David Arquette Brings Dewey Riley To Iowa For Scream’s 30th Anniversary

Spooky season is officially here, and as I-Rock 93.5’s resident horror freak, Becky in Black got the chance to chat with one of horror’s most beloved survivors — David Arquette.

Arquette is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Scream with the Behind the Scream tour, coming to the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids on October 25th. For David, revisiting the movie is about more than nostalgia.

“It was such an important film for me personally,” he said, calling director Wes Craven a mentor both professionally and personally. “It just changed my life.”

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Of course, Arquette’s Deputy Dewey Riley became a fan favorite partly because the guy was nearly impossible to kill. That finally changed in 2022’s Scream. Arquette told Becky that while reading the script, he initially thought Dewey had a great role — until he reached that scene.

“I was like, ‘Oh no.’ Then I went to the end of the script,” Arquette said. Dewey was originally supposed to die in the first Scream, but Craven kept him alive. When there was no last-minute save this time, Arquette had a realization: “I think it was Wes Craven really that was keeping me alive the whole time.”

Listen to more I-Rock with Rockstars on our podcast page here.

Arquette has even crossed into the world of rock and metal recently, appearing in Ice Nine Kills’ “Twisting the Knife” video and joining the band onstage — where, naturally, they killed him.

“Although that character also survived,” he joked. “You can’t kill Dewey Riley, although they try.”

They talked more about Ice Nine Kills, his Buffy the Vampire Slayer connection, and what horror franchise other than Scream he would have liked to be in the sequel.

Listen to the full conversation with David Arquette and Becky in Black below, and get your tickets to Behind the Scream October 25th at the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids.

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