Scream: David Arquette Describes Working with Ex-Wife, Courteney Cox, as Emotional

Scream was one of the most popular horror franchises in recent memory before it sputtered out with a fourth entry in 2011. With its meta-commentary on horror films and introduction of the iconic Ghostface killer persona, the first Scream film reinvented the genre in 1996.

The sixth film, Scream – like the first one – is now in theaters. It has the same trio of characters as the original: Neve Campbell plays Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox plays Gale Weathers, and David Arquette acts as Dewey Riley.

The actors were just beginning to establish themselves in the early 1990s. Cox was a cast member of Friends while Arquette appeared in several films from the era. The two became friends and married on set, but they subsequently divorced in May 2013.

Arquette revealed what it was like working with his ex-wife again in a recent article about the film with the three actors. He claims that it was rather uncomfortable to work with her once again.

“It’s been 25 years of our lives. We’ve grown up together. We have a child together.” He told The New York Times, “It’s a cathartic experience to just be able to act opposite Courteney.”

He stated that he got emotional when they filmed together for the first time after so many years.

“He got very emotional while he was filming it. He said the next day the crew didn’t look at him,” Cox said.

In the film, the pair is subsequently divorced. The script required them to enact a particularly challenging breakup scene that mirrored their own reality.

Arquette described the experience of filming “Scream” as being a roller coaster. He said he and Cox gave directors real-life photos from their personal lives to use in the film, which was emotional and moving. Because the original director, Wes Craven, wasn’t there to advise them, Arquette remarked that it was emotional.

“There were moments when I felt Wes’s spirit around a lot. There would be a wind blowing, and I’d see Courteney’s hair move back. And then it’s just like [Arquette made a crying noise] It made it really easy to tap into those feelings,” he said.

One of the simplest parts about filming the film and continuing its story is that anybody can assume the Ghostface persona. This, according to Cox, is one of the reasons why the movie is so unique.

“There’s a deeper meaning to the fact that anybody could be Ghostface,” she said. “What it’s taught me is that you don’t go into a parking lot, ever, at night. You don’t go to the bathroom in a movie theater. And anybody could go off the deep end.”

About David Arquette and Courtney Cox

David Arquette and Courtney Cox are the former star couple of the ’90s. They were married for 11 years before they got divorced in 2010, but that doesn’t mean their relationship is over. Not by a long shot. In fact, it sounds like David may be trying to work things out with Courtney for himself and his children’s sake, even though she has been spotted out on dates with her new boyfriend Johnny McDaid from Snow Patrol.

The actor has said he’s still in love with Courteney Cox, which she says “makes me sad.” He also said he wants to make amends for what happened during their marriage because “I’m tired of being angry.” And when asked if he would ever get back together with her, he said:

“I don’t know. There’s a part of me that says keep going, and there’s a part of me that says I want to be with my kids and if I am going to be in this world it has got to be family first. I am glad we are able to work together [on Scream Queens], and I hope we will again, and that is a good thing. That’s more important than anything else.”

He was talking on the red carpet during The Late Late Show with James Corden so there were lots of other stars around to hear him say those things, including his Scream Queens co-star Emma Roberts , who he also said he has a crush on.

Talking about what it was like to work with his ex-wife , he said:

“It’s emotional, you know? I’m still in love with her and no matter what she does, that will never change.”