My Name Is Bruce | |
---|---|
Directed by | Bruce Campbell |
Written by | Mark Verheiden |
Produced by | Bruce Campbell Mike Richardson |
Starring | Bruce Campbell Grace Thorsen Taylor Sharpe Ted Raimi James Peck Ellen Sandweiss Ben McCain |
Cinematography | Kurt Rauf |
Edited by | M. Scott Smith |
Music by | Joseph LoDuca Ben McCain Butch McCain |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Image Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.5 million |
Box office | $173,066 |
My Name Is Bruce is a 2007 American comedy horror film directed, co-produced by, and starring B-movie cult actor Bruce Campbell. The film was written by Mark Verheiden. It had a theatrical release in October 2008, [1] followed by DVD and Blu-ray releases on February 10, 2009. [2]
Although Sam Raimi, with whom Bruce frequently collaborates, is not involved with this production, much of the film is in the vein of the Evil Dead series. Ted Raimi (Sam's brother), also a frequent collaborator, appears in this film.
Campbell has shown several minutes of the movie during some of his campus lectures, as well as a few public screenings, including showings at the sixth annual Ashland Independent Film Festival, CineVegas and the 11th annual East Lansing Film Festival. A trailer was released for the film, as well, and is available on various websites. A screening was held at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Tickets for the show sold out in less than two minutes, breaking the previous Alamo ticket sellout record, which was also set by a Bruce Campbell appearance at the theater in 1998.
In the mining town of Gold Lick, Oregon, Jeff (Taylor Sharpe), a young fan of B-movie actor Bruce Campbell, and his friend Clayton (Logan Martin) go out to a cemetery to meet two girls, Big Debbie (Ariel Badenhop) and Little Debbie (Ali Akay). Jeff removes a medallion off the mausoleum, unleashing the Chinese god of the dead, Guan Di (James Peck), who kills Clayton and the Debbies while Jeff flees.
Meanwhile, Bruce Campbell is finishing filming for the fictional Cave Alien II, and is promised a birthday surprise from his agent, Mills Toddner (Ted Raimi). Bruce meets Jeff, who kidnaps Campbell and takes him to Gold Lick in hopes that his hero can save the town from Guan Di. Upon arrival, Bruce assumes this is his birthday surprise from Mills, and thinks it is all a movie, despite a lack of cameras and a script, and agrees to "help". He learns about Guan Di in the town's hall, and during a dinner party, Bruce gets on the good side of Jeff's mother, Kelly (Grace Thorsen), who had initially been irritated by Bruce's behavior.
After gearing up at Gold Lick's gun shop, Bruce and many citizens of Gold Lick go out into the woods to take on Guan Di, which Bruce still thinks is part of a movie. Bruce then finds out that it is all real and flees Gold Lick, angering the townspeople, disappointing Kelly, and upsetting Jeff. As part of a running gag, an Italian painter (also played by Ted Raimi) constantly repaints the population sign every time someone dies, including himself. Bruce returns to his caravan to find that everyone, including his own dog, hates him a lot. He has a restraining order placed upon him by his ex-wife, Cheryl (Ellen Sandweiss), and finds that his "surprise birthday present" from Mills was just a singing prostitute named Kasey (Janelle Farber). Bruce is then called by Jeff, who informs him that he is going to take on Guan Di alone in spite of Bruce's retreat.
Kasey takes Bruce back to Gold Lick, where he is treated with contempt and tries to reconcile with Kelly. To rescue Jeff, they both drive to the old cemetery, in which they set up dynamite at the mausoleum and try to lure Guan Di inside with one of Jeff's cardboard cut-outs of Bruce, for which Guan Di does not fall. After kissing Kelly, Bruce decides to sacrifice himself (with bean curd playing a significant role in luring Guan Di) and the dynamite is blown up. He emerges from the debris alive, and hangs the medallion back onto the mausoleum wall to ease the spirit. Guan Di then also comes back to life, and at the last minute, as revealed, the whole scenario was a movie. Bruce argues with Ted Raimi about the cliche ending and turns it into a happy ending, which involves Bruce and Kelly married, living in a nice house with their son, Jeff, who is accepted into Harvard University. After the movie ends, Bruce asks, "What could be a better ending than that?", after which Guan Di appears and attacks Bruce.
Over a year's gap occurred between the film's earliest screenings and its wider release in October 2008. Dark Horse Comics' Mike Richardson commented on this: [3]
"'Some people maybe thought the film fell out or that there was something wrong with it,' Richardson says, touching on Bruce's slow journey getting before wide audiences. It was roughly a year ago that it screened to CineVegas film fest attendees. 'We did our shoot, put it in the can and the studio that financed it liked it so much they gave us more money to do a second shoot. We beefed it up so it could go into the theaters.'" [3]
For the week of November 12, 2008, My Name is Bruce took in $18,777 from its showing at the Sunshine Theater in New York. [4]
Reviews of My Name is Bruce were mixed. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 40% of 40 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10.The website's consensus reads: "My Name Is Bruce succeeds or fails based entirely upon the viewer's opinion of Bruce Campbell, an unreasonable burden for even the most accomplished actor." [5]
One positive review came from Nick Rogers of Suite101.com, saying, "My Name is Bruce won't give you sugar, baby. Not on its budget. But Splenda works fine as a substitute for this Kool-Aid, which Campbell knows fans will happily drink. A little bit of purposefully lousy filmmaking winds up going a long way." One negative review came from Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed, calling it "Smug, silly, and forgettable, this vanity project wants to be the next cult hit, but really is just another vehicle for Bruce Campbell."
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on February 10, 2009. [6] [7]
Richardson said that a sequel, titled My Name is Still Bruce, is in the works. Dark Horse Entertainment and Image Entertainment will distribute both films. [3] The title for the second film has since been changed to Bruce vs. Frankenstein. [8]
In a message sent in January 2010, to Ain't It Cool News, Campbell officially announced the sequel, stating that "principal photography begins this fall in Oregon." [9] In April, Ted Raimi confirmed that he would be involved with the project. [10] Campbell declared himself the director, saying, "no one will volunteer, so it's me." [11]
In September 2008, Dark Horse Comics published a single-issue comic-book adaptation of the movie. The script was adapted by Milton Freewater, Jr., and the art was by Cliff Richards. [12]
Army of Darkness is a 1992 American dark fantasy comedy film directed, co-written, and co-edited by Sam Raimi. The film is the third installment in the Evil Dead film series and the sequel to Evil Dead II (1987). Starring Bruce Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it follows Ash Williams (Campbell) as he is trapped in the Middle Ages and battles the undead in his quest to return to the present.
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead horror series, beginning with the short movie Within the Woods (1978). He has also featured in many low-budget cult movies such as Crimewave (1985), Maniac Cop (1988), Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989), and Bubba Ho-Tep (2002).
The Evil Dead is a 1981 American independent supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi. The film stars Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker, and Theresa Tilly as five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in the woods, where they find an audio tape that, when played, releases a legion of demons and spirits. Four members of the group suffer from demonic possession, forcing the fifth member, Ash Williams (Campbell), to survive an onslaught of increasingly gory mayhem.
Evil Dead II is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Sam Raimi, who co-wrote it with Scott Spiegel. The second installment in the Evil Dead film series, it is considered both a remake and sequel to The Evil Dead (1981). It stars Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, who vacations with his girlfriend to a remote cabin in the woods. He discovers an audio tape of recitations from a book of ancient texts, and when the recording is played, it unleashes a number of demons which possess and torment him.
Samuel M. Raimi is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for directing the first three films in the Evil Dead franchise (1981-present) and the Spider-Man trilogy (2002-2007). He also directed the superhero movie Darkman (1990), the revisionist western The Quick and the Dead (1995), the neo-noir crime thriller A Simple Plan (1998), the supernatural thriller The Gift (2000), the supernatural horror Drag Me to Hell (2009), the Disney fantasy Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and the Marvel Studios film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
Frankenstein is a 1931 American pre-Code science fiction horror film directed by James Whale, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., and adapted from a 1927 play by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell.
Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Peter Boyle portrayed the monster. The film co-stars Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, and Gene Hackman.
Within the Woods is a 1978 horror short film written, directed and produced by Sam Raimi. Raimi drew inspiration from his earlier short film Clockwork, deciding to produce a proof of concept horror film to help build the interest of potential investors. Raimi cast his friends Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss as the two protagonists and produced the film for $1,600. Shot on location in a remote cabin in the woods, production was a difficult process because of the low budget. Several of the special effects presented in the film were done in a severely low budget manner, some of which were improvised on set. The film centers around demonic possession and mysterious forces originating from the woods.
Darkman is a 1990 American superhero film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. The film stars Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake, who is brutally attacked, disfigured, and left for dead by ruthless mobster Robert Durant, after his girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings, runs afoul of corrupt developer Louis Strack Jr.. An experimental treatment gives Westlake super-human strength and resilience, with the unintended side-effect of rendering him mentally unstable and borderline psychotic. Consumed with vengeance, Westlake continues his research with the new goal of hunting down those who disfigured him.
Crimewave is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Sam Raimi, from a screenplay he co-wrote with the Coen brothers. It stars Reed Birney, Sheree J. Wilson, Paul L. Smith, Brion James, Louise Lasser and Bruce Campbell, with the latter also serving as a co-producer. An unusual slapstick mix of film noir, black comedy, Hitchcockian suspense, and B-movie conventions, Crimewave portrays bizarre situations involving a nebbish everyman (Birney) entangled in a murderous plot while pursuing his love interest (Wilson).
Ellen Sandweiss is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Cheryl Williams in The Evil Dead franchise.
Evil Dead is an American comedy horror franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of five feature films and a television series. The series originally revolves around the grimoire the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text that wreaks havoc upon a group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Tennessee.
Thou Shalt Not Kill ... Except, also known as Stryker's War, is a 1985 American action horror film directed by Josh Becker and starring Robert Rickman, John Manfredi, Tim Quill, Cheryl Hausen, Perry Mallette and Sam Raimi. It was written by Becker and Scott Spiegel from a story by Becker, actor Bruce Campbell, and Sheldon Lettich.
Joshua Matthew Becker is an American film and television writer and director and author whose credits include episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess as well as collaborations with Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi.
Bob Murawski is an American film editor. He was awarded the 2010 Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his work on The Hurt Locker, which he shared with his wife, fellow editor Chris Innis. He often works with film director Sam Raimi, having edited the Spider-Man trilogy, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Murawski is an elected member of the American Cinema Editors, and is the co-founder of Grindhouse Releasing, an acclaimed film distribution company specializing in re-releases of cult films.
Intruder is a 1989 American slasher film written and directed by Scott Spiegel, and co-written and produced by Lawrence Bender. It received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise given for its unique setting of a grocery store for a slasher film.
Ben McCain is an American actor, broadcaster, producer and one half of The McCain Brothers, a singing-songwriting duo. McCain appeared as news anchor Aries West in MGM's comedy Bio-Dome, the character, Travis, in Roger Corman's remake Humanoids From The Deep, and the Mayor of Gold Lick in Bruce Campbell's My Name Is Bruce. Ben and his brother, Butch McCain, also wrote and performed the theme song in My Name is Bruce titled "The Legend of Guan Di". McCain had a recurring role as news anchor Brock Thompson in ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and another recurring role as newscaster Don MacDonald in SyFy's Black Scorpion.
Evil Dead is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues. Dubbed a "re-imagining" of The Evil Dead (1981), the film is the fourth installment in the Evil Dead film series. It stars Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, and Elizabeth Blackmore. The story follows a group of five people under attack by deadites in a remote cabin in the woods.
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Evil Dead Rise is a 2023 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Lee Cronin. It is a standalone entry and the fifth installment in the Evil Dead film series. The film stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland as two estranged sisters trying to survive and save their family from deadites. Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher appear in supporting roles.