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By
Suzanne

Interview with Bruce Campbell of "Lodge
49" on AMC 9/27/18
It was great to speak with Bruce on
the phone for 10 minutes. I wish we'd had longer. I had a
list of questions, but I only asked a few because we were
just chatting so much about the show. He seems like such a
nice, charming, smart, funny and interesting guy, just like
so many of the characters he plays.
I know, it's not very professional to
gush, but he's been one of my favorite actors ever since he
starred in the short-lived TV series "The
Adventures of Brisco County Jr." in 1993. You may
know him from the Evil Dead movies or one of his many
wonderful TV roles in "Burn
Notice," "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," "Xena:
Warrior Princess," his starring role in "Jack of All Trades"
or the recent Evil Dead TV series "Ash Vs. Evil Dead" on
Starz. Honestly, I think he would have made a great
superhero, especially Superman or Batman.
In "Lodge 49," a fun drama-comedy on
AMC, the characters talk about an almost-mythical real
estate developer, "The Captain," AKA Gary (Bruce, of
course). It's a very good show that airs on Mondays, and
Bruce joins in the last few episodes. I sure hope it's
renewed for Season 2!
Here's the
audio of
our interview. Below is the transcript.
Lauren: Bruce, I have Suzanne for
you.
Bruce: Hello.
Suzanne: Hi, Bruce. How are
you?
Bruce: I'm spectacular. How are you?
Suzanne: Good, good. I just finished binge-watching "Lodge
49."
Bruce: Wow, crazy. What is it, ten episodes? Is
that what it is?
Suzanne: Yeah, yeah. It was great.
It was awesome.
Bruce: It's a kooky show, isn't it?
Suzanne: It is, it really is. And at first I thought it
was a little too slow, and then it kind of drew me in, and
then I was hooked.
Bruce: It's the type of thing
that you actually have to, you need the right mental shift
when you watch the show. You need to be willing to settle
in.
Suzanne: Well, yeah.
Bruce: The weather's
getting lousy. It started to rain. Fall's coming. It's the
perfect show. You settle in and just let it take you away.
You know why I think it's going to succeed is because it's
not trying too hard.
Suzanne: Yeah, I saw somebody-
Bruce: A lot of these shows are really trying to hold
your attention.
Suzanne: Right, that's true. Well,
you know, there's so many little details, though, too. And
so many layers to it, and then when stuff happens, you kind
of go, "Oh yeah, that's why they said that way back in that
other episode."
Bruce: That's right. Like my
character, they keep alluding to The Captain.
Suzanne: Right, right. I kind of figured you would be-
Bruce: He took a while to show up.
Suzanne: I
kind of figured you would be The Captain only because I knew
you were going to be in the episode. Otherwise, it would
have been a total shock.
Bruce: That's right.
Suzanne: There was something, I can't remember now what it
was. I just saw in the last few episodes, "Oh yeah, they
said that". It's funny.
Bruce: That's right, yeah.
Good writing.
Suzanne: Yeah, oh, no, it's wonderful
writing. And I think the best part of it, I mean, the
story's really good and everything. I like the characters.
The characters are just great, and it's so rare to find TV
shows-
Bruce: Very interesting characters. Yeah, you
normally don't have TV shows about plumbing supplies
salesmen. It's not going to happen. They're either ER
doctors, or they're saving someone's life-
Suzanne:
Cops.
Bruce: Or you're an alcoholic cop. It's never
just some kooky random guy. That's why, again, I think
you're right, the characters will hook you.
Suzanne:
Yeah, and it's really rare to get such a depth of character
in a TV show. You get more depth-
Bruce: It is.
Although, that is the beauty of TV is if any actor's ever
looking for character development, that's where you'll find
it. You won't find it in an hour and a half movie. You'll
find it in ten hours of television.
Suzanne: Sure.
But it's rare that it's this good, to be honest. I watch a
lot of TV.
Bruce: TV used to have the worst writers
on the planet, now they have the best.
Suzanne: Yeah,
you're right about that.
Bruce: Different
environment now.
Suzanne: So how did this part come
about for you?
Bruce: Mr. Paul Giamatti. He, as one
of the executive producer pants of the show, he and I have
been sort of acquaintances, but we've never worked together.
He sent me an email. And I was just finishing up a 35-city
book tour last fall. And I wasn't looking to do
anything. I was looking to go suck my thumb for a couple of
months back home in Oregon. And he goes, "Look, you gotta
read it because you gotta do it." And he's a really good
actor. When a good actor is saying, "You gotta take this
part because it's for you, you need to do this part." I was
like, "Whatever." So then I read it, I was like, "Oh crap,
you're right." So my last book signing was in Tampa, I had
to turn the car around and race up to Atlanta to shoot the
show.
Suzanne: Oh, that's interesting. They shot it
in Atlanta?
Bruce: They do. They shoot everything in
Atlanta now.
Suzanne: That's true. I figured since-
Bruce: It's the new hotspot.
Suzanne: I figured
since it takes place in Long Beach, they'd just shoot in
Long Beach, but I guess that-
Bruce: No, it's that
crazy incentives various states offer. And Georgia is
succeeding tremendously because they give incentive on the
entire budget, not just what money is spent in the state. So
the fat cat producer can get a rebate on his salary too.
Suzanne: That's interesting.
Bruce: So believe
me, that's why, "Oh, it takes place in Alaska? Good,
we're shooting in Atlanta." It's just too enticing.
Suzanne: Well, it does snow in Atlanta, I'm not sure it's
enough to make it look like Alaska, but I guess in the
summertime...
Bruce: They have special effects for
that.
Suzanne: Oh, right. In fact, it's funny because
I live in a small town in Arkansas, and I know two people-
Bruce: Wow.
Suzanne: I know. I met two people in
the last few months who said they're moving to Atlanta. One
because he does some kind of technical camera crew thing I
don't understand, and the other one's an actor. And they
were like, "Oh, yeah, Atlanta's the place to go."
Bruce: Believe me, that is the ... What was the hotspot
before? Like my state of Michigan had a good incentive for a
while, so that was cooking for a while, then they rescinded
that. Every time they rescind it because I think the states
are starting to realize that maybe they don't get all their
money back. And why should just one industry get special
treatment? I never understood that. My home state of
Michigan, why did the auto industry not get the special
treatment?
Suzanne: Good point.
Bruce: Kind of
weird. I think because we're a sexy industry.
Suzanne: Right. Well, it probably brings in tourists, don't
you think? People say, "Oh, I want to go where my favorite
TV show is filmed," or whatever.
Bruce: Yeah, kind
of. They started to do like a "Burn Notice" tour.
Suzanne: Oh, really. Wow. That would be cool. I never-
Lauren: Hi.
Suzanne: Sorry.
Lauren: Sorry,
I have to jump in. You only have a couple more minutes.
Suzanne: Oh no. Okay, so gosh, let me go through my list
here. Have you heard anything about a season two yet?
Bruce: No. And that's above my pay grade. I'm coming in
doing my little bit, and then I don't know. But it's been
getting some noise, so I would say it's likely.
Suzanne: And it's interesting.
Bruce: Not every show
sticks, you know what I mean? This one, I think it's going
to succeed because they're sort of doing it in an organic
way of like you say, it starts slow, but then you got into
it, and then it was no problem. Get used to the pace.
Suzanne: And the ending was great, it set up so many
stories.
Bruce: Which is cool. That's kind of what we
wanted so as a viewer you go, "Oh, I want to see what
happens."
Suzanne: Yeah, exactly. And they even ... I
was afraid they killed you off, but then they didn't. But
it's weird, I don't know if you thought about this, but they
showed you bandaged from head to toe, which I thought was
kind of weird because it's not like ... When they were
showing you impaled, it was only that one part of you, so
why was your entire body bandaged? But if it was a soap
opera I'd say they'd bring you back as a different actor,
but that would be a bad idea.
Bruce: Yeah, I don't
know. Never say never. I never second guess TV shows now
because they're all so weird and different. Like some shows
change the whole cast like Fargo, every year, they just swap
everything out.
Suzanne: That's true.
Bruce:
And what is it, American Horror Story?
Suzanne: All
those-
Bruce: The actors play different roles every
season. That's cool.
Suzanne: Yeah. That's what I
just thought of, what I was trying to think of earlier is
that when they said, "Don't you know, everything is weird?"
That's kind of like the slogan of the show, isn't it?
Bruce: Everything is weird, yeah.
Suzanne: Scott
said that.
Bruce: Yeah, I wish it well because I'm
always a sucker for great writing, and they had good
directors, they obviously have a really good set up there.
And Paul Giamatti I'm sure is getting every actor that he
knows. He's probably harassing them to come and be in his
show. So I have high hopes for it.
Suzanne: And it
was great surprise casting at the end when they finally
showed ... I don't want to spoil it because I'm going to put
this up, but, yeah.
Bruce: That's cool.
Suzanne: The guy at the end, yeah. So real quick, do you
have any other projects that you could tell us about that
are coming ou,t or anything that you're working on?
Bruce: I'm sort of entering the game show phase of my
career, a game show host. I have a show that I've created
with a guy called Last Fan Standing. And basically it's a
pop culture game show. Questions like, "How much does Thor's
hammer weigh?" Stuff like that. And everybody who comes in
gets to play. Everyone gets a voting device, so anybody who
walks through that door could be the last fan standing. So I
got about six different, we do the show at theaters around
the country, so I've got a bunch of cities coming up, we're
gonna do that. And then hopefully parlay that into an actual
show.
Suzanne: That sounds like a fun show.
Bruce: Yeah, it is fun. It's very topsy-turvy because you
never know who's going to get up there.
Suzanne:
Sure. You're going to be the next Merv Griffin then, right?
Bruce: It's time, I'm ready for that. Wear brightly
colored suits, and crack jokes. I'm ready.
Suzanne: I
could see you doing that.
Bruce: And then I'll move
to Arkansas, live a nice, simple life.
Suzanne: Oh,
no, well, if you do, move to Little Rock.
Bruce:
Okay, deal.
Suzanne: All right. Well, thanks for
talking to me again. I appreciate it.
Bruce: Thank
you, my dear.
Suzanne: All right.
Lauren:
Thanks again, so much.
Bruce: Talk to you next time.
Suzanne: Bye-bye.
Lauren: Thanks. Bye-bye.
MORE INFORMATION:
My interview
with Brent Jennings (Ernie).
My review of the
show
We spoke with
Bruce Campbell on
behalf of his role in AMC’s “Lodge
49.” In the show, Campbell plays Gary
Green, a powerful and elusive business man on a
personal downward spiral.
Watch a Clip of Bruce
Campbell in “Lodge 49”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ss_zm4Vgg
“Lodge 49” is a light-hearted, endearing modern fable set in
Long Beach, California about a disarmingly optimistic local
ex-surfer, Dud (Wyatt
Russell), who’s drifting after the death of
his father and collapse of the family business. Dud finds
himself on the doorstep of a rundown fraternal lodge, where
a middle-aged plumbing salesman and “Luminous Knight” of the
order, Ernie (Brent Jennings), welcomes him into a world of
cheap beer, easy camaraderie and the promise of Alchemical
mysteries that may — or may not — put Dud on the path to
recover the idyllic life he's lost. Jim Gavin (author,
Middle Men) serves as creator, writer, and
executive-producer alongside showrunner Peter Ocko (“Pushing
Daisies,” “The Office”). Additional executive
producers include Paul
Giamatti (“Billions,” Sideways, “Outsiders,”
“Hoke”), Dan Carey (“Outsiders,” “Hoke,” John Dies at the
End, All Is Bright) and Jeff Freilich (“Halt and Catch
Fire,” “Grace and Frankie”).
Campbell is known for his iconic roles across film and
television, as well as for his vast directing career. Some
of his most renowned projects include “The Evil Dead,” in
which he starred and co-executive produced, “Crimewave,” the
“Maniac Cop” series, “The Adventures of Brisco Country,
Jr.,” “Jack of all Trades,” “Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys” and “Xena: Warrior Princess.” In 2013,
Bruce co-produced the hit remake of
“Evil Dead,” joined his filmmaking pal Sam Raimi on “Oz the
Great and Powerful” and completed an impressive seven-year
run on the spy show, “Burn Notice,” USA's #1 show on cable.
More than two decades after the release of “Army of
Darkness,” Bruce returned to his
most iconic role for Starz’s “Ash vs Evil Dead.”
Watch Bruce Campbell on “The Late
Show with Stephen Colbert” HERE
Transcription by Rev.com
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