Courteney Cox has revealed she spent eight years fighting to make her new true-crime movie Evil Genius - saying she refused to abandon the project despite lockdown, Hollywood strikes and repeated difficulties getting it off the ground.

The 62-year-old actress has returned to feature directing 12 years after Just Before I Go with the dark comedy thriller, starring Patricia Arquette and David Harbour, which received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this month.

Inspired by the notorious 2003 "pizza bomber" case in Erie, Pennsylvania, the film marks the latest chapter in a career that has included a decade playing Monica Geller in Friends, six seasons of Cougar Town and seven appearances as reporter Gale Weathers in the Scream franchise.

Speaking to People about her tendency to commit to projects for years, Courteney said: "I mean, I've done seven Screams. I did 10 years of Friends. Six years of Cougar Town. I'm very into things that last a long time."

She added: "If I like something, I want it to last."

That persistence became particularly important with Evil Genius, which Courteney said faced a succession of obstacles during its journey to the screen.

She said: "It was really hard to get off the ground. There was a lockdown, two different strikes. I've been working on it for eight years through all of that. And I just could not let it go."

Courteney added: "I had to make this. I was not gonna let it go. And I fought and fought and fought through all these obstacles."

The film is based on the extraordinary case surrounding pizza delivery driver Brian Wells, who died in 2003 after a bomb locked around his neck exploded following a bank robbery in Erie.

Courteney became interested in the case after watching the 2018 Netflix documentary series Evil Genius and has described wanting to understand the people behind an apparently doomed and extraordinarily complicated criminal plot.

The film focuses partly on the relationship between Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, played by Patricia, and Bill Rothstein, played by Stranger Things star David.

Courteney also told People directing the ensemble had been a "great experience".

She said: "I had amazing actors. I mean, I don't wanna say amazing 50 times, but I have the most talented actors. Patricia Arquette, David Harbour… the best ensemble cast you can imagine. I had a really great DP. I had a truly great editor… It worked out beautifully."

The cast also includes Michael Chernus, Garret Dillahunt, Danielle Macdonald and Courteney's daughter Coco Arquette.

Coco, whom Courteney shares with former husband David Arquette has a small part in the film.

Courteney said: "Coco is a small part in Evil Genius, but she's a really good actor."

She added: "She takes it very seriously. She studied at the William Esper Studio. I can't wait to actually direct her when I get to spend a lot of time (with it.)"

The premiere of the film comes more than three decades after Courteney became globally famous as Monica in Friends alongside Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry, who died aged 54 in 2023.

The sitcom ran for 10 seasons between 1994 and 2004 and remains the role most closely associated with Courteney, while her portrayal of Gale in the Scream films gave her another character spanning decades.

Away from film, Courteney is also expanding Homecourt, the luxury homecare and fragrance company she launched in 2022.