A Sour Taste for Studios
Bruce Campbell, the actor famous for the Evil Dead franchise, has a longstanding grudge against Hollywood studios. He recounted that his first studio film ended with him being removed from the lead role, the movie re-edited, retitled, and ultimately never released. That experience, he said, left him with a very sour taste. The memory stuck with him, fueling a desire to make a project without studio executives interfering. He explained that it was time to be unbridled in his life.[S1]
Campbell revealed in March that he had been diagnosed with cancer, and that news makes his choice to work outside the studio system all the more significant. On "The Adam Carolla Show" earlier this month, he shared that physicians estimated he had roughly five years remaining, yet he continues to prioritize his medical care alongside his professional commitments. Even with that prognosis hanging over him, he keeps moving ahead with the projects he cares about.[S1]
A Personal Project with His Wife
Campbell wrote, directed, produced, and stars in 'Ernie & Emma,' an independent film made with his wife and longtime partner, Ida Gearon. For him, the project represents a return to the creative freedom he first experienced with 'The Evil Dead,' which he described as the only other movie he had done free and clear of the studio system. He said he liked the taste of that early on and had wanted to do something like this for a long time. His wife finally told him to stop talking about it and just do it, to pull the trigger and make the movie.[S1]
Campbell acknowledges how hard it is to maintain artistic independence when an outside party holds the purse strings. In his view, creative freedom matters above all else. His reasoning is that anyone who sees themselves as an artist, or works in the arts, has essentially one path for dealing with people beyond their own circle: seeking out financing. With "Ernie & Emma," he moves far away from the horror and action pictures that turned him into a genre favorite.[S1]
The Story of 'Ernie & Emma'
At the center of the film is Ernie Tyler, a pear salesman in a small town who sets off on a road trip across Pear Valley, Oregon, once his cherished wife Emma passes away. Before dying, Emma left him an elaborate set of directions for spreading her ashes, and following them becomes a passage through mourning, affection, and the chance to begin again. Campbell and Gearon shot the entire project in southern Oregon, using their home region as the setting.[S1]
Gearon, who has spent years as a costume designer, urged Campbell to keep production near their home. Her idea was to film in Oregon so that he could wake up in his own bed and eat lunch at the house. Campbell went along with it, describing the whole thing as extremely strange yet something he would never undo. He added that the greatest perk of collaborating with his wife was that, unusually, they never quarreled, since they shared one aim and one vision.[S1]
A Deepening Partnership
Having spent over thirty years as a couple, Campbell says his bond with Gearon has grown into something beyond mere romance. He called her utterly dependable and, in his words, a good person through and through, and said he places his trust in her. Recently the two remarked to each other that after so many years together they have effectively become family. Campbell is now bringing "Ernie & Emma" to audiences nationwide via a screening tour at Alamo Drafthouse venues, after independent theaters sold out earlier showings.[S1]
