B-movie superstar Bruce Campbell offers his take on all things Wicked

I have not seen The Blair Witch Project, but it's one of my new favorite films. The fact that something so amazingly low-budget (whatever the final tally really was) can crack the magic $100 million mark gives me hope for an ailing industry. Dollar-for-dollar, it's got to be one of the most successful films of all time.

Can't you just imagine the frenzy at Acme Studios the Monday morning after Witch was released?

"Jenkins, did you see those grosses?" the studio executive barked, waving a Daily Variety in the air.

"Sure you did, JB," his assistant confirmed. "I think we need to make a Witch of our own!"

"Brilliant! How much did their film cost?"

"Gee, let me check," Jenkins said, ruffling through his Blair Witch tracking folder. "Around $40 ..."

"$40 million? That's nothing!"

"No, no, JB - $40,000 ..."

"Thousand? Are you out of your mind? Nobody can make a picture that cheap! Better try $400,000."

"Well, sir, at that budge level, you wouldn't have bankable actors, directors or writers."

"Hmmm, forgot about that. OK, let's go for $4 million - that's a bargain at twice the price!"

"Then of course, there's the digital effects and a big ad campaign."

"Right. Good point, Jenkins. We all know that word of mouth is too risky. Looks like it's gonna have to be $40 million!"

"Sounds great, JB!"

"Congratulations, everyone, we're making our own low-budget film!"

With the studio mind-set of more is more, you can see how a scenario like this might unfold. The Blair Witch Project celebrates the empowerment of technology. Just a few years ago, it would have been ludicrous to imagine a successful feature film shot on the format formerly attributed to amateurs. Tell that to George Lucas. Did you ever think the words "video" and "Star Wars" would be used in the same sentence?

Granted, Witch will spawn a myriad of imitators, 99.7 percent of whom are doomed to failure, but why the hell not? Given the state of our creatively bankrupt industry, who's to say that Joe Blow from Butt Lick, Ind., has any less of a right to make films than the ex-lawyers and hairdressers currently in charge? I worked on a film once where the head of production was a former tennis pro. If I wanted advice on my backhand that was one thing, but he didn't know how to fix a lagging Act II any more than my garage mechanic down the street.

Therefore, I encourage any truly committed filmmaker with a decent sense of storytelling to get that digital video camera from K-Mart, beef up the hard drive on your Gateway computer and whip out the ol' Visa. Hell, if you can make a film for the same amount as your Mom's minivan, what have you got to lose? The Blair Witch Project has thrown a lifesaver to a drowning industry. Let's hope the poor saps in the executive suites recognize this and hang on for dear life.

Renaissance man Bruce Campbell can be seen as Autolycus on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess and has saved all of humanity from the threat of demonic possession as Ash in the Evil Dead series. As if that weren't enough, Campbell is publishing a book about his adventures in the world of show business. Look for Confessions of a B-Movie Actor, just in time for Christmas!