote some stuff way back for Malibu, but it never saw print because books were shut down when the company was bought... by Marvel! How's that for a circle?

WHAT'S THE STATUS OF INTERMAN 2?

I've written it, I just need to draw it. And without blowing my paying deadlines. If the movie actually goes into production, that will certainly help because I'll be able to count on sales.



WHAT ARE YOUR UPCOMING PROJECTS?

I can't remember what I can talk about now. Sorry! I don't want to jinx things.

WHAT POP CULTURE DISTRACTIONS ARE TEARING YOU AWAY FROM YOUR WORK?

I just got that new Fountains of Wayne, that ruled. I'm also liking The Shins latest album, Wincing the Night Away. And the Casino Royale dvd, which I haven't had a chance to watch the extras. I don't play video games because they're designed by The Man to keep us down. I'm wishing that next volume of Popeye would come out, but I hear it will be a while. Ooh, that Pogo collection that Jeff Smith is helping with, I gotta get that. I recently read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, a book half your readers have probably already enjoyed.

Thanks Jeff and FOG!-gers be sure to check out Jeff's website HERE.

WATCH THIS! DVD RELEASES 4/17/07

PICKS OF THE WEEK

THE VENTURE BROTHERS SEASON 2



The funniest thing that Adult Swim has ever aired. A pastiche of Jonny Quest, Tom Swift and Marvel Comics, The Venture Brothers is a must have for any pop culture aficionado.

SPIDER-MAN 2.1

You'd think that this might be just another opportunity to cash in on an upcoming sequel. You're probably right, but I don't care. I love this movie!









NOT JUST THE BEST OF THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW


Garry Shandling stars as fictional late night talk show host Larry Sanders. This set includes 23 assorted episodes a new documentary by Garry Shandling, commentary tracks and cast/guest star interviews. This show was years ahead of it's time and very, very funny. Buy it, and remember, no flipping.







A complete list of this weeks dvd releases can be found in the COMMENTS BOX

10 BEST SUPER HERO MOVIES

Super Hero movies.

I love them.

When I was a kid, if I had known that there would be a day that there would be several films a YEAR based on my favorite comic characters, I'd have been walking around with a boner through elementary school. These are super hero flicks, not based on comics (hence no American Splendor, History of Violence, 300, Ghost World or Sin City)

Boners aside, behold the list...

1. Superman - The Movie
It made me believe a man could fly.

Seriously.



2. Batman Begins
My favorite super-hero and an amazing interpretation



3. Spider-Man 2
Topped the first one. Lots of Stan Lee angst. Plus Doc Ock!



4. X-Men 2: X-Men United
The first one kicked ass. This one kicked the first one's.



5. Batman (1966)
The Dynamic Duo Vs. The United Underworld. The Batman of my childhood.



6. Flash Gordon
Believe it or not, this baby aged better than Star Wars. Technically based on a strip, but this one can't be missed. Now, Diiiiiiive!!!!



7. Rocketeer
Mis-marketed, overlooked and a hidden gem.



8. V For Vendetta
No longer about anarchy, but rather revolution, this fantastic adaptation is the first good film based on the work of Alan Moore.



9. Blade
D-List comic character that started Marvel Comics foray into big-budget feature films.



10. Hellboy
My favorite new iconic character of the last twenty years. The world in which Hellboy inhabits fell short, but Ron Perlman nailed Big Red.

LISTEN BUD, HE'S GOT RADIOACTIVE BLOOD

Hey all - put your spoiler glasses on! If you don't want a view into the upcoming Spider-Man 3, READ NO FURTHER!

SPOILER ALERT!

Today, in the mail, I received a Shop at Home catalogue from Hasbro Toys. Among many of the new releases from the company was a 4 page section dedicated to the upcoming Sony release, Spider-Man 3. One of the main collections of action figures that Hasbro will apparently be releasing is a Villains Collection, which features the Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus from the previous films and two other villains who have not appeared in either film or have been seen in the trailers for the upcoming third film. In order to not spoil this for those who don't want to know, I have posted the pics on my own blog.

So, if you are interested in seeing those, please click here and here for the reveal and scans of the page in question.

Now, this could be a mistake, or it could be something that is actually planned for a future film. I believe that the first pic is probably going to appear in this flick and the character in the second is a possible design for a future film. This could be common knowledge for a possible plot development, but this is the first I am aware of an image appearing supporting the rumors of this character's appearance.

You decide!