David Arquette's Shroom Movie Night Was Peak Hollywood Chaos

When Hayden Panettiere decided to try mushrooms for the first time, she probably didn’t envision it unfolding on a glamping trip with her“Scream 4”crew. But that’s exactly what happened back in 2010 when the actress, her best friend Allie, and a group of twenty-something crew members gathered at a property rented by Neve Campbell during production.

Safe, surrounded by people she trusted, and in a stress-free setting—it seemed like the perfect conditions for a first experience. Panettiere felt good about the choice. And then David Arquette showed up.

Here’s where things took a turn. Arquette arrived, took one look at the psychedelic vibes unfolding around him, politely declined the mushrooms himself, and then made what might be the most bewildering decision in Hollywood history: he decided everyone should watch“The Tripper,”his gory 2006 comedy slasher film. Not exactly the calming, feel-good content you’d recommend to someone deep in their first trip.

By the time the movie started rolling, Panettiere was already fully immersed in the experience. Within minutes, the film’s relentless barrage of gore, corpses, violence, and carnage had her convinced her eyeballs were about to start bleeding. It took one of her friends finally shutting it off to put an end to what was shaping up to be a genuinely rough moment. Panettiere admits she still has no idea what Arquette was thinking—and honestly, neither do we. It’s the kind of decision that makes you wonder if he was testing some unwritten Hollywood prank rulebook we’ve never heard of.

Still, you’ve got to hand it to her: she turned a potentially chaotic night into a pretty great story for the memoir. That’s the Hollywood way.