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

by Bruce Campbell, Craig Sanborn, John Hodgman (Introduction)

Overview

The New York Times bestselling raucous and sardonic memoir from Bruce Campbell, a follow-up to the New York Times bestselling If Chins Could Kill, now with all new material

With an introduction by New York Times bestselling author and famous minor television personality John Hodgman.

Hail to the Chin is the new raucous and sardonic memoir from Bruce Campbell, a follow-up to the New York Times bestselling If Chins Could Kill. It’s been 15 years since his first memoir but Bruce is still living the dream as a "B" movie king in an "A" movie world.

His roles have been as varied as they are numerous—from the Spider-Man movies to his self-referential My Name is Bruce to the #1 show Burn Notice and his STARZ hit series Ash vs Evil Dead. Bruce covers the professional and the personal with stories about his quickly canceled series Jack of All Trades, working on Sci-Fi Channel movies in Bulgaria and playing Santa Claus and Ronald Reagan as well as his move from Los Angeles to Oregon where he distills lavender and joins the local Elks club.

And now in this updated paperback, Bruce shares brand new stories from his life since the hardcover's publication, including a requiem of Ash and details from his European book tour.

Hail to the Chin will be bursting with pictures and the signature humor that Bruce brought to If Chins Could Kill and will be devoured by his legions of fans across the country.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250178190
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	403,719
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

In 1979 with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, BRUCE CAMPBELL filmed the Evil Dead, which he starred in and co-executive produced. Bruce has written back-to-back New York Times bestsellers, appeared in all three of 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 season three of the Ash Vs. Evil Dead TV series on Starz in 2018.

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher

06/19/2017
Best known as Ash from the Evil Dead films, Campbell (Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way) returns with another self-effacing memoir about his life on the big and small screen. Campbell provides a minirecap of his career, leading up to his second failure as a TV leading man, in the quickly cancelled series Jack of All Trades. That occurrence prompts him to move from Los Angeles to Oregon, where he distills lavender and joins the local Elks Club. But soon he is off to Bulgaria to make Sci-Fi Channel movies, wreck a Vespa, and get a nasty infection. 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. Whether he is describing dealing with torn hamstrings during the Burn Notice shoot or crossing playing Santa Claus and Ronald Reagan off his bucket list, Campbell is always entertaining, and his smart-ass style makes for a groovy ride. He ends his book with his thoughts on both the Evil Dead movie remake and his current Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series. Fans will eagerly await a sequel. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writer’s House. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2017
Campbell (the "Evil Dead" trilogy; Xena: Warrior Princess; Burn Notice), one of Hollywood's most recognizable B-list actors, continues his life story first told 15 years ago in the New York Times best seller If Chins Could Kill. With his typical deadpan humor, here the actor regales his readers with further accounts of his career, such as the time he played a still-alive albeit elderly Elvis who battles monsters in the desert (2002's Bubba Ho-Tep) as well as his lesser-known personal journeys, such as when he and his wife totalled four cars within a year of moving to a home in backwoods Oregon. 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. VERDICT 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.—Tyler Hixson, Brooklyn P.L.

Library Journal

2017-05-25
The anecdotal sequel to the cult actor's bestselling memoir.Campbell (Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way, 2005, etc.) describes this book as "part two of a three-act story," and it often feels like a place holder, following the surprise success of If Chins Could Kill (2001) and anticipating whatever is to come. A perennially working actor in B-movies and cable series, the author explains the extended interval between his first book and this one: "like a slow-growing oak, it could take fifteen years for me to amass enough anecdotes for another autobiography." During this time, Campbell avoided typecasting by playing both Santa Claus and a 68-year-old Elvis Presley suffering from penis cancer. He had adventures shooting movies in Bulgaria, New Zealand, and the Navajo country of New Mexico. He and his wife moved to Oregon, where he joined the Elks Lodge, whose members thought he was making fun of them when he took the pledge. "I'm an actual actor, so I'm prone to be a bit more ‘theatrical,' " he reassured them. Then he explains to readers, "aside from being old-fashioned and a little kitschy, the organization donates a lot of money to charity and the drinks are really cheap!" Among other discoveries, Campbell learned that Oregon culture is possibly even crazier than that in LA and that driving there is definitely more dangerous. And the secret to Hollywood? "It's really just a big, tangled web of schmoes who keep running into each other over and over." Fortunately, one of Campbell's schmoes is Sam Raimi, a lifelong friend since they were kids playing with Super-8 film and later one of the highest-paid directors in the business. Through Raimi, Campbell landed bit roles in the first three Spider-Man movies. The author's work on the Burn Notice TV series and his cult movies, including Evil Dead, have brought him a variety of fruitful opportunities, including an invitation to entertain the troops in Iraq. A breezy read through a breezy life.

Kirkus Reviews