With this year marking the 25th anniversary of Wes Craven’s first Scream film, David Arquette has shown no intention of distancing himself from anything and everything spooky. As if reprising his role as Woodsboro sheriff Dewey Riley in next year’s Scream reboot isn’t enough to cement his horror legacy, the actor has acquired the rights to a character we would argue is even more terrifying than Ghostface: Bozo the Clown.
Arquette discussed the sale recently on Chicago’s WGN-TV, saying he’s been a longtime fan of the children’s entertainment icon. He’s Bozo’s first new owner in 65 years, having acquired the rights from Larry Harmon Pictures, which largely popularized the character.
“I fell in love with Bozo when I was a kid living in Evanston, Illinois,” shared Arquette. “Bob Bell’s portrayal of Bozo was always my favorite. It just lit my heart up, and I want to bring that kind of joy to the people of the world.”
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With his new title as the owner of Bozo, Arquette plans to open a museum in Chicago full of clown memorabilia, create new TV shows and/or films, and build a worldwide “family of Bozos.” He explained, “At one point there were 200 Bozos throughout America and Mexico and Brazil, so we really want to sort of replicate that. You have to kind of think of it as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
During the interview, Arquette acknowledged the potentially sinister undertones associated with Bozo. “There’s a lot of rebuilding we need to do for the love of clowns in general,” he admitted. “We’re being really sensitive about it — there’s going to be a lot of charity involved.”
In that vein, he’s opening a pop-up interactive circus experience at the Empire Stores shopping complex in Brooklyn, New York this November, with plans to later bring it to Chicago. Check out the full interview below.
Scream 5 — which will simply be titled Scream — is set to arrive on January 14th, 2022. It’ll see Arquette reunite with his fellow franchise veterans Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, with Ready or Not filmmakers Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directing.
