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Ed Wood may be the undisputed king of bad cult movies, but Bruce Campbell earns the title when it comes to good cult movies.

Since entering the public consciousness as the beleaguered Ash in 1981's "The Evil Dead," the Michigan native has notched 60-something film roles (such as this summer's "Sky High") and numerous TV shows, many of which have secured reputations as underground classics.

Campbell comes to Kansas City today to sign copies of his new fictional novel, "Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way." He'll also be screening "Man with the Screaming Brain," a picture he co-wrote and directed, of which he says, "If I were pitching it in Hollywood, I'd say it's 'The Out-of-Towners' with a brain transplant."

Speaking from a hotel room in Memphis where he patiently awaits room service to deliver his Chicken Caesar Salad, the 47-year-old Campbell is happy to discuss a B-movie veteran's role in an A-list industry.

Q: What's the most common question you're asked while doing the book tours?

A: They ask about "Evil Dead IV" and when is "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." coming out on DVD. For some reason that one has permeated the world.

Bruce Campbell

Q: Jane Fonda was recently attacked at a Kansas City book signing by an angry Vietnam veteran. What type of person is most likely to attack you?

A: No one really attacks me because I'm not really a political guy. No one gets worked up about "McHale's Navy."

Q: Is there any way to predict what will become a cult movie?

A: No. If you try to make a cult movie, I think you're in trouble. You have to make a movie that appeals to you and see what happens. This movie may be a failure or success, but I just try to do a story that appeals to me. I don't really have mainstream sensibilities. I don't like movies I can see on an airplane.

Q: What's the last movie you saw on an airplane?

A: I don't watch movies on airplanes. I read. Movies are what I do, so I don't go, "Oh, a movie." To me, movies sometimes equal work. It's like some guy who works at the tool and dye shop goes home and his wife says, "Hey, can you tool and dye this piece of equipment?" He's like, "Get out of here."

Q: Realistically, what would you have to do in order to be considered an A-list actor?

A: Have a different life. I'd have to live in L.A. or something. I'd have to have made that decision a long time ago and stuck with it. To be an A-list actor, you have to do a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with acting. Silly me, I just wanted to be an actor. You'd (have to alter) which projects you choose and your managers and agents and representatives. You'd schmooze and go to parties and meet with people - that was never my bag.

• Audio clips with Bruce Campbell
• What inspired "The Man with the Screaming Brain?"
• What's the best movie you've seen this year?

Q: What's the best advice you've received about making films?

A: The best advice is my own which I've formulated over the years: Don't copy. Don't be the next anybody, be the first you. There is too much derivative crap out there. And don't chase trends, because they're going to change.

Q: When you were first starting out, were people saying, "He's going to be the next (blank)?"

A: There was only one executive who made a bold statement about me. He was a TV executive for Fox who said, "If (Bruce) is not the next big TV star, then I'm going to eat my desk." A year later when he canceled my show, "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.," I sent him some bearnaise sauce to go along with his mahogany desk.

Q: What's the best movie you've seen this summer?

A: I don't know about this year, but I liked "Napoleon Dynamite." It takes Mormons to show Hollywood how to do it - a $400,000 movie by Mormons. And I also liked "Sideways." I don't like Hollywood movies, basically. People make fun of B movies for how crappy they are and low-budget. But every A movie is now a B movie. If you get bitten by a radioactive spider, guess what folks, that's a B movie. If you dress up like a bat and fly around Gotham City, I'm sorry, but that's a B movie. Tom Cruise can jump up and down on Oprah's couch all he wants, but this summer he's starring in a B movie. Aliens attacking the earth is not an A-movie idea.

Q: Who is more effective at dealing with a supernatural menace: Ash from "The Evil Dead" or Elvis from "Bubba Ho-Tep?"

A: They're sort of 50/50. Ash because he has more physical skills, but he's an idiot. And Elvis who's a little more level-headed but doesn't have the physical skills. They'd be a good team.