Courteney Cox Directs 'Evil Genius' at TIFF — SkimNews
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- Courteney Cox directs "Evil Genius," which debuts as a gala presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 12.
- The film dramatizes the 2003 "pizza bomber" case, in which Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong allegedly masterminded a plot to send a patsy into a bank outside Erie, Pa., with a bomb strapped around his neck.
- Cox cited her prior Lifetime film "TalhotBlond" — and Barbara Schroeder's 2018 doc series "Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist" — as direct inspiration for the project.
- Patricia Arquette stars as Diehl-Armstrong in what Cox described as a "snappy modern noir" in the vein of a Coen brothers film.
- David Harbour plays a man still trapped in Arquette's character's thrall; Cox said his "boyish charm" is "harnessed to tragic ends."
- Cox had access to "hours and hours of tape" from the Schroeder documentary, which she said informed Arquette's performance and helped her find "the humanity" and "vulnerability" in the schemer.
Why it matters: For Cox — best known for acting in "Friends" and the "Scream" franchise — the TIFF gala slot extends a directing career that already spans "Cougar Town" episodes and the 2014 feature "Just Before I Go." Pairing her with recent Emmy winner Patricia Arquette and Stranger Things breakout David Harbour gives the indie project two high-profile leads at a festival that typically launches awards-season contenders.
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