Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor - Hardcover

Campbell, Bruce; Sanborn, Craig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 125012560X ISBN 13: 9781250125606

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2017

Synopsis

New York Times bestseller

Introduction by New York Times bestselling author and famous minor television personality John Hodgman

One of my dad’s favorite jokes about getting older was: “I went out for coffee when I was twenty-one and when I got back I was fifty-eight!”

I get what he meant now. Time flies. My first book, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a "B" Movie Actor, was published back in 2001 and it chronicles the adventures of a “mid-grade, kind of hammy actor" (my words), cutting his teeth on exploitation movies far removed from mainstream Hollywood.

This next book, an “Act II” if you will, could be considered my “maturing years” in show business, when I began to say “no” more often and gravitated toward self-generated material. Taking stock in the overall quality of my life, I fled Los Angeles and moved to a remote part of Oregon to renew, regroup and reload.

If that sounds tame, the journey from Evil Dead to Spider-Man to Burn Notice was long, with plenty of adventures/mishaps along the way. I never pictured myself hovering above Baghdad in a Blackhawk helicopter, facing a pack of wild dogs in Bulgaria, or playing an aging Elvis Presley with cancer on his penis - how can you predict this stuff? The sheer lunacy of show business is part of the fun for me and I hope you'll come along for the ride.

– Bruce “Don’t Call Me Ash” Campbell

About this title

About the Author

In 1979 with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, Campbell filmed the Evil Dead, in which he starred and co-executive produced. Stephen King dubbed it “the most ferociously original horror film of the year." Bruce has written back-to-back New York Times bestsellers, appeared in all three Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies, and in 2013, he completed a seven-year run on Burn Notice, USA’s #1 show on cable. In a return to his B-movie roots, he completed the second season of the Ash Vs. Evil Dead TV series on Starz in 2016.

Review

"Campbell is an amusing raconteur, sharing stories about shooting the indie film My Name Is Bruce in his backyard, working on his old friend Sam Raimi’s Spiderman movies, and spending seven seasons on Burn Notice. . . . Campbell is always entertaining, and his smart-ass style makes for a groovy ride. . . . Fans will eagerly await a sequel." ―Publishers Weekly

"Die-hard fans will embrace it as canon..." ―The Washington Post

"Whether recounting his life in the boondocks of south Oregon or the making of the dud The Man with the Screaming Brain in Bulgaria, Campbell, backed by co-author Sanborn, and his B-movie anecdotes, are thoroughly engaging and witty." ―Booklist

"Campbell sheds further light on the (decidedly unglamorous) existence of a B-list actor, and fans of his work will undoubtedly be excited to read more from the enigmatic movie star.... Chock-full of amusing anecdotes about the underappreciated B-list movie industry. Hand to admirers of Campbell's previous book and fans of the talkies." ―Library Journal

"A breezy read through a breezy life." ―Kirkus Reviews

"Much like his Campbell’s on-screen presence, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor is wildly vivacious. As he explains in the book’s prologue, Campbell sees his memoirs as a trilogy. If If Chins Could Kill was the hero’s origin story, then Hail to the Chin represents the second act." ―Broke Horror Fan

Praise for If Chins Could Kill
“The book offers insights into the world of independent filmmaking and the life of a “B” actor, but most importantly it succeeds as an evocative memoir that allows the reader to know Campbell.”―School Library Journal

“An insightful and rant-filled guide to being almost famous.”―GQ

“Exceptionally literate yet conversational, wide-ranging but never wandering, and copiously, gleefully illustrated...” ―Booklist

"entertaining and witty...Forecast: While a boon to film cultists and to Campbell's many fans, this book also has enough insights and smarts to appeal to readers with a serious interest in popular culture."―Publishers Weekly

"Campbell forgoes Hollywood anecdotes for more entertaining tales of struggling to break into the biz (even after Evil Dead II, he had to work security). With a quirky assortment of rants, as well as self-deprecating chapter titles like ”The Higher the Budget, the Lower the Part,” he’s like the dinner guest you wish would never leave."―Entertainment Weekly

"This book is indispensable to anyone aspiring to a career as an actor, director, producer, or just about any other aspect of movie making...A fast, enjoyable read that is sure to garner Campbell even more of a following."―Fangoria

Praise for Bruce Campbell
"Without Bruce Campbell as Ash, Evil Dead likely would have remained one of the early-’80s splatterhouse flicks that indie filmmakers revere as inspirational to their craft. But Campbell molded Ash into a hero for the average guy by tempering the story’s adrenaline-spiking frights and nausea-inducing gore with a performance steeped in expressive slapstick. . . . In encouraging us to laugh at the disgusting effects, Campbell’s Ash made the franchise’s outrageous shocks manageable." ― Salon

About this edition

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 125012560X
• ISBN 13: 9781250125606
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 336