Bubba Ho-Tep: 'Dr Gonzo' is working his stethoscope hard at the CineVegas festival and dropped in this extensive report on the world premiere of the Bruce Campell-starring "Bubba Ho-Tep" Sunday night:
"Bruce Campbell, Don Coscarelli, Mars Callahan, Drew Barrymore, Freddie Prinze Jr., Peter Stormare and Patrick Fugit were all in attendance last night. The film had a brief introduction from Trevor Groth (lead director of the Sundance and CineVegas Film Festivals), Coscarelli, and Bruce Campbell, the latter of whom asked if there were any questions before the start. Someone in front squeaked "Can I hug you?" and Bruce retorted, "Can I punch you in the face? Hmm? No? Well, maybe after the movie then. We'll see if you laugh in the right places." He then made his way to his seat and as an afterthought shouted, "And turn off your cell phones for God's sakes!!!"
The film was extremely well received, and entire audience was bellowing with laughter, cheering and applauding through much of it. It's definitely Bruce's best work in years, probably since "Army of Darkness," and one of the most hilarious films I've seen in ages. Extremely original and well written. The memorable one-liners Bruce has become known for were being offered left and right, and are sure to be repeated in classrooms, living rooms and office areas for ages to come. After the film, a Q&A followed with Campbell, Coscarelli, and the author of the "Bubba Ho-Tep" short story. It was learned that the film was only finished a week ago, and this screening was the first time it's been shown in the world. It is currently seeking distribution (but I doubt that problem will last long). Campbell underwent 2-1/2 hours of make-up a day to become the 68 year old Elvis.
Someone suggested that toning the content down would be a good idea, because it wasn't rated yet but bordered on an R rating, and it would be more marketable with a younger audience if it were PG-13. He tried to continue arguing this point but Campbell went off on him and drowned him out, saying, "It IS an R movie. If you're showing [someone] lubing up [their] dick, it's an R movie. If you say 'f*ck' more than twice, you get an R rating. And he says 'f*ck' twice. 'F*ck off' and... 'f*ck off'. And I've got to say something here. All this crap about making films to fit a certain demographic is bullshit." The audience applauded loud and hard and the questioner was silenced in embarrassment.
There was some discussion on scenes revolving around certain events with Elvis's penis, and whether or not Campbell's penis was ever filmed. It wasn't. Someone made a random comment about chopping it off with a chainsaw, which prompted Coscarelli asked Bruce if he'd ever do another movie with a chainsaw. Bruce replied, "Don't hold your breath." That pretty much started and ended any new "Evil Dead" rumors.
To summarize the answers to some other questions asked: the idea of merchandise is still up in the air (Campbell: "What, like a big fat 68 year old Elvis toy with a walker and a penis that snaps on and off?") but a CD Soundtrack is going to be a definite. Some of the music in the film was borrowed from the movie "Six Gun Samurai." Coscarelli has no definite plans for his next project, since he just finished this one and doesn't even have a distributor yet. Campbell's next project is a play in Xenia, Ohio, where he'll be the lead role in an adaptation of the book "Shane." Campbell is NOT going to have his own talk show ("Dream on," he says). And lastly, "Bubba Ho-Tep" ends with the written half-joke possibility of a sequel, stating: "Elvis returns... in... 'Bubba Nosferatu - Attack of the She-Vampires'." Director Coscarelli says "It was either that or Bubba Sasquatch, and we decided to go with Bubba Nosferatu. It all depends on how well this one does. I'd enjoy doing it."
Bubba Ho-Tep
1this is a hilarious story for all you Bruce Campbell fans and devotees (like me!!) out there, courtesy of DarkHorizons.com