"The Tripper": ASL's Exclusive Interview with David Arquette

Josh: What inspired you on this movie?

David: I was at one of these concerts at a place called Garberville. It's in Humboldt county. I was at a concert called "Reggae rising." I was looking out at the field, a little wasted, and I thought, "Man, it'd be crazy if a killer came out of these woods and started hacking all these hippies up." That was one of the germs. Another time, I saw a Ronald Regan mask and thought how creepy it was, and I knew it had scare ability. Ultimately, it's about a leader of the world and the people who are in power who sign pieces of paper, who can blow people's brains out. If people use violence to solve our problems, then they can't complain if killers are murdering people. It'd be hypocrisy.

Josh: Do you want people to take a political message from this?

David: A little bit. All in all it's a good slasher film with a lot of gore, as far as over-the-top campy kind of stuff. I t's not the most violent or scary film of recent years. It is fun and it is a throwback to the 70's films. There are some psychedelic parts to it. There are some really funny people in it. Paul Reubens and Thomas Jane have amazing characters. Thomas has a line where he gets told the hippies have gone missing, and as a sheriff he should go find them. He's got a line that goes, "I'm not going out in the forest to find some hippies who are picking flowers, or banging on some big bush-having, granola-eating broad." It's got this sort of fun tone to it. Paul Ruebens has a filthy mouth in it--it's borderline Tourrette's in the movie.

Josh: You had a lot of expierence with horror genre, with "Scream" and all. Is this something you wanted to do, make a horror movie your first one?

David: Yeah, it was. I love those films, and loved the experience I had on "Scream." Wes is such an icon, and a master. He's been doing it for so long. Seeing how he acts with the actors, and how he manipulates the camera, I wanted to experience the same thing as him. It's fun to get laughs and jumps at the same time. It's a fun circle to expierence in the movie. Horror films in general though, are easier to raise money for. They have a much more loyal fan base, and have a longer life on DVD.

Josh: Did you go for the good old fashion horror things: sex, drugs, and boobies?

David: Actually, there wasn't as many boobs as I wanted. I really tried to get the boobs, but there are some nudity clauses. So yeah, that's the other thing about horror films. You can exploit sex, drugs and rock and roll. I tried too--I tried a lot. I t's such an awkward conversation to have with actresses. This is a horror film, they have to show their breasts. It's a requirement. Then, when time comes to shoot, the girls back out and they don't want to shoot. So, I had to fudge a lot, and there is one scene that is pretty out there. Even though there is no nipple involved, there is a nice naked hippie at the beginning for men...and women. Then, there are some party girls that flash once in a while. It's so weird to go up to someone random extras and asking them to undress and have sex. It's the most uncomfortable conversation.

Josh: Did you have any trouble with the MPAA with rating or anything?

David: No, I didn't have to cut anything to get an R. I always wanted R. I never wanted PG-13. The first time I ever showed the film to a real audience, Joel Silver comes up to me and goes, "NC-17, you'll never show anyone this movie," which is a huge buzzkill. However, we ended up not having to pull anything to get an R.

Josh: You had a lot of celebrities in the movie. Were there any that balked at the idea of it?

David: My brother Richmond is in the movie. He plays a Dewey-ish homage character. There were a few people who got freaked out by subject matter. My friend, Tim Blake Nelson, got freaked by a small part. Then Ben Harper--I wanted to use his music. He said it's a horror film, and I'm all about peace. None of it is in hard feelings.

Josh: Do you like working in low-budget better than with a higher budget?

David: If you can get a high budget with good production, it's the best of both worlds. Most of the time, the things that are low budget, the indie movies, have so much more energy and life.

Josh: One thing, I noticed Courtney wasn't in the trailer but was in the movie.

David: Actually she's in the trailer for a split second. I wanted her to have a bigger role in it. She said she was to old to be doing this stuff. She just couldn't, so she plays a cameo--the PERFECT cameo--and it gets a huge laugh. I play a character called Muff, and he's from a real person I met, named Muff. He's a lumberjack who smokes weed. It's a weird world in Humboldt. There are lumberjacks and hippies and weed farmers. They have hardcore boobie traps in the forest to keep you from catching them. They really don't want to be caught. They wouldn't let us come out 'cause it was dangerous.

Josh: Where does the film's name come from?

David: It comes from Ronald Reagan, "The Gipper." The original tag was, "Lets kill one for the Tripper," which didn't get passed, but it's also a play on the whole hippie doing drugs and tripping out.

Josh: With Reagan as the champion of "Just Say NO" in the USA, did you get Clinton in to be the savior of the hippies?

David: A lot of times, the killer becomes the hero, but Reagan hates hippies. Clinton would have been there, not inhaling the whole time. No, there are no other presidents in this, but for the sequel, the movie is called "The Tripper 2: The Burning Bush." It's got a Burning Man theme to it, and other presidents involved. And zombies. And lots of zombie boobs, which are the best kind. Believe me, at the beginning, she's awesome and so hot, but then later when she's a zombie, it's not so hot. Believe me.

Josh: So what is your fingerprint on the movie?

David: The whole deal, this whole crazy thing coming together. I had another place where I had a thought about the movie.

Josh: I know this is a weird question but, Whats your view on killing kids in horror movies?

David: Oh, I could kill the kids. No, I mean... uh, I dunno. Yeah, I think it's scarier that the kids would be dead.

Josh: Well, wow. Outstanding. I'm not sure what to say. Thank you so much for your time David!

David: Thank you guys! If it's not in your area. Check out www.myspace.com/thetrippermovie. Or call your local theatre and request it. This is a grass-roots project!

Wow. Yes. Seeing the clips of the movie, it looks a little scary--a little funny, a little intense. Honestly, a worth, while all-around movie. Plus, David was hysterical. I could barely breath we'd be laughing so hard sometimes. Go! See if your theatres have it, and remember kids: Move Over Jason, Look Out Freddie. HEEERE'S RONNIE!