Patricia Arquette, David Harbour are teaming up for a true crime story so twisted, you’ll think it’s fiction
![Patricia Arquette in a still from 'Murdaugh: Death in the Family'; David Harbour poses for a photo [Cover Image Source: Instagram | (L) @murdaughonhulu; (R) @dkharbour]](http://d2a0gza273xfgz.cloudfront.net/778968/uploads/f36c18f0-bada-11f0-afd9-474ebf626286_1200_630.jpeg)
A chilling new true-crime film is on the way, and it brings together three powerhouse names. Patricia Arquette, David Harbour, and Courteney Cox are teaming up for ‘Evil Genius,’ a feature film inspired by one of America’s strangest and most shocking criminal cases. The Oscar- and Emmy-winning Patricia Arquette (‘Boyhood,’ ‘The Act’) and ‘Stranger Things’ star David Harbour lead the cast. Meanwhile, ‘Friends’ alum Courteney Cox steps behind the camera to direct the psychological thriller. The project marks one of Cox’s biggest directorial ventures yet and promises a darkly human take on a crime that once captivated the nation.
According to Deadline, ‘Evil Genius’ will revisit the true story behind the notorious “pizza bomber” case. It’s a bizarre 2003 incident in Erie, Pennsylvania, in which a pizza deliveryman was forced to rob a bank with a bomb strapped around his neck. What unfolded became one of the most puzzling and disturbing investigations in FBI history, blurring the lines between victim, perpetrator, and pawn. Cox’s film adaptation goes beyond the crime itself, exploring the themes of manipulation, greed, and moral ambiguity. “I’ve been fascinated by ‘Evil Genius’ since I first saw the documentary,” Cox said in a statement.
She added, “It’s stranger than fiction. At times 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.” The star-studded cast also features Michael Chernus (‘Orange Is the New Black’), Garrett Dillahunt (‘Fear the Walking Dead’), Danielle Macdonald (‘Patti Cake$’), Tom McCarthy (‘Spotlight’), Gregory Alan Williams (‘The Righteous Gemstones’), Ryan Eggold (‘New Amsterdam’), Owen Teague (‘Bloodline’), and Harlow Jane (‘The Secret Life of Bees’).
The script, written by WGA nominee Courtenay Miles (‘Ozark,’ ‘Mindhunter’), draws inspiration from the popular 2018 Netflix docuseries ‘Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist’ by Barbara Schroeder and Trey Borzillieri. The project is being financed and produced by August Night, with Jason Bateman, Michael Costigan, and John Buderwitz producing under their Aggregate Films banner alongside Cox herself. Production is currently underway in New Jersey, where the film is expected to capture both the gritty realism of the true story and the dark humor that made the original documentary a cultural phenomenon.
Interestingly, ‘Evil Genius’ also marks a reunion of sorts for Cox and Arquette, who share a personal connection. Cox was once married to Arquette’s younger brother, actor David Arquette, from 1999 to 2013, as per Just Jared. As for Harbour, the actor has been in headlines recently for reasons beyond his acting career, but he seems perfectly suited for the morally gray world ‘Evil Genius’ explores. No release date has been announced yet, but given the pedigree behind it, fans of psychological thrillers and crime dramas will want to keep this one on their radar.