David Arquette Stays Busy Fighting Hunger in America

What's happening with this event tonight?
I'm hosting an event where Spencer Day is playing at the Upright Cabaret in Los Angeles. All the proceeds from tonight's event go toward Feeding America. Also, anybody who downloads his song 'Better Way' will provide seven meals for hungry Americans. It's a really great thing Spencer's doing. He did a video for that song which used some Feeding America footage and shows what hungry Americans are dealing with.

That's great.
Yeah. Spencer really feels a connection with it -- when he first came to Los Angeles, he was struggling and living out of his car, often going to bed hungry. He'd go to food pantries. He knows firsthand what it's like. His commitment to donate all these proceeds is such a stand-up move; it's really difficult to get record companies to back something like that.

How long have you been involved with Feeding America?
Two years. It's been a great relationship, getting to know the people we're helping and the people that have been working to try to eliminate hunger in America for 20, 30 years is really a joy.

How'd you get involved?
They approached me when they were changing their name from America's Second Harvest to Feeding America. I initially got involved just to help them promote that name change. But the more I got involved, the more I started seeing what the faces of hunger in America look like -- they're working Americans, they're seniors living on a fixed income. It's not what you'd typically expect. In a country that's as wealthy as ours, we shouldn't have people that don't know where their next meal's coming from.

What's something that's really hit you during your work with Feeding America?
I've had tons of experiences... seeing a kid, when you give 'em a bag of food and they just go right into it, eating something healthy, after having to eat anything they can. I ran into an actor who told me he was in 'Che' two years ago and now he was in this line, waiting for a bag of food. It was an intense reality.

You're a pretty involved guy. A lot of it seems tied in with music -- you do a clothing line with Ben Harper, you did the 'Rock a Little, Feed a Lot' concert with Harper and Sheryl Crow...
It's a close connection -- music talks to the soul, the body needs food, food provides energy and inspiration for people to be creative and productive in their lives.

And it's got to be a blast, being a fan of someone and then getting to work with them and become close with them.
It's unbelievable, man, when you're friends with these incredible, world-class musicians. Sheryl Crow will come over and tease us with this new song and it's the most incredible, beautiful song you've ever heard, and we get a sneak peek at it. It's such an amazing opportunity.

Has your five-year-old daughter Coco exhibited any musical tendencies?
She's taking piano lessons, flute lessons and learning how to read scales and write notes. I'm taking trumpet lessons. I'm really enjoying it.

We've heard you and Courteney are thinking about adopting a child soon?
No. We don't have any plans on it, no. That was just something Bonnie Hunt asked us if we'd be open to it and I said yeah, and then suddenly we're "adopting." We probably won't.

How do you feel about Courteney leading this whole cougar thing with her show 'Cougar Town'?
I think it's funny. She's played such a great character and the writers have done such a good job that I think it's transcended the initial "cougar" drawing. They're even discussing changing the title since it's sort of expanded now.

'Scream 4' is coming up, right?
I think we're filming it in June. Wes Craven just signed up; he's fully on board. That excited me more than anything.

Have you and Courteney done anything on-screen together since 'Scream 3' in 2000?
Just in Feeding America public service announcements. [Laughs]

'Scream' came out in 1996, about 15 years after the slasher genre's heyday, and re-energized the style. Now it's been another 15 years. How will the new flick address that?
I think it's gonna be really interesting. They'll have a lot of material to draw from with 'Saw' and 'Avatar' and 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter' and all these different franchises that have come out since -- they'll be able to have a lot of fun with those pop culture references being fresh and up-to-date.

Anything else on your plate lately?
There's something called Stamp Out Hunger on May 8. Everyone, nationwide, should leave a bag of non-perishable groceries by their mailbox and the letter carrier will take it to the local food bank. Courteney and I have been doing an ad campaign for that.

How do you divvy up all these projects?
You just try to keep all the balls in the air and do what's important to you and to others. I've got this new philosophy I learned in therapy, it's something I've been trying to live my life by. There's high synergy or low synergy. High synergy is when you do something that is good for you, but it's also good for the other person you're working with. Low synergy is when it's good for you, but it doesn't matter how it affects the other person, and it's typically negative toward them. So that's been my philosophy, trying to do things that work for me, positive experiences or business ventures, but are also positive for the people I'm involved with. It's a really interesting philosophy. If people adapted it in the corporate world more, instead of always just looking for the financial gain, if they had a little more of a heart in their approach to business, they could be successful and also be positive for society.

Well, here's hoping.
Yeah man. That's all we can do.

Spencer Day's David Arquette-hosted Feeding America benefit concert is tonight at the Upright Cabaret in Los Angeles. Showtime is 9 p.m., with dinner and drink specials beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15, available online or $20 at the door (if available).

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