Eric Bischoff Discusses Jerry Sags Getting Into Legit Brawl With Cameraman, David Arquette Jumping In During the Fight

On the latest edition of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff discussed David Arquette’s infamous WCW World Title run and noted a legit fight that broke out between Jerry Sags of the Nasty Boys and one of the cameramen involved in a documentary Arquette was shooting, and how Arquette jumped into the fight to defend his cameraman against Sags. Bischoff also noted that Arquette refused to get a tan when asked to because it wasn’t in his contract to do so. Highlights are below.

On Sags getting upset that one of Arquette’s cameramen was shooting footage of him without asking permission: “Of course everybody had been drinking and things escalated, and Jerry Sags realizes that his cameraman was over behind the bar kind of hiding, David’s cameraman.”

“So his cameraman, who was a big tall guy, was over in the corner of the bar trying to hide and be discreet, you know, telephoto lens, and David was miced up, and Jerry Sags realizes he is being filmed, well unfortunately David nor the cameraman nor David’s producer asked permission first. And there is kind of an unwritten rule, when the talent is together and when they’re are off duty, when they’re away from the arena, particularly if they are socializing at the hotel bar after the show or prior to the show in this case, it’s kind of off limits. If you want to approach them for an autograph or picture, at least be polite and ask permission. That would certainly include videotaping them without their knowledge. Now that was wrong, the cameraman was wrong, the producer who set the shot up was wrong, they should have asked Jerry.”

On Sags smashing the camera and a brawl breaking out leading to Arquette jumping in: “Well, once Jerry realized what was going on, now Jerry Sags, he’s got a bit of a temper, he can be the easiest guy in the world to get along with, he can be a big, cuddly teddy bear, or he can be in real life your worst fucking nightmare. And at this point, he was the nightmare guy, and he walked over to this cameraman, who must have been about 6’4″, 6’5″, not a muscled up guy but a big guy, walked over, grabbed his camera, which I’m guessing was worth, David told me the next day, somewhere around $7,000, $5,000 or $7,000, picked the camera up, smashed it on the ground, big fight ensues, guess who jumps in the middle of it. Not me. I’m smarter than that, and too old for it. David Arquette. He jumps right, and this was a shoot brawl, this wasn’t for TV or for the documentary, this was a legit brawl, and David saw his cameraman in trouble and David jumps right into the middle of the Nasty Boys, fortunately there were enough people to pull it apart before David got pulled apart, but it was a big deal. But that I think is a reflection of David Arquette. Was Jerry Sags disrespected? Yes. Should that cameraman, should that producer have asked permission? Of course, that would have been the respectful thing to do. But David wasn’t going to stand on the sidelines and watch his buddy get the shit kicked out of him.”

On David Arquette refusing to get a tan after Bischoff asked him to: “I pulled David aside, I said David, it’s 11 o’clock in the morning, this is what time it was when he got to the building, I said, it’s a sunny day out, would you mind going out and try to get a little bit of color, because you’re looking a little pasty. David’s response was, look man, I can’t, I gotta get ready, because he’s a method actor, he really gets into the role by convincing himself that he is that character, and any good actor, or many good actors, utilize that technic, they just immerse themselves in the character, sometimes for weeks or months or longer, getting ready for a very important role, and I think David took this opportunity that seriously, and when I suggested he go outside and get a tan, he basically said, brother, it’s not in my contract, I can’t do that, so I was disappointed in that, but not enough so to make me want to change directions.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.