Bruce Campbell Self-Funds Ernie & Emma and Takes Its Release on the Road

Bruce Campbell’s latest project puts a practical question at the center of independent filmmaking: what can a creator make when the usual roles don’t arrive and traditional distribution isn’t the plan? With his wife, Ida Gearon, Campbell wrote, directed, produced and self-funded Ernie & Emma, a comedy about a widowed salesman. He is now taking the film to audiences himself on an 18-city Alamo Drafthouse tour continuing through November.

Campbell is widely known for playing Ash in the Evil Dead films, as well as for Burn Notice, Bubba Ho-Tep and three New York Times bestselling books. But his account of making Ernie & Emma is less about a familiar screen persona than about the decisions behind a small, self-financed production: write the role you want, manage the hours, choose which feedback matters and contact people who can help get the work in front of an audience.

In a conversation on How Success Happens, Campbell described those choices as lessons for other creators. The business case is straightforward: when the filmmaker funds the production, wasted time has a direct cost, while bypassing a conventional release route means the team takes on more of the work of finding viewers.

Write the opportunity yourself

Campbell says he enjoys The Sound of Music, the Carpenters and happy endings, even though the industry often associated him with the “chainsaw guy” image. He wasn’t being offered the kinds of parts he wanted, so he created one. “My fingers ain’t broken,” he said. He also called writing “the cheapest part of the arts.”

That approach gives a creator more control over the starting point of a project. It doesn’t guarantee that a script will get made or find an audience, but it can turn a stalled search for an opportunity into work the creator can begin directly. Campbell’s blunt summary was, “Freedom is everything, man. Give me liberty or give me death.” For an independent production, that freedom comes with responsibility: the person setting the direction also has to help carry the financing, production and release decisions.

Keep production time tied to cost

Campbell kept shooting days to about ten hours and said he promised not to waste the crew’s time. He criticized filmmakers who brag about 18-hour days: “That means you don’t know what you’re doing.” Since he was paying for the film, he had a direct view of the cost of inefficiency. “My checkbook yelled at me every day.”

His point is about both working conditions and production economics. Long days can be treated as proof of commitment, but they also use up time and money without necessarily improving what appears on screen. A defined workday gives a team a clearer operating rhythm and makes schedule discipline part of the production plan. For a self-funded film, that discipline matters because there may be less room to absorb delays or repeat work.

Choose which feedback gets to shape the film

While writing a questionnaire for test screenings, Campbell realized he was adopting studio practices he had wanted to leave behind: extensive notes, focus groups and reshoots. He calls that influence “the spores. The spores get into your head, the spores confuse you.” He still wants knowledgeable people involved and is open to useful ideas, but says he keeps the final decision for himself.

That distinction matters in any project built around a particular creative vision. Feedback can expose a problem the team missed, while too many rounds of response can pull the work in competing directions. Campbell’s method is to seek expertise without handing over the decision. The challenge is judging which comments help the film meet its goals and which ones simply add another opinion to the process.

Use relationships to reach an audience

Campbell didn’t wait for a distributor to approach him. He contacted Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League, a friend from years of Evil Dead marathons, and offered to appear in every city if the chain booked the film. His plan is to establish the movie in smaller markets before taking it to what he called “the big dogs later.”

The arrangement links access to venues with Campbell’s own time and visibility. It also gives the film a way to meet audiences without relying first on a conventional distribution deal. That route requires more than a finished movie: creators need to coordinate screenings, make a case to exhibitors and show up for the people who buy tickets. Campbell’s example points to the value of existing relationships, but it also makes clear that a personal network still needs a concrete offer.

He cited a similar effort by the film’s cinematographer, who asked Sony for cameras and received free equipment and a box of lenses. The account illustrates what a direct request can produce; it doesn’t establish that the same terms are available to other filmmakers. The practical lesson is to be specific about what a project needs and to ask people with a plausible connection to that need.

Start with available tools, then do the work

Campbell estimates that someone can buy a camera, lights, microphones and editing software for about $5,000 and make a film in their hometown. “Don’t tell me your problems, filmmakers. Your problems are solved. Here’s your only problem: motivation.” He also points to the need for 10,000 hours of work, while arguing that access to the tools has widened.

That estimate is his, and it describes a basic set of equipment rather than the full cost of every production. A camera kit does not provide a crew, locations, time, distribution or an audience. Still, lower barriers to recording and editing give creators more ways to start and finish work without first securing a large production setup. The next constraint often becomes the ability to keep going, make decisions and build a route to viewers.

Campbell’s approach to Ernie & Emma combines creative control with visible trade-offs. Self-funding gives him a direct stake in production time; touring the film personally adds work beyond making it; and relying on relationships makes outreach part of the release strategy. The film’s 18-city run offers a way to put those choices into practice, while its reception will depend on what audiences make of the story.

Campbell also discusses why Hallmark movies need “some teeth,” recalls a fan who cried five times during Ernie & Emma, and rates a job as an Elvis impersonator. The full conversation is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Tour information and the trailer are at ernieandemma.com; tickets are at drafthouse.com. Campbell’s site is bruce-campbell.com, and his X account is @groovybruce.

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How Success Happens features conversations about the paths taken by leaders in business, the arts and sports, including the setbacks and self-doubt they faced along the way. Dan Bova, Entrepreneur’s VP of Special Projects and the show’s host, can be found through his author page, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Substack and email.