Ash vs Evil Dead scored big when its 10-episode first season debuted on Starz last Halloween. With those episodes now available to own on Blu-ray/DVD, we took some time out to have a groovy 1-on-1 discussion with Ash Williams himself, Bruce Campbell, about his triumphant return to the character, whether the show has finally gotten fans off his back, as well as what’s in store for Season 2, which is set to debut on October 2!
Actor-director-writer-producer-author Bruce Campbell has had a weird and wonderful career. Fans know him best as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead franchise, a wisecracking, Deadite-killing character he's revisiting on the new Starz show Ash vs. Evil Dead. Campbell has also starred in cult films like Bubba Ho-Tep and Maniac Cop, made memorable cameos in films like Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, authored the best-selling book If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, directed movies like My Name Is Bruce, and starred in TV shows like Xena: Warrior Princess and Burn Notice.
We caught up with Campbell as the first season of Ash vs. Evil Dead became available on DVD and Blu-ray (August 23) and VOD services like FandangoNOW. Our conversation was short—but "groovy"—as our favorite one-handed hero talked about stepping into Ash's shoes again, how much he's like the character in real life, and what his five favorite horror movies are.
Geeks of Doom: When you, Sam, and the guys first made Evil Dead you guys were in your 20s. Now you’re in your 50s. In your wildest dreams, did you think you’d still be playing Ash Williams, and having gallons of blood thrown in your face at this point in your career?
Bruce Campbell: That would have been my worst nightmare. But the elements came together. We found a good partner in Starz, and realized we could get more mileage out of the franchise if it were a TV show. The fans could get more material that way, they seem to be insatiable, so why not give them more material instead of less? And that’s kind of how it came together. Rob Tapert is a great TV producer and he had a great set up in New Zealand, so we thought, “Let’s go down there.”
One step closer to release. #monstermonday first look at packaged @AshvsEvilDead On shelves late Sept
After Fede Alvarez’s strong 2013 remake of Evil Dead, the infamous cult horror series was back in the spotlight. Since the tease of his return in the remake’s end credits, fans were eager to see star Bruce Campbell back in action as Ash Williams. We expected to see a sequel to the remake, but we got something even better: Ash vs Evil Dead.
This Starz original series picks up Ash’s story years after he’s hung up his trademark chainsaw and boomstick. In the first season, we saw Ash settled into a life of stoned trailer park burnout. Of course, he mistakenly kicks off a whirlwind of demonic bedlam that only he, along with his co-workers Pablo (Ray Santiago) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), can defeat. Along the way, they met the mysterious Ruby (Lucy Lawless) and determined cop Amanda (Jill Marie Jones).
Now, the acclaimed first season has hit Blu-ray and DVD, giving fans plenty of time to revisit the first 10 episodes before season two begins. In celebration of season one arriving on home video and the upcoming season two premiere, I had a chat with the man himself: Bruce Campbell.
On this episode of The Nerd Report Podcast, Louis Love with his co-hosts Robert Garica and Lisa "Grywuff" Grayson talk about the casting of Zendaya as Mary Jane, the return of Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade (in California), Blair Witch, The Rings, Star Wars, Don't Breathe, and much more! We also interview Bruce Campbell (Ash Williams) in the STARZ hit show Ash Vs. Evil Dead.
Back in July, when San Diego Comic-Con news was pouring out of every hole, the internet lit up when it heard the rumor ARMY OF DARKNESS would be a part of, or at least referenced during, the new season of Ash Vs Evil Dead. If you watched the first season, you'll recall the show basically ignored any hint of Ash's adventures in the Middle Ages, which seems like the sort of thing that would come up at least once. (Although there's a drawing in the Season 1 finale that you could say is a brief visual reference.) So the revelation that at least some of ARMY's DNA would be in Season 2 of the Starz series simply tickled all the deadites out there.
But seems as though we got way ahead of ourselves. (I know, hard to believe the internet jumped the gun on something.) I spoke to the one and only Bruce Campbell mere minutes ago and the question of whether or not ARMY OF DARKNESS will at all be prominent in the new season came up. Here's Bruce's response:
I've been sort of putting that to bed. It was a random thing that Rob [Tapert] said, and you know how the internet is, if you see one sentence written, it's real. I think Rob was more alluding to the fact that we've already taken stuff that would have been in Army of Darkness. He still time-travels before Army of Darkness. People have always asked, "Where is Army of Darkness?" Like, we don't really need Army of Darkness. That was sort of our take on the whole thing. You've got to be careful referencing certain movies, because then you have to make deals with certain partners that might own those certain movies.
At the end of July we gave you the lowdown on the horror shows heading to the 2016 PaleyFest Fall TV Previews, being held in both Los Angeles and New York in early September, and the lineup was pretty sparse. But the dates have now been extended, and one new addition has joined the LA Previews: “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Episode 2.01 will be screened on September 14th at 7PM PT with several cast members in attendance.
Scheduled to appear are:
- Bruce Campbell, “Ashley ‘Ash’ Williams”
- Ray Santiago, “Pablo Simon Bolivar”
- Dana DeLorenzo, “Kelly Maxwell”
- Ted Raimi, “Chet Kaminski”
- Lee Majors, “Brock Williams”
Ticket info is as follows (click here for additional details):
- Patron & Supporting Level Members: On Sale Now
- General Members: On Sale Wednesday, 8/24, at 9:00 am PT
- General Public: On Sale Thursday, 8/25, at 9:00 am PT
Be sure to visit paleyfest.org for the full schedule and more info.
NECA has provided us with an early sample of their upcoming Evil Dead 2 – Ash Williams Ultimate 7″ Scale Figure. This figure is based on their original Deadite Ash and Farewell To Arms Ash figures, which were released in 2012 as part of Evil Dead Series 1. The figure an updated lower body, bringing it to 25 points of articulation. Ash is packed in a flapped window box and includes a number of film related accessories. These include two interchangeable Ash head sculpts (bloody and Deadite), interchangeable right forearms, interchangeable standard and possessed hands, a severed possessed hand, a severed Deadite Linda head, a Necronomicon, tape recorder, a shotgun and an axe.
We have nearly 80 high resolution photos. Read on to see the gallery and our review of the figure.
He’s already the king. Now it’s time to make him President.
Visit http://ash4president.com/ to join the movement
WADESBORO — Filmmakers will be in Anson County early next month looking for anyone who worked on the 1987 cult classic “Evil Dead II.”
Interviews that make the final cut will be included in “Evil Dead Uproot,” a documentary focusing on the small towns where the first two feature films in the “Evil Dead” series — written and directed by Sam Raimi and starring actor Bruce Campbell — were shot.
The horror community was understandably excited when it was announced that Lee Majors will portray Ash’s father in Season 2 of “Ash vs. Evil Dead.” Bruce Campbell noted that Majors comes from “a generation of actors who were born with hair on their chest,” and Dana DeLorenzo said, “[Majors] is still very sexy and very charming… and [I] truly believe he’s the perfect casting choice for Ash’s dad.”
With a resume that boasts of not one, not two, but three programs that surpassed the 100-episode plateau, including “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Fall Guy,” it goes without saying that Majors is a television icon.
Majors recently spoke with Dread Central about his role in the upcoming second season of “AvED” and offered insight that Brock Williams blames Ash for the death of his daughter [Cheryl], discussed how show promotion has changed throughout his career, touched on his legendary Scrooged cameo, and shared a tale of his wife’s trip to the hair salon that leads into one of the most hilarious political statements this writer has encountered during the current Presidential campaign.
Lee Majors certainly seems poised to make “Ash vs. Evil Dead” better, faster, and stronger!
After Universal Pictures released Army of Darkness in 1992, fans of The Evil Dead franchise had been anticipating a fourth Evil Dead for decades.
After years and years of rumors, Raimi making his 2009 Drag Me to Hell, and then eventually remaking Evil Dead with Fede Alvarez in 2013, the team behind the franchise revived it as the ongoing Starz television series “Ash vs Evil Dead”.
With Bruce Campbell reprising his role as Ash, all of us horror fans exhaled in relief. Still, there’s always that nagging thought, “What if?” What if Evil Dead 4 had been made, what would it have been like? The transformation from The Evil Dead to Army of Darkness went from straight horror to slapstick…so where would Ash end up 20+ years after time traveling to battle medieval Deadites?
Horror legends Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell hunker down for the commentary track of Ash vs Evil Dead’s first episode, in which Ash, Campbell’s extremely reluctant hero, realizes he hasn’t quite left those nasty Deadites in the past after all.
In this exclusive clip, Sam Raimi explains why the long-time collaborators decided to make a TV show rather than going ahead with the long-discussed Evil Dead 4—or even simply producing a sequel to the 2013 Evil Dead remake. It’s informative, but also rather funny to hear Raimi waxing earnest while Ash preps for a night out, getting his swagger going to Deep Purple, then picking up a chick to bang in the bathroom of his local dive. A chick who... is not who she seems to be.
Starz released this patriotic art for the highly-anticipated Season Two return of the horror fun-ride “Ash vs Evil Dead”, which scares up its season premiere entitled “Home” on Sunday, October 2 at 8PM ET/PT.
The second season roars back into action with an extended episode where Ash is forced to leave his cushy retirement in Jacksonville, return to his hometown of Elk Grove, Michigan, and mount up once again to face The Evil Dead. This time, he’ll have to form an uneasy alliance with his former enemy Ruby as Elk Grove becomes the nucleus to the most dangerous horror Ash has faced to date. The upcoming season of “Ash vs Evil Dead” will include ten half-hour episodes.
This past weekend, Brad and I attended Chicago’s Wizard World and, more importantly, the third annual Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival. On top of doing some really fun and (hopefully) entertaining interviews – which you can watch on our Facebook page – we also watched several films, each of which were preceded by one of the below bumpers that feature Ted Raimi (“Ash vs Evil Dead”, The Grudge). They’re silly, they’re fun, and they really embrace everything that the festival has to offer.
If you attended a film festival screening and some loudmouthed joker talked all over the action taking place onscreen then you would rightly feel bad for the folks who made the movie. But what about if the joker in question was one of the folks who made the movie?
Last Saturday, at Chicago’s Muvico Rosemont 18 cinema, actor Bruce Campbell joined comedian Doug Benson for one of the standup comedian’s Mystery Science Theater-style “Movie Interruptions,” to make amiable mock of 1992’s Campbell-starring Army of Darkness. The ensuing mayhem couldn’t help but be a tad confusing at times, as the present-day Campbell competed for the audience’s attention with his younger, Deadite-battling self. “I can’t tell if that’s you in the movie saying things or you here saying things,” Benson faux-bemoaned, early on. But there was little else to complain about as the sharply besuited Campbell pointed out the film’s cameos (“Bill Lusting, the director of Maniac Cop, walking in the background!”), boasted to the audience about his acting prowess (“I want to challenge you a–holes to try to pretend that a burlap sack contains a body!”), leapt out of his seat to point out at egregiously overacting extra (“That’s the a–hole! F—ing sonofabitch!”), and complained about the the lack of film roles in mainstream projects which came his way following the release of the third movie in the Evil Dead saga (“This is the only studio movie I’ve ever appeared in. After this, they were like, ‘No, he’s done!’”). In any case, there was really no one to whom one could complain, given the event was part of the four-day-long Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Festival, now in its third year.
+Always entertaining.... Bruce Campbell and his friends (Dana & Ray) from Ash vs Evil Dead
+Filmed at Chicago Comic Con 2016
+Click here for more ChristineDoesCon Comic Con videos:
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — When Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo signed on to the Starz horror-comedy series “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” they weren’t sure how long their characters would last.
“I was actually pretty terrified because I knew what the franchise was — and it was all about one man,” DeLorenzo said. “And then here come these sidekicks, and I was worried if we would be accepted and how it would play out.
“That’s kind of the exciting thing about this, it makes you give every day 150 percent, solely because you never know when it’s going to end.”
“Ash vs Evil Dead” was indeed the answer to the prayers of those who had been waiting for decades to see the continued adventures of Ash. The show, co-created by Sam Raimi (director/co-writer of the original “The Evil Dead” trilogy) takes everything that fans loved about the original films and translates it perfectly to the small screen, including its over-the-top violence, its dark sense of humor, and, of course, the ever-charming character of Ash Williams, played with the usual gusto by B-movie legend Bruce Campbell.
Video/Audio:
“Ash vs Evil Dead: The Complete First Season” comes to Blu-ray in a 1.78:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality. The image is perfectly sharp and clear throughout all ten episodes, ensuring that you get every little bit of gory detail. The 7.1 Dolby TrueHD audio is equally fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, score, and sound effects in top-notch quality. Overall, the fans will definitely be pleased with the great treatment that the show has received.
Special Features:
Audio Commentaries: Commentaries with cast and crew are featured on all ten episodes. There’s a lot of goofing around, particularly when it comes to the cast tracks, but they do contain some interesting behind the scenes info.
Ash: Inside the World (16 Minutes): A great compilation of behind the scenes featurettes that aired with certain episodes during the season.
How to Kill a Deadite (3 Minutes): A very brief featurette that has Bruce Campbell and fans explaining how to kill deadites.
Best of Ash (1 Minute): A short collage of scenes featuring Ash.
You’ll have to forgive me, but after seeing Bruce Campbell deflect any questions revolving around the possibility of an EVIL DEAD 4 at countless conventions for the last 20 years, it’s still hard for me to believe that the adventures of one Ashley J. Williams did finally continue with the Starz series ASH VS EVIL DEAD last Fall. And not only that, but we’ve got an entire new season coming this October as well! What’d we do to deserve this?!
The gift to Evil Dead fans known as “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Season 1 is coming home on August 23rd, and right now we have another gift heading your way on us!
We’re giving away an official “Ash Vs. Evil Dead” Season 1 prize package consisting of…
- “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Season 1 Blu-ray
- Chainsaw wine stopper
- “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Lunch Box
- If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell
- “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Baseball Cap
- “Ash vs. Evil Dead” T-shirt
- “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Tote Bag
Bloody Disgusting is giving away an “Ash vs Evil Dead” prize pack, with the Grand Prize winner taking home a t-shirt, hat, lunchbox, book, an Axe pen, button, shotgun shell shot glass, chainsaw wine stopper, and a copy of the Blu-ray. (4) runner up prizes will score the Blu-ray and chainsaw wine stopper.
Ash vs Evil Dead Season 2 is just over a month away, premiering exclusively on Starz during the first week of October to kick off Halloween season. Bruce Campbell thinks this is the year the show “sticks” and will connect with audiences around the globe, launching multiple more seasons of the cult favorite series.
Dana DeLorenzo stopped by the Nick Digilio show to talk about her time on the Craig Ferguson Show and what it’s like being on the show Ash vs. Evil Dead.
Mike Smaczylo created some sick art for the upcoming Bruce Campbell Horror Film Festival, which kicks off this Thursday as part of Chicago’s Wizard World.
Bruce Campbell signed it. Other filmmakers and cast will too. And one of you is going to win this badass prize.
The chainsaw, the boomstick, and the man who proudly wears both returned to renew his fight with the Deadites last year in the new Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead. With season one heading to Blu-ray and DVD on August 23rd and the second season premiering on October 2nd, Daily Dead is celebrating the misadventures of Bruce Campbell’s iconic character with our new, free Evil Dead issue of DEADLY Magazine, presented by Anchor Bay Entertainment and their release of Ash vs Evil Dead Season 1 on Blu-ray / DVD!
Jimmy Champane got a chance to sit down and talk to Fede Alvarez about his new film, Don't Breathe.
In March of 1987, I saw Sam Raimi‘s Evil Dead 2 at Brannon Square movie theater in Roswell, Georgia. It changed my day. It changed my life. Because of that movie, I went to film school. To many aspiring filmmakers, the seed for that kind of desire is built out of something rich and wondrous. Ingmar Bergman. Welles. Jean-Pierre Melville. For the fifteen-year-old version of me, it was Raimi’s budding subgenre “splatstick” and its flying eyeballs, blood-spewing animal heads, crawling hands, and relentless lack of pretense.
This week on the new episode of the Blumhouse.com produced horror podcast Shock Waves, we had very special guest Fede Alvarez, the director of the upcoming horror thriller DON’T BREATHE (in theaters August 26th!) and the 2013 remake of the classic EVIL DEAD.
Regarding his remake of the classic film that put Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell on the map, it was a success on a number of levels. Financial for sure. It did what remakes are supposed to do, which is take the material from the original and update it for a modern audience. And as far back as the promotional junket in support of the film, all sorts of rumors flew around about the future of the EVIL DEAD franchise.
An extended cut of the movie? A sequel? A cross-over bringing Bruce Campbell’s Ash into the fold? Well, with Alvarez on Shock Waves this week, we wanted to set the record straight on all of the above!
We're always happy to support Ash vs. Evil Dead around here, and if we can do so with an exclusive, even better. And here's an exclusive that's pretty unusual. This is your first look at Ash's childhood bedroom, which will be featured plenty in the upcoming second season of the hit Starz show. If you wanted to know what Ash was like as a young man, well, this is your chance!
I am excited to announce that EvilDeadWorkshed.com will be at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday August 20th and Sunday August 21st! I will have the Workshed from Evil Dead 2 on display! I am also bringing a prototype of the Evil Dead clock on display as well as my Chainsaw replicas as well as other items from the Cabin.
I will be taking preorders at the show for chainsaws and clocks and will be raffling off a Witch Carver Chainsaw prop.
Cya there!
During our two-page conversation, DeLorenzo offered candid takes on every aspect of the show, with teasers ranging from why Baal is the most dangerous villain in Evil Dead history to Kelly’s relationship with Pablo to a reminder about the fate of anyone who gets close to Ash Williams.
DeLorenzo also shared her thoughts on the ways that newcomers Lee Majors and Ted Raimi elevate the show, how “Ash vs Evil Dead” has changed her life and an “action” from Season 2 which cannot be undone. All delivered with an infectious enthusiasm that left her saying “I’m so excited about this season that I’m pacing back and forth smiling because I just want to say so much but I can’t because I’ll ruin it,” continuing “I think we have such a fantastic Season 2 that I want it to be on tomorrow.”
One thing is beyond dispute: After reading DeLorenzo’s revealing responses, fans will be dying for October.
As much hell as Ash and company went through in season one of Ash vs Evil Dead, they are going to face even more lethal threats in season two. One such evil entity is the deadly demon Baal (Joel Tobeck), who is revealed in a new, throat-tightening image from season two, premiering October 2nd on Starz:
Press Release: Hell has come to earth as Starz gives a sneak peek of the character Baal, played by Joel Tobeck (“Sons of Anarchy,” The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) who appears in season two of the series. When Baal is released from the underworld, our team will face an enemy more powerful then then any that have come before. One with bigger plans than just destroying Ash as well as a secret link to Ruby (Lucy Lawless). It was recently announced that Season 2 will premiere Sunday, October 2 at 8:00PM ET.
Few actors reach the upper echelon of fan adoration that Bruce Campbell attained for playing horror hero Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise, and similarly few would return to such a splatteriffic role after so many years as he did for Starz's Ash vs Evil Dead. But while Campbell himself may have balked at the idea a time or two in the past, fans should take comfort in knowing as long as there is a demand for the man with the chainsaw hand, he'll be there to strap that sucker on.
On October 2,#AshvsEvilDeadis back. Hot as hell and ready to kick ass
