MONTREAL - David Arquette took a break from filming the latest instalment of the "Scream" horror franchise to make a rocket-fast trip to Montreal to plug his new film "The Land of the Astronauts."
In "Astronauts," which screened in competition Thursday at the Montreal World Film Festival, Arquette plays Jack MacKenzie, a once-successful composer whose career has hit the skids, requiring him to work as a limo driver to make ends meet.
If that weren't tough enough, he's also battling alcoholism and grappling with the death of his oldest daughter. He befriends an A-list actor who could put his career back on track — but not before the story takes a few surreal twists.
"I just loved the script and the character and the sort of package that came together," Arquette said Friday.
"I love independent films. There's a creative energy behind them that's a little scrappier. It's a lot of fun to dive into those characters and that kind of emotion."
A member of the Arquette acting family that includes sisters Patricia (of TV's "Medium") and Rosanna, David Arquette has been a director, producer, screenwriter and wrestler as well as an actor.
He's done a slew of TV and film roles, gaining attention for playing Deputy Dewey Riley in the "Scream" movies starting in 1997.
He's reprising his role of Riley, starring alongside other "Scream" alumni including his wife Courtney Cox, of "Friends" and "Cougar Town" fame, and Neve Campbell.
"I just hopped here this morning and I hop back there tomorrow," said Arquette, who made his first visit to the Montreal film festival.
He said it's been "really great" being back on the "Scream" set.
"It's been a lot of fun, working with (director) Wes Craven again — always a dream — and working with my wife and Neve Campbell. There's a lot of crew members on the film as well that have been along for this 16-year-ride so it's quite the experience."
Arquette pointed out it's rare in Hollywood to have the chance to be connected to a project such as the popular horror franchise for so long.
"Through the course of it, I've gotten married and had a child," he said. "It's really had a significant impact on my life."
But is he surprised "Scream" has lasted so long?
"Yeah, I am," he said with a chuckle. "But I'm glad. It's really been fun. This one, I think, is probably closest to the first."
"The Land of Astronauts," which is based on the experiences of a friend of director Carl Colpaert, is a switch from Arquette's other roles, which have included a fair share of goofy characters.
He said the complex role "really interested me as a kind of step back to the beginning of my career when I did a lot more independent film."
Arquette also said he liked the fact that the character was a composer and "that music was a big element in his head and in the film."
It was an aspect Colpaert said Arquette fought to preserve when the filmmakers considered changing the character to a writer.
"Thank God David kept fighting for the composer because at the end of the day it's an audio-visual medium we're in," said Colpaert. "I think the music really pushed it a notch further."
Colpaert said the Virginia-born actor was his first choice for the role and that he even put the production on hold to accommodate Arquette's schedule.
"We actually fought for David," he said. "I was thinking early Gerard Depardieu, I was thinking of somebody with so much character in his face that is not necessarily your typical Hollywood face.
"I think he's extremely believable as someone who could have made it to the top and is handsome and someone (who) can break down."
Arquette smiled at the praise.
"And we couldn't get Matt Damon," he quipped to laughter.