David Arquette Takes ‘Tripper’ To The Cemetery

LOS ANGELES (April 10, 2007) — ?Scream? star David Arquette has just finished his own freaky film and he?s lined up one rather spooky place for its blood-red carpet premiere ? a cemetery.

Wednesday night, Arquette?s ?The Tripper,? the actor?s directorial debut, will get its celebrity pre-release screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. More than just a creepy, after-dark place to play the flick, the locale has particular significance to the Arquette clan.

?I grew up right down the street on Melrose and Gower,? he tells Access Hollywood. ?We always knew about the cemetery. My older brothers and sisters would sneak in and run around in it. Valentino?s buried there and Douglas Fairbanks Junior and Johnny Ramone.?

?The Tripper? follows a group of friends who hit a rock festival only to find themselves stalked by a killer in a Ronald Reagan mask. Arquette co-wrote the screenplay recently but it was while hanging out at a concert in Humboldt County California, not long after a young David started shaving that he came up with the movie?s concept.

?In the late 80s I was up there and the old sun went down we were kind of wasted and I thought wouldn?t it be crazy if a killer came out and just started hacking [people] up,? he says, laughing in that giddy sort of David Arquette way. ?I was with my high school buddies at the time. I think I was still in high school.?

Though its theme may sound peppered with humor, there is a serious side to the film. Growing up during the Reagan era, Arquette chose the image of America?s 40th president as the killer on purpose.

?Reagan?s policies had a direct effect on the world around me. I remember waking up one morning and you?d see homeless people all around you. It happened and it happened pretty much over night and it was pretty bizarre and it was a direct connection to a cut in mental health,? Arquette says full of sincerity. ?[The movie] is more so pointing out how a leaders decisions can have an affect on the world.?

Arquette?s production company with his wife actress Courteney Cox — Coquette Productions will release ?The Tripper? into theatres on April 20. And for those in the know, yes, he says, the date was chosen on purpose.

?That date has a mysticism about it now and an allure that I think the audience understands,? Arquette says coyly. ?The specific audience that would go and see this film — I wanted to do something where it became a more party atmosphere.?In fact, Arquette even has a wish that his film spawns a host of amusing rituals based around it.?I hope people make up games,? he says laughing. ?I hope they sneak things in.?