‘Scream’: David Arquette ‘Got Very Emotional’ Working with Ex Courteney Cox
David Arquette became famous for his roles in movies and TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Airheads, and Never Been Kissed. Of course, you can’t forget his role as Dewey Ridley, the lovable cop in the slasher film Scream. In the decades since, Arquette reprised his role in the hit sequels.
In addition to earning fame, Arquette met his now ex-wife, Courteney Cox, on the set of Scream. Both returned for the fifth installment, also titled Scream. How did Arquette feel about working with Cox again?
David Arquette said filming ‘Scream’ with Cox was cathartic
Scream, released in 1996, became a slow-burn hit, effectively and playfully questioning the rules and clichés of the slasher film genre. It also skyrocketed the lead actors’ careers. Neve Campbell, Arquette, and Cox came together to make Scream a success. The movie also refreshed the director Wes Cravens’ career.
The years since filming Scream brought a lot of change. Craven died from brain cancer in 2015. Also, Arquette and Cox fell in love while filming, got married, and had a child together. They divorced but remained friendly.
Coming together to film a new film brought about positive and negative emotions. When Arquette and Cox started shooting the 2022 sequel, the former experienced a lot of both, calling it “inherently awkward” to work opposite his ex as the characters they met portraying. But because their love interest characters also split up, it helped to play that out on screen.
“It’s a cathartic experience to just be able to act opposite of Courteney,” Arquette told The New York Times. “He got very emotional while he was filming it,” Cox added of a heavy scene between them.
It was a slasher film romance
Cox and Arquette met in 1996. According to Digital Spy, they first interacted at a pre-party before filming started. After two years of dating, Arquette proposed to Cox in 1998. And on June 12, 1999, they exchanged wedding vows at their star-studded wedding in San Francisco. They welcomed their daughter, Coco, in 2004. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2013.
While no longer married, Cox and Arquette remain close friends. They co-parent Coco and even own a production company together. Cox once told People Arquette is her “favorite person in the world” and her “very best friend.”
Other emotions on the ‘Scream’ set
It wasn’t just reuniting on a film set with Cox that made Arquette emotional. The cast and crew felt the notable absence of Craven. (Directorial duties went to Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known for Ready or Not.)
But just because the director couldn’t physically be there, didn’t mean the cast didn’t think about him. “There were moments when I felt Wes’s spirit around a lot,” Arquette told the Times. “There would be a wind blowing, and I’d see Courteney’s hair move back. And then it’s just like…It made it really easy to tap into those feelings.”
