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If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
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 hou...more
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 hou...more
Paperback, 344 pages
Published
August 24th 2002
by L.A. Weekly Books
(first published January 1st 2001)
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This book is refreshing in many, many ways--how to count them? For one, it is refreshing to see ample proof of the rumors that Bruce Campbell is a friendly and considerate man--how pleasant it is to see an autobiography of someone in the movie biz who seems as concerned about the crew and those he has worked with as with relating the story of his own climb. Campbell shows a real fascination for the process of filming stories as with his own stardom. A lot of time in this book is spent on the mak...more
After hearing Bruce kick all this @$$ on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, was reminded to put this on at the top of the to-reads.
Having been raised on the Evil Dead (culminating in my official designation by Bruce Campbell himself as the "#1 fan", in writing, on my VHS copy), I was excited to read those parts of the book, and Bruce didn't disappoint. Fake blood recipe, dentist investment cabal, and all.
What I wasn't expecting, and really enjoyed, were the origin stories about himself, his group of chil...more
Having been raised on the Evil Dead (culminating in my official designation by Bruce Campbell himself as the "#1 fan", in writing, on my VHS copy), I was excited to read those parts of the book, and Bruce didn't disappoint. Fake blood recipe, dentist investment cabal, and all.
What I wasn't expecting, and really enjoyed, were the origin stories about himself, his group of chil...more
Sep 09, 2007
Shira Karp
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People who like humor
I took this book out of the library on recommendation from a friend, but wasn't really expecting much out of it. Sure, I love Bruce Campbell as much as the next Hercules/Xena/Spiderman movies fan does, but I usually find these autobiographies dry and boring, filled with technical details of things I just don't care about. As much as I love memoirs, if it's in the autobiography section (as this was), I shy away. But I underestimated Bruce. Is that technical stuff in there? Sure it is, but he KNOW...more
So I met Bruce Campbell. He came to my high school because it was close to where he and Sam Rami would make 8mm films back when they were kids. Infact, areas that I grew up in were actually in the book. I have read a handful of biographies and most of them at some point were pompous and these writers spoke about themselves in a way to separate themselves from common people... with that said Bruce does not do that. He does not see himself as a huge star and pokes fun at himself along the way. His...more
Excellent. Of course it's funny. Of course it's brilliant. But here's the rub. Campbell has starred in B-movies, been a bit actor in blockbusters, and has also both directed and written for film/t.v. Even more, his first films are on Super-8. Shot by himself and a group of friends, including Sam Raimi (Spiderman), starting at the ages of 18-21.
The book outlines the gangs' career from their garage,s to raising their own money for theatrically released independent films (Evil Dead et al), to bein...more
The book outlines the gangs' career from their garage,s to raising their own money for theatrically released independent films (Evil Dead et al), to bein...more
There are, basically, two kinds of people in the world: those to whom Bruce Campbell is Jesus, Schwarzenegger and the Three Stooges rolled into one, and then the rest. (Most of the rest, amazingly, have never even heard of him.) As he observes at one point in the book, the difference between a mainstream movie and a cult movie is that the former might be seen by 100,000 people 10 times whereas the latter is seen by 10 people 100,000 times.
His autobiography is one of the most fun - and funny - bo...more
His autobiography is one of the most fun - and funny - bo...more
There I am, milling about the used book store when what do I see? The Bruce Campbell autobiography I didn't even know existed. Interested, I pick it up and what greets me inside the cover?
"Gimme some sugar, baby!!" -Bruce Campbell
A signed copy (and his best catch phrase, no less) ensured my immediate purchase and found me well into the book within the hour.
I love Bruce Campbell and this book only improved the picture I have of him. He's funny and self-deprecating, straight forward, and amazingly...more
"Gimme some sugar, baby!!" -Bruce Campbell
A signed copy (and his best catch phrase, no less) ensured my immediate purchase and found me well into the book within the hour.
I love Bruce Campbell and this book only improved the picture I have of him. He's funny and self-deprecating, straight forward, and amazingly...more
'If Chins Could Kill' is the biography of Bruce Campbell, star of the 'Evil Dead' movie series, TV's 'Brisco County Jr.,' and more. He has a cult following owing to his wise-cracking everyman hero persona. Barry Neville, Campbell's editor, writes the humorous foreword. In the introduction, Bruce dedicates the book to "the players on the second string, the "B" people," of which he includes himself as a member. The 2002 paperback edition also includes a 39-page addendum: 'Chins Across America, The...more
This wasn't one of the books I'd usually pick to read (I'm not much for celebrity bio's or autobio's, and I'd never even seen a whole movie with Bruce Campbell before), but it was picked by someone in my reading group, so I decided to give it a shot.
Surprisingly, I liked it! Campbell's got a nicely self-deprecating style, and he tells a story well, especially if it's about one of those situations that you only get through by telling yourself, "This will make a great story if I survive!" And the...more
Surprisingly, I liked it! Campbell's got a nicely self-deprecating style, and he tells a story well, especially if it's about one of those situations that you only get through by telling yourself, "This will make a great story if I survive!" And the...more
I enjoyed this book. Bruce Campbell is extremely charismatic in writing. Reading the book feels like you are listening to him dominate a dinner party with stories from his life. He goes into detail about his life, from childhood, where he planned sneak attacks on his brothers, to adulthood, where he was conned into bit roles by his friends. It takes a good look at the life of your less famous stars, the character actors or the secondary roles. It goes through the process of making a movie yourse...more
This is Bruce's auto-bio in a nutshell. From his youth to his latest misadventures in the acting world. Mostly this covers before his time in Burn Notice. But it does let people learn all about the man that is Bruce Campbell. Dry wit and wry humor make this a good read about those who life is on the big and small screen.
It breaks down the 4th wall and lets people see the bad side of Hollyweird that Bruce was exposed to and kept himself smartly away from. While he's a "B" movie actor, thanks to...more
It breaks down the 4th wall and lets people see the bad side of Hollyweird that Bruce was exposed to and kept himself smartly away from. While he's a "B" movie actor, thanks to...more
Bruce is always entertaining with his witty sense of humor; he is in-your-face and down-to-earth. I've seen him at a Xena convention and I admire his blunt disposition telling it like it is. It was enlightening getting a look behind-the-scenes of the movies and all the little quirks that come up. This book jarred memories of my childhood growing up watching "Army of Darkness" over and over and laughing every time. Throughout my life my family has quoted "Give me some sugar baby" and "You found m...more
I almost always forget this book when people ask what my five favorite books are. I don't know why, it's one of the few books I've read multiple times. I read this book before ever really seeing Bruce Campbell, it just happened to be on a friend's shelf and I was looking for something new to read. I've since reread it after rediscovering my love of theater and loved it more than the entertaining read it was the first time around. Bruce has never been more than a cult star, but he gets to be a wo...more
I finally got all the Quarry books & was dying to read them, so why did I read this instead? Am I a FAN? A Deadite? Yeah, sort of. I've loved the Evil Dead movies since... well, a really long time, and I've liked Bruce Campbell's acting. He doesn't seem to take himself too seriously & his on-screen sense of humor seems to mesh well with mine. After reading this book, I understand why.
Let me qualify this by saying I'm not much for following actors or famous people. When I heard Mel Gibson...more
Let me qualify this by saying I'm not much for following actors or famous people. When I heard Mel Gibson...more
Have you ever romanticized the notion of scrapping together as much money as possible, besting the odds stacked up against you and filming a low-budget movie purely because it was your dream to do so? Bruce Campbell's recounting of doing so in the late 70's, along with long-time friend and collaborator director Sam Raimi, will either encourage you or frighten you away. Vivid tales of grueling hours, on set antics and multiple injuries will draw you right in to life during pre-production, on loca...more
I really enjoyed this book. It was autobiographical in nature and is more than anything a collection of short stories about Bruce Campbell's life from childhood up until his days on Hercules and Xena. I read the paperback version, which also included an addendum about his book tour. I appreciated the insight of an actor who is just glad to be working in the profession and having fun doing it. I think the book would be most appreciated by people who are already fans of Bruce Campbell's but there...more
This is a good book. It's a "pre-Burn Notice" "memoir" from Bruce Campbell (the only person to ever "almost" convince me to try Old Spice). I'm not big on "showbiz", movie-star, "my climb to fame" or "my crash from fame" books. That's not what this is. It's just what Campbell says it is, the story of a "work-a-day actor"...and it includes a lot of laughs.
I think I was sold on this book early on as I could identify with a lot of the "childhood" stories BC related here. (When I was a kid the "gree...more
I think I was sold on this book early on as I could identify with a lot of the "childhood" stories BC related here. (When I was a kid the "gree...more
Who would have thought Bruce Campbell could be such an insightful and harrowing author? His autobiography (which I must admit I suspected of a teeny little ghost writing) is a must-have for any Evil Dead or B-movie fan, of which I am both. His book chronicles growing up in Michigan, the beginnings of all his Sam Raimi hijinks, and then moves on to his film career up through Spider-Man.
The chapters detailing the making of the Evil Dead films, as well as how much Campbell struggled in the early da...more
The chapters detailing the making of the Evil Dead films, as well as how much Campbell struggled in the early da...more
Aug 03, 2011
Cchauvet
added it
This is very obviously written by Bruce Campbell (or at least a very good ghost writer), which is both a good thing and a bad thing. As much as I loved the material, some of the writing was a little weak and I definitely skimmed a few pages because I knew I was not missing much in them. That said, the book is an exhaustive biography, spanning the whole of his career. It's interesting in that it cover pretty much every thing he did in between his "big" movies. There's no glossing over things like...more
Aug 18, 2010
Christina
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Bruce Campbell fans, movie lovers
Recommended to Christina by:
Chip
I've never really loved "Evil Dead" or many of Bruce Campbell's other movies. ("Bubba Ho-Tep," however, is totally awesome.)
I would kind of smile and nod whenever Jim or one of my other guy friends would talk about how great Bruce Campbell was.
And I only read "If Chins Could Kill" because I felt like I had to.
It turned out to be a great book, and it gave me a lot of respect for Bruce Campbell as a person and an actor.
Campbell has truly worked his way up from the bottom (I don't think it gets mu...more
I would kind of smile and nod whenever Jim or one of my other guy friends would talk about how great Bruce Campbell was.
And I only read "If Chins Could Kill" because I felt like I had to.
It turned out to be a great book, and it gave me a lot of respect for Bruce Campbell as a person and an actor.
Campbell has truly worked his way up from the bottom (I don't think it gets mu...more
Bruce Campbell is my hero and this book was excellent. I loved how it was written in his voice and learning the history behind all of his work starting back at day one was entertaining, especially since it was told by him. Now I have to Q up Briscoe, Hercules and Xena, as well as his filmography to view everything in light of this book!
I adore Bruce Campbell and this book only helped deepen that adoration. He's a witty, fun read, with insights to the industry that only someone on the inside of Hollywood hoopla can provide.
It illustrates his journey from childhood to B-movie star with moments that are touching, hilarious, quirky, and just plain fun to read.
It illustrates his journey from childhood to B-movie star with moments that are touching, hilarious, quirky, and just plain fun to read.
As a avid Bruce Campbell fan, I must admit that my review is biased. It was a real treat to get the inside details on some of his projects, especially the amount of detail he goes into in describing his first project with Rob Tapert & Sam Raimi, the notorious 'EVIL DEAD'. A pretty inspiring tale for the DIYer in all of us.
That being said, I have to admit the book meanders at times, and goes into some personal anecdotes that aren't particularly interesting or relevant to Campbell's career....more
That being said, I have to admit the book meanders at times, and goes into some personal anecdotes that aren't particularly interesting or relevant to Campbell's career....more
This book will most likely only be read by fans of Mr Campbell but this is actually a perfect book for people interested in the film or tv industry. The book focuses almost solely on Bruce's working life with only brief mentions of his personal life.
The story of how they made Evil Dead is the best part of the book from struggling to raise money to hell like conditions on the film set and I loved learning things about their film making such as the homemade cameras they made to the difference betw...more
The story of how they made Evil Dead is the best part of the book from struggling to raise money to hell like conditions on the film set and I loved learning things about their film making such as the homemade cameras they made to the difference betw...more
Look, there isn't really much I can say about this book; it pretty much confirms everything I've ever thought about Bruce Campbell, first and foremost that he is a guy who embraces the ridiculous and doesn't really take himself too seriously. I loved the insight into the horror (pun intended) of making movies with Sam Raimi when they were both just young guys who pretty much spent all their time messing around and seeing what would happen- I can't say I came out of this with the same good opinio...more
Love me some Bruce Campbell. A lively history of a Great B Movie Actor. I will go out of my way to read/see/find anything with Bruce's name on it, and reading this book only confirms that this is a wise path.
I read this quite a few years ago, and there are anecdotes that still stick with me, like his growing up in a wooded neighborhood and shooting kids with BBs, and the challenges overcome while filming the Evil Dead movies -- hell, creating groundbreaking tactics.
If I ever had a storybook her...more
I read this quite a few years ago, and there are anecdotes that still stick with me, like his growing up in a wooded neighborhood and shooting kids with BBs, and the challenges overcome while filming the Evil Dead movies -- hell, creating groundbreaking tactics.
If I ever had a storybook her...more
I was looking for something to read, and my to-read list was full of books I wanted to read, just not now. So, I went to one of my favorite websites (Goodreads) to see what they would recommend to me. I found myself clicking on biographies and one of the books at the top of recommendations was If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell. The book has a high rating and I love watching a good B-Movie (and such things do exist). I've seen several movies Starring Bruce (Evi...more
This was given to me by my colleague. When I first opened it, I thought "Bruce Who?". Having not seen The Evil Dead, I had no idea who Bruce Campbell was until I recognised him in Burn Notice.
I decided to give the book a read anyway and the thing that shocked me was just how modest Campbell is for an actor. For an auto-biography, it's amazing just how much of it is dedicated to the amazing people that he has worked with over the years. People which spend their lives behind the camera and get no...more
I decided to give the book a read anyway and the thing that shocked me was just how modest Campbell is for an actor. For an auto-biography, it's amazing just how much of it is dedicated to the amazing people that he has worked with over the years. People which spend their lives behind the camera and get no...more
If you're not a fan of Bruce Campbell or have no idea who he is then this book probably isn't for you. However, for those of us that are or at least have some interest in acting and/or film making, this book is really great. Campbell writes with plenty of humor and it just feels like he's just casually chatting with you about his experiences with fans and making movies/tv shows. We get a really great insider look at the making of Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" as well as other short films Bruce and Sam...more
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Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American actor, producer, writer and director. He is best known for his starring role as Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy of horror/slapstick movies, and has since become a B-movie icon.
His acting style is an "over-the-top" machismo that lends itself well to roles such as that of Ash Williams, whom Campbell himself has dubbed "an idiot and a jerk like the rest of us". This s...more
More about Bruce Campbell...
His acting style is an "over-the-top" machismo that lends itself well to roles such as that of Ash Williams, whom Campbell himself has dubbed "an idiot and a jerk like the rest of us". This s...more
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“Once you look past the hype, actors are nothing more than fugitives from reality who specialize in contradiction: we are both children and hardened adults—wide-eyed pupils and jaded working stiffs.”
—
13 people liked it
“…Sam [Raimi] wanted the climactic sword fight to play out as elegantly as a Fred Astaire movie and he wanted it all in one crane shot.
I must have rehearsed the routine for three weeks, but when it came time to shoot, the rigors of running up and down steps, fighting with both hands, and flipping skeletons over my head was too much to pull off without cuts. After ten takes, I knew Sam was pissed off, because he yanked the bullhorn from John Cameron.
‘Okay, obviously, this is NOT WORKING, and it’s NOT GOING TO WORK, so we’re going to break it up into A THOUSAND LITTLE PIECES.’
When Sam gets upset, he lets you know it, and he’ll torture you for days afterward because he’s one of those guys who never forgets. The first ‘little piece’ of the sequence was a shot of me ducking as a sword glances off the stone wall behind me.
‘So, you think you can do this, Bruce?’ he’d say, loud enough for the entire crew to hear. ‘Or should I break this ONE shot into THREE MORE SHOTS?’
Sam also threatened to put Ash in a chorus line with skeletons.”
—
8 people liked it
More quotes…
I must have rehearsed the routine for three weeks, but when it came time to shoot, the rigors of running up and down steps, fighting with both hands, and flipping skeletons over my head was too much to pull off without cuts. After ten takes, I knew Sam was pissed off, because he yanked the bullhorn from John Cameron.
‘Okay, obviously, this is NOT WORKING, and it’s NOT GOING TO WORK, so we’re going to break it up into A THOUSAND LITTLE PIECES.’
When Sam gets upset, he lets you know it, and he’ll torture you for days afterward because he’s one of those guys who never forgets. The first ‘little piece’ of the sequence was a shot of me ducking as a sword glances off the stone wall behind me.
‘So, you think you can do this, Bruce?’ he’d say, loud enough for the entire crew to hear. ‘Or should I break this ONE shot into THREE MORE SHOTS?’
Sam also threatened to put Ash in a chorus line with skeletons.”

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Jul 31, 2008 12:33pm