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About Willamette week. (Portland, Or.) 1974-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2017)
1 1 1 1 . . 8 8 . . 2 2 0 0 1 1 7 7 MIKE DITZ COFFEE ISSUE BOOKS Portland does a lot of things right, and coffee is definitely one of them. For our 2017 annual Coffee Guide, we’ll send our editorial team through a caffeine crash course to find their favorite new and classic roasters and shops. ADVERTISING@WWEEK.COM 503.243.2122 Chin Chin EVIL DEAD’S BRUCE CAMPBELL TALKS OREGON LAVENDER FARMING AND PORTLAND’S HIP LITTLE LIFE. B ruce Campbell is just a humble Oregon farmer. The strong- chinned B-movie stalwart has made at least 50 movies since starring as demon hunter Ash in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. But for the past 19 years he’s lived on a lavender farm outside of Med- ford with his wife and a John Deere tractor, fi ghting skunks and the Bureau of Land Management, and fi nding meth heads and abandoned cats near his property. His second memoir, Hail to the Chin (St. Martin’s Press, 308 pages, $27.99) covers the Michi- gan native’s life after 40 and his move out to the Oregon sticks. In advance of his February 13 appearance at Powell’s in Cedar Hills, WW talked with Campbell about Portland hipsters, Med- ford rednecks and legal weed. JOSH O’ROURKE. WW: What compelled you to write another book? Bruce Campbell: I just have a lot more experiences to tell, a lot more water under the bridge. I still think the B-movie world is underrepresented in general awareness. Most books you read are autobiographies of famous people: A movies. But most people that work in the fi lm business don’t work on the A movies. The rest work in the second tier or the third tier. So I guess, more than anything, we’re working stiffs. Do you feel like people only want sequels from you? I’m not sure there always needs to be more of certain things. We brought Evil Dead back from the dead. I’ve already said no to a Bubba Ho-Tep sequel, so that’s not gonna happen. Most things people propose are not gonna happen. I’ve got a bunch of original material that I haven’t filmed yet. That’s what I wanted to focus on. I honestly have literally 10 scripts that I’ve had written over the last fi ve years. And my wife and I looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, y’know, if not now, when?’ So, after the TV show’s over I’m gonna switch gears. What’s your impression of Portland, compared to Ashland or Medford? Ashland’s a classic hippie town, diametrically opposed to Medford 12 miles away. They couldn’t be further apart, philosophically. Which is great—a little diversity is great. Medford’s very conserva- tive: dogs, pickup trucks, shotguns, God Bless America. I like living between the worlds. Portland’s a big version of Ashland. I like Port- land a lot. It’s a town that doesn’t mind that you’re there. It’s sort of run by hipsters—they just want to have a hip little life. When are you going to start your lucrative lavender business? Never. It’s a money-losing proposal. What keeps you here in Oregon? I just love it. They treat you like an adult in Oregon. Legal weed is one good indication that they’re willing to try new stuff. It’s a very beautiful state. The coastline is spectacular, and the Cascades ain’t so bad either, and the high desert. I tell people it rains in Oregon all the time. GO: Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing, 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton. October 13, 6 pm. Bruce will read and sign copies of his new book and one other item. A purchase of Hail to the Chin is required to enter the signing line. 40 Willamette Week OCTOBER 11, 2017 wweek.com