Courteney Cox and David Arquette have proved they are friendly exes as the actress officially casts his sister Patricia Arquette in the upcoming true crime thriller Evil Genius.
The 61-year-old Friends alum – who recently impressed fans as she showcased her skills on the drums – is directing the project which is inspired by the 2018 docuseries titled Evil Genius: The True Story Of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist.
Courteney was previously married to Patricia’s younger brother David from 1999 until their divorce was finalized in 2013.
Stranger Things star David Harbour has also been cast in the film, Deadline reported on Thursday.
The movie is set to follow the true crime case of the ‘pizza bomber’ in which pizza delivery man Brian Wells entered a bank in Pennsylvania in 2003 with an explosive collar locked around his neck – which later detonated, killing him instantly.
Courteney – who is one of the film’s producers – is no stranger to stepping behind the camera and has previously directed projects such as Just Before I Go (2014) as well as episodes of Cougar Town.
Courteney Cox and David Arquette have proved they are friendly exes as the actress officially casts his sister Patricia Arquette in the upcoming true crime thriller Evil Genius
Courteney was previously married to Patricia’s younger brother David from 1999 until their divorce was finalized in 2013; former couple seen in 2005 in Beverly Hills
Evil Genius will ‘deeply human story of deception, desperation, and the line between victim and villain,’ per Deadline.
Other stars that have been cast in the film include Michael Chernus, Garrett Dillahunt, Danielle Macdonald, Tom McCarthy and Harlow Jane.
‘I’ve been fascinated by Evil Genius since I first saw the documentary. It’s stranger than fiction,’ Courteney expressed in a statement.
‘At moments darkly funny and yet deeply emotional. A story about love, loneliness, manipulation, and the people on the fringes who get pulled into something much bigger than themselves.’
Production for the new true crime thriller is currently in full swing in the state of New Jersey.
However, a set release date for Evil Genius has yet to be announced.
The 2018 Netflix docuseries was positively received by critics and has a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While Courteney has worked with Patricia’s brother David on a number of projects, it appears Evil Genius will bring the Scream actress and Medium alum together for the first time.
Production for the new true crime thriller is currently in full swing in the state of New Jersey; Courteney seen on set of movie earlier this month
While Courteney has worked with Patricia’s brother David on a number of projects, it appears Evil Genius will bring the Scream actress and Medium alum together for the first time; Courteney seen with Patricia and David in 2008 in L.A.
Courteney and David first crossed paths on set of Scream in 1996 and tied the knot three years later in 1999; the pair seen above in Scream 2 in 1997
Courteney and David first crossed paths on set of Scream in 1996 and tied the knot three years later in 1999.
The former couple welcomed daughter Coco, 21, but their separation was announced in 2010 – and their divorce finalized three years later.
The actress has since moved on with Snow Patrol band member Johnny McDaid with their romance beginning in late 2013.
Despite the couple previously calling off their engagement, the two stars have remained in a relationship.
David started dating journalist Christina McLarty in 2011 and the pair went on to marry in 2015. They are also parents to two children: Charlie and Augustus.
Following their split, both Courteney and David have maintained an amicable and positive co-parenting relationship.
The two stars have also continued to work together on projects such as Scream 5 (2022) and the upcoming sequel Scream 7 (2026).
Back in 2020, the actor opened up to Entertainment Tonight about collaborating with Courteney once again following their divorce.
The actress has since moved on with Snow Patrol band member Johnny McDaid with their romance beginning in late 2013; the couple seen above in September in NYC
‘Well, we co-parent. So, we’re in touch quite a bit. It’s great. But we always love working together.’
David further added, ‘She’s an incredible actress, so it’ll be fun to bring these characters back to life and see where they’re at… co-starring’s the easy part.’
And while appearing on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live in 2023, he also admitted that it had been ‘difficult’ dealing with Courteney’s fame from her time on Friends.
‘Yeah, absolutely. It’s difficult… I have some of the traditional male things where I want to like, you know, provide and pick up the check and, you know, be the breadwinner.’
He added, ‘In the acting world, in general, you’re always going on this roller coaster of popularity and not able to get a job.
‘So it’s like this weird thing. And then, when you’re comparing yourself to someone who’s at the top of the television iconic world, it’s kind of hard to put yourself there.’
David later expressed to Cohen, ‘But we had a really great thing at the end. I just think a lot of people end up when relationships end and lawyers get involved, they really sort of battle a lot of the time.
‘And they end up really fighting and spending a lot of money to lawyers where they should be sort of splitting with each other. I just encourage people to truly try to work it out.’
And while appearing on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live in 2023, he also admitted that it had been ‘difficult’ dealing with Courteney’s fame from her time on Friends; seen in 2004 in Beverly Hills
‘There’s a lot of emotions and feelings. We’ve just had – not an easy time with it, we’ve just been really open and supportive of each other,’ he said; the former couple seen above with daughter Coco
He also talked about raising daughter Coco with Courteney during a past interview with Yahoo Entertainment.
‘There’s a lot of emotions and feelings. We’ve just had – not an easy time with it, we’ve just been really open and supportive of each other.’
David continued, ‘We never went head-to-head, [or] battled each other, through the process of divorce and through the process of raising our kid. So it’s made for a friendship and relationship that is out of respect.’
Courteney will reprise her role of reporter Gale Weathers while David will step back into the shoes of Dewey Riley in Scream 7 – which is set to hit theaters next year on February 27.
