Sam Raimi - 'I would love to do the 4th Evil Dead film!'
Published at: Oct. 11, 2003, 4:13 a.m. CST by staff
Harry here, somewhere in this world monkeys are set to fly out of Bruce Campbell's Ass cuz tonight at the opening night of ScreamFest in Los Angeles, Sam Raimi said, "He'd love to do the 4th Evil Dead film!"
Ok - that was part of an answer to the question from the audience to Sam regarding what he was up to next after SPIDER-MAN 2. I've heard that Sony has already got Sam committed to doing SPIDER-MAN 3, though that hasn't officially broke yet. However, after SPIDER-MAN 2 thrashes every record that SPIDER-MAN set and as excitement reaches the TILT stage with SPIDER-MAN 3... there's a strong chance that the 4th EVIL DEAD could happen. How?
For one, Raimi's stock in Hollywood is soaring due to his deft direction of SPIDER-MAN and let's face it, SPIDER-MAN 2 is just going to own us all. After SPIDER-MAN 3, Sam could easily be in the position of saying... that he wants to make the EVIL DEAD film that they never made... the fully financed, holy rat fuck, that's too fucking cool for words EVIL DEAD film. The one that says, well Quentin Tarantino got away with that absurd over the top gore... now it is time for Ash to get some!
Basically there are two problems that I see standing in the way of this happening. 1) Dino DeLaurentis owns the title EVIL DEAD (though Bruce and associates own the rights to the "ASH" character. 2) ASH isn't yet a mainstream icon.
With yesterday's confirmation, of what Bruce Campbell has been saying in Radio interviews and such regarding the genius that is BUBBA HO-TEP, that New Line is looking seriously at doing the ASH VS FREDDY & JASON... well there's that question... Is New Line that smart?
Will New Line use two of their Horror icons to leverage into uber-light ASH... To make ASH a name on par with Freddy & Jason, then... Finance the Comedy Horror Epic of all time... Directed by Sam Raimi and starring the one true Bruce to end all Bruces... BRUCE CAMPBELL?!?!?!?!?
I can't imagine the monkey that would look Sam Raimi in the face after he makes Sony 3 Billion Dollars with Spider-Man... and telling Sam, "No, we don't want to finance your dream version of EVIL DEAD!" And if there are monkeys standing in the way of this... gas up the chainsaw and let's see them monkey suits flow crimson!
The big key for Bruce has been whether or not Sam would ever want to do another EVIL DEAD after he was off in Marvel Comics Land. Well, in the midst of shooting SPIDER-MAN 2 -- he's dreaming of doing a 4th Evil Dead flick!
So here we are... Sam is thinking of the same dream film we always are here at AICN... EVIL DEAD 4! Now, somebody needs to get Bruce Campbell on CONAN O'BRIEN so he can conquer the known world with his cosmic charisma! How could you not want Bruce Campbell on your TV show talking about Ossie Davis as JFK and him playing Elvis fighting a redneck Mummy in an old folks home? That's TV COMEDY GOLD! Leno should know that. Letterman should know that. And God Damn It, even that tall mop of a jock Stern should know that!
Thanks goes out to Eli Roth for sending in his report from Raimi's screening of SPIDER-MAN and ARMY OF DARKNESS at SCREAMFEST!