Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Courteney Cox

Episode Date: March 6, 2022

In 1994, Courteney Cox landed the role that would change her life and make her a star around the world – playing Monica Geller on the hit show Friends. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the actress to talk about what it was like living inside the bubble of the Friends phenomenon and her impressive career since then, including a successful run of Scream movies, the acclaimed show Cougar Town, and her latest horror comedy series, Shining Vale. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along. Got a great one for you this week with someone who really needs no introduction. She is Courtney Cox. You know her best, of course, from her 10 seasons on Friends, one of the biggest shows, obviously, in the history of television. We talk about how that leap changed her life, what it was like living inside that bubble for a decade as one of the most famous people in the world and then almost as interesting stepping out of the bubble life after friends what it was like at the beginning what it's been like since and how she's found all these other new joys and projects in her life we got together at a hotel in new york city to set the scene for you we are sitting

together and between us on a table is a burning candle why is there a burning candle between us well because courtney's got a new line of home products called home court Sometimes the name just fits. She's got candles. She's really into design, but also into keeping your place beautiful and clean. So she's got these sprays for the countertop and the air fresheners and the whole thing. It's all happening. So we talk a little bit about home court and her latest project, a new series on stars, called Shining Vale.

The quick plot line is she, her husband, two kids move out of Brooklyn, up to a house in Connecticut. Turns out the house is haunted. It is genuinely scary, but also funny at the same time. It's a cool project. So we get into all of it. Friends, her movie career, growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, actually called Mountain Brook, a little town just outside. Some real revelations about her early work here, doing some modeling for local department stores. And I learned, I don't know if anyone knew this, she worked for a pool company, measuring the pH in people's pools.

There's so much. It's a long and wind. Ending Road and a great conversation, one of my favorites, with Courtney Cox right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Courtney, it's good to see you. Good to see you. We have to first talk about the, not the elephant in the room, but the candle in the room. Yeah.

Home court. This is your candle. Yep. I've always wanted to do a candle, and I've always wanted to, you know, you get candles a lot as gifts. Yeah. And sometimes they smell so good, but they look so bad that you don't want to put them anywhere. And then sometimes they smell terrible, but the container is just right.

So I decided to make something kind of just classic that could go in any style of house. And the sense or something I'm really proud of, I love it. I spend a lot of time with the best perfumers. And I'm really happy and proud. Well, you are known for your hospitality. We have mutual friends who tell me about the parties you have and your house is always open to people. So did this whole idea of Homecourt just feel like a natural for you? Like I do this at home anyway.

Why not create something for the world? Yeah, it kind of was. I do have a lot of people over, especially on Sundays, because I am from a very big family. My grandmother used to do this every Sunday. At 5.30 we'd go over. I have 21 first cousins. So when I moved here to L.A., when I say here, I'm actually in New York,

which is weird. I did live here. But when I moved to L.A., it's such a spread-out city, and I don't have family there, so I wanted to create a community. So on Sundays, there's every kind of person that comes, whether they're musicians or they could be a landscape person, or it doesn't matter. I just bring interesting people together.

And during lockdown, I was home, which I'm a home buddy anyway, but the smell of Clorox was so exciting at the beginning and it could wipe everything down. And then I thought, why not take care of your home the way you take care of yourself? So I created this brand. I've spent a lot of time on, do you want to talk at all? I'm just going to keep talking.

No, I'm in. I'm in. Okay, sorry. Anyway, I created a bottle of, you know, a room, a counter spray, a dish soap, a hand soap, and there's more coming. But that look great on your counter so you don't have to hide it. And every scent is something that the way you'd like to smell. So it's beauty products for the home. And so how do you get those?

I mean, you said that's kind of your scent, right? There's one that's my scent called Sisi. Yeah. And you bottled it and put it in a product. Unfortunately, you're not getting to be a part of my scent because I didn't bring them. I forgot. But I put on a couple of oils and a perfume and they mix together. And it is my personal scent.

And all of them have been inspired by either just something that I love or I love rose, but I don't like powdery roses. So this smells exactly like the complete rose, the stem, the petals. It's great. cement and there's a noroli. I love orange blossom and yeah, it's good and it's natural. When I say natural, it

really works but it's just there's just no harsh chemicals in it, but it will rival any harsh chemical. And it's recycled plastic that's recyclable and recycled and it's okay for your family

yeah, your family and pets. And apparently it's like you're crushing it. It's sold out and they have to restock it, the whole thing. That's got to be really exciting to kind of take a chance on something and see it go like that. I was really, I think that Monica thing, you know, my dikegasting, really helped out. I think that just, also Instagram, you know, it's a direct-to-consumer situation. So I think fans may be curious and they know that, you know, aesthetics are really important to me, home decor and I clean a lot.

So we're restocked as of Monday. So even if we don't get to go to the Sunday party, we can kind of have the experience of being in your home. Yeah. That's very cool. Congratulations. Let's talk about Shining Vale. Amazing show. I just got through episode three.

Oh, great. Scary, very scary at times, also very funny at other times. So just for people who are thinking about checking it out on stars, what's sort of the backdrop and the idea behind the story? Imagine if it was the shining but a comedy. I mean, it's scary. I play a character named Pat Phelps, who is, she's a writer of a, it's really erotic novel.

She hasn't written in 17 years because she has a writer's block. She has an affair with the handyman, and her life is, she's depressed, she's unmotivated, and she's got this family that she wants to put back together. They moved to upstate New York,

and her husband's Greg Kinnear. He's great. And they're just, It's real issues that are being dealt with. Depression, menopause, possession. I mean, you know, real things. Anyway, I'm a mother of a teenage daughter, which is challenging in itself. And this character, it just deals with all these things.

It's the most layered character I've ever been able to play. And it was created by Sharon Horgan from Catastrophe. Well, I can't talk. And she's just, you know, I'm such a fan of hers. and Jeff Astroff, who was a writer on Friends. So it's got a great balance, and it's a dark comedy, and it's a psychological thriller. Yeah, the house that you guys buy,

I have to take some exception with your choice of house. I mean, did you guys do a walk-through beforehand? Once you've already purchased it, you get up there, and it is clearly haunted from the minute you walk up to it. Yeah, you can tell. It didn't seem that way when we first looked at it. We were a little taken aback when we came back, and it was really, it looked scary.

And by the way, the house that we filmed in was really scary. I'm pretty sure that it was haunted by one of the father had died in the house. There's a husband and wife and a girl that lived there. And I think they were pretty sure he comes to visit. Wow, so it was very authentic. Oh, God.

I would not walk around that house while myself. Well, that kind of echoes the show. I was telling you, anytime you're alone in the house and the music comes in, I go, oh, no. Yeah. Here we go. But you kind of like that. You like scary movies.

You like the experience of being scared. Was that part of the appeal of this to you? I guess so I'm very comfortable being scared. I did a lot of screams. Yeah, I do like to be scared. I love those old movies, Rosemary's Baby, the Shining, anything that keeps you on the edge of your seat. So I do like that.

And there's so many references to those old movies in this show. But I also love comedies. And I love when they balance each other or not balance. They play off each other. Well, that's the thing. Just as soon as you're like, I can't take the scare anymore, you get pulled out for a minute. You kind of give us a breather with the comedy in there. You touched on it, too, of some things that you said you've had in your own life,

obviously a mother of a teenager and, you know, kind of rediscovering yourself at a certain stage of your life. Did you see a lot of yourself or any of yourself in Pat? I do see a lot of myself. I feel like it's the, it was almost written for me in some ways, even though it wasn't. I do. I feel like she, the Pat has such an honest relationship with her kid. I mean, her kid is relentless. I mean, she's played by Gus Bernie.

And I find myself kind of coming to my daughter's level a lot. So if she says something, I imitate her. And I know that's terrible parenting, but you can't help it sometimes. I'm not the one that goes, I know you're really suffering right now and struggling. I'm just like, come on, unless it's a serious thing. And then I'm working on being a little more nurturing. I'm not mean, though. I think you are.

I mean, just even from what I see on Instagram, it's clear real life that you and your daughter have a great... There's one where you're playing music and you say, Coco, do you want to sing tonight? And she says, no, mom, but I love you. I think doesn't that capture the whole thing? I'm not going along for it, but I still love you. It's a little more, no, mom, like, we've talked about this. Stop, stop using me for your Instagram. I love you, though.

She's a little, she's so tired of me. You're not tired of her, though. You're hanging on tight, right? Getting ready to send her off. I'm kind of obsessed with her. She's really funny. She's just, she's a cool girl. She shops on Amazon for her clothes.

I mean, literally, I'd be like, Coco, where did you get that? I got it to the secondhand shop. It was $3. I just, I love her, I love her uniqueness and she's very original. She's cool. Yeah, she's cool. She's cool. Thanks.

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more of my conversation with Courtney Cox right after the break. Welcome back. Now, more of my conversation with Courtney Cox. So I'm curious, like with this show and this in your career, you could do, things, anything you want to do really. How do you decide what's worthy of your time? Undertaking a series like this is no small effort. You know, you're going to shoot, you're going to get it right, you're going to do press, and all the things that come with it that you know very

well. How do you decide what train to jump on in your career? Well, I've done things that I'm really proud of. I mean, obviously friends has been, you know, I felt so blessed to be on that show. But I just, I read this and I thought this was so different and so well written that I wanted to, it kind of reinvigorated my passion for acting. I hadn't done anything for a long time because you read things and you think, you know, high voice, it's good. Or I don't know. You know, it was two, I did one pilot in my life that didn't work.

And that was in the last six years. And it really got to me. I thought, oh, this is not going to be okay. I'm not going to ever take a chance again unless the writers are established. And so I waited for the right part. And then when I read it, I definitely went for it. And so does this now, because the series is well received and people are going to love it, does this sort of open a new door for you of like, okay, I put myself out there a little bit?

This is something different than people are used to me doing. Now, do you do other, take more chances? Well, I'm hoping that this goes for a while because it's very challenging. I just get to play so many things. It's also almost a drama. There's a lot of real life issues. I get to be really emotional. And so I'm hoping this goes.

I love directing. And I just did a commercial. I did Brandy Carlisle's video. And that was really fun. And I've done, I've directed before. I did a lot of episodes of Cougar Town, and I've done two films. But I want to make that a part of my future.

Just I love, I'm very visual, and I just love to work with actors. And I'm going to do Home Court. And I'm going to keep designing because I get bored and then I have to redo. I mean, luckily, Johnny just got this place in London. And I'm, you know, I'm really spending a lot of time doing that. That's your project. Yeah, I love it.

I'm obsessed with design. So I don't know if I wanted, I mean, I don't know what else I have time for. Yeah, right. And I've got to do, you know, Instagram post. The Instagram post, since you bring them up, are just extraordinary. One day you'll pop up and you're with Ed Shear and Elton John. Brandy Carlisle standing next to you with her guitar.

How do you pull those together? Are those the Sunday nights, people just hanging out at the house? Yeah. I met Brandy because right before lockdown, I had done a post, I was playing the piano and Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol was singing The Joke, which is an incredible song. So good. Heartbreaking.

And so she reached out to me and said, we should jam sometime and you can play that song. And then the world shut down. She was going to come over that Sunday. It was really bummed. I thought it was going to be over in two weeks. I was like, great. I'll see her at the end of the month.

Well, that didn't happen. So once it was over and things were lifting a little bit, we reached out to each other, and she came over, and she just came to sing any time. It's so effortless to her. And Ed Shearin is a friend of mine, and that's actually how I met Johnny, and we met, and he came over,

and he stays over every single time he's in L.A. And he's just great. He's a great. His wife is incredible. I mean, Jerry, she's, they're great. And then, I don't know, he brings in people. He brought in Elton John. And like I said, I mean, Sundays are just one of those things that are, it's a great

music night. Not every Sunday. So you've got to plan ahead. Okay. It's not like a running, okay. Not every night. It's not a drop in on Sunday and see who's there. You're going to see.

Yeah, yeah. You've got to like me and be okay with Chessmy. And then be surprised. That's very cool. What a cool atmosphere, like just to have that place, a happy place for all those people to be. You were talking about making the Instagram videos during COVID and everything you did. You also sat down and watched the entirety of friends, I understand, from start to finish. No.

Did someone tell you that? Did you not? Oh, I thought I heard that. I see it on TV sometime tonight. I stop and go, oh, my God, I don't remember this at all. That is so funny. Yeah. I don't remember filming so many episodes. And then I'm shocked and not shocked, but I am just, oh, wow, that really holds up. And that, look at this chemistry and the writing.

I mean, the creators of that show are so smart. And I just still love it. But I should have watched all 10 episodes. I'm 10. There's only 10 of them. I should have watched all 10 seasons because when I did the reunion and was asked questions, I was like, I don't remember being there. Now, is that because it was such a whirlwind or just because it's just sort of, it was all a blur to you at the time? No, that was because I can't, I just have a bad memory. Okay. It's simpler than that. Yeah, it's really basic. I don't remember any trauma in my childhood, but I have like three memories.

I don't know. I don't know why. Just a few big ones and everything else fell away. I'm kind of bummed that we didn't spend more time taking pictures because I really don't have a lot of, I don't have a lot to look back at. Yeah, I mean, it's back at the right thing. Do you end with at ever?

Is that right? You can. You can't. Yeah, just when you're hanging out over a home court candle and a drink, you're good. Okay. That's interesting that you were, that you liked what you saw because some people can't watch themselves,

even a show as great as, his friends. They might go, oh, I can't watch myself. But did you have enough distance from it to say, you know what, this was as good as people said? Yeah, except for the ones where they added an extra commercial, so they sped it up a little bit, which I can really tell. And you can tell with all characters, but I sound the way I think many, mouse or Tinkerbell sound like. It's like, oh my God, I hate my voice so much. But when it's not sped up, I like it. Well, that's not your fault. That's just somebody speeding it up, right? Yeah, but what am I to do?

Like, call everybody this season. I mean, they don't think that. It sounds like I've been smoking a ton of cigarettes since then, and I haven't. Do you, are you able now with this much distance to reflect on what it was like to be in that bubble of the friend's phenomenon at the time? Yes, I didn't realize, I mean, we started out the show and it was popular, but nothing like it until the summer and they did the reruns and all of a sudden it just took off. I knew we had something special, the whole cast, we love each other. We went through so much together, marriages, divorces,

kids, parents dying. It was just 10 years of a part of your life where there's huge changes. And I know I knew it was special, but the fact that it's still special is strange. When I see I mean, I was walking out of the hotel today or yesterday, and I said to someone, how did I get popular again? I mean, I really feel like there's paparazzi, and it's because friends will, I think, never die. It doesn't matter what generation is watching it. It's just, it holds up. I think the comedy is relevant. People can relate to every character.

I don't care how big the cell phone is, the computer you can't lift. Life is that way, and, you know, if you have a friend group, which is your family. I have a 14-year-old daughter and she and her friends know everything about the show and they watch it because it's on again or you can get it on wherever it's on whatever streaming service, so it will go from generation to generation. It lives. Do you remember a moment when the sort of the switch flipped and it went from a show we think is pretty good at doing well to, oh, our lives have changed forever? Was it after that summer? It was after that summer. And I remember we went to,

on a, like, really lucky, all of us together with Jim Burroughs, and we were, we were on our way to Vegas. He gave us all $500. And he said, I want you to take care, like, really take notice of this moment because it will be the last time that all six of you together can walk through a casino. And we were like, really? And it was true. We never, we could never do that. Can you, I mean, I don't want to sound like, look at us. We're not, you know, the Beatles. But it is, people feel like they know you. If we were all to walk down the streets, six of us, it would be, I think it'd be really interesting to people. But I don't know. I mean, just people, we're in people's houses all the time. Yeah. I think that, yeah, does that sound conceited? No, no, I totally know what you mean.

And by the way, you won't say it, but you were as close to the Beatles as a group of Americans can be in terms of popularity, not just here and around the world. Did it, in terms of your day-to-day life, Did it make things uncomfortable? Were there parts of it that were nice? Was it disorienting for you to suddenly be front and center for so many people? You know, look, you pretty much get into a restaurant last minute. That was nice. I love the perks of being on a popular show, for sure.

I definitely would sign an autograph. I don't care what I was doing, and that may be weird. And sometimes it's not nice to the person you're with. but I feel like what if no one cared? I want to be able to give back if someone does care or take a picture no matter what I look like. I just, I don't know. I feel lucky, I think.

I mean, I'm not saying it's not, the people wait for you outside of a hotel and have you sign, you know, something for Masters of the Universe. What are they going to make? Like $5? I feel bad. Right, right. I mean, do people even buy that stuff anymore? That's when I go, oh, I don't love doing it,

But then I feel bad, and so I will do it. Right. And the person asking you to do that probably hasn't seen the show. There's just some value in it for that. They're not even old enough to have seen the show. Right. Right. They're putting it up online.

So then how about stepping out of that bubble? Because that wasn't easy, although all of you really did find a project that was successful. You know, coming out of there, it's extraordinary. You did some things before Cougartown, but I think it's fair to say Cougartown was your first, like, I'm directing, I'm starring. It's a successful show. I'm being nominated for awards. Did that feel?

gratifying to kind of step away from that group and say, I can do this on my own? Yeah, I was happy to have another show that went the distance because there's something about being on Friends. That was 10 years. And then I did dirt, which was two years. And that was a real challenge. I was really excited to be doing that show. There was a writer strike. I think we were a little ahead of our time as far as the subject matter. And then being on Cougar Town for six years felt like, okay, and then I did five screams. So I seem to be doing these long-term things. That's why I'm hoping that Shining Vale does. Because you become, not a family, but yeah, I guess so. They become, it's just, it's nice.

Was it nice to show that, like, okay, this show that I'm doing on my own, it went, it worked, it was good, I can carry this thing. Yeah, that felt good. And my first year on it, I got to. nominated for Golden Globe and sadly that actually I mean I put weight in that for some reason it felt good sure yeah you know it's not like those are my peers but I don't know I hate that I hate that I will read a review I do want for people to think that you know I don't know I it's not the best part of me but don't you think a lot of people are like that I think people watching this

would say oh they don't care they're things famous and they're happy and whatever. But there's a humanity that it hurts when you get a bad review or you don't get nominated for award. If you actually does feel good, people can say, oh, I don't do it for the awards. But it is kind of gratifying, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, my dad's not alive, but that would be something he would be proud of. I think it's a childhood thing where you want to go, look, mom, dad. You know, I remember the first time I had a billboard on sunset, it was for dirt. And I really wanted my dad to that because I don't know, he would have been proud. He always thought I was a good salesman and I should probably move back to Alabama and sell swimming pools, which I did work in a

swimming pool store, and I was a hell of a salesman. And I tested a lot of pool water. What does that entail? Well, you got to find out, you know, you put drops in and you find out if you need more acid or was it alkaline, you know, you had to put in. You got to get the pH, right. Absolutely. It's important. Yeah. So that's what I did. So going back then to Mountain Brook, when do you think your parents first recognized she's got something in her that wants to perform? Like there's, would your mom have predicted this for you?

Obviously not all the things that have happened, but that you would be in this business? I don't think so because in Alabama, it's not something where you go, you know, I was working at the pool store. It's not like I was, so I don't think that's what they were thinking, except for at camp, I was Anna and the King and I, you know, the talent show, or I was the president of Deca, which is Distributive Education Clubs of America. Look at you. What a, I mean, this is some good stuff.

This resume, pool store, Deca, she did it all. That should have been of my special talent. But it wasn't really an option from where I was from, but then I always had drive, and I always wanted to not leave Alabama because I love it, but just do something and so I moved to New York. That probably felt show business from Mountainbrook feels like it's on a different planet. Oh, yeah. Like how do I even get there, right? Yeah. So what was the early on first gigs in New York, you go, little as the world turns, right?

As the world turns. That's when I really have an accent because I had not studied to lose it and I was so shy. I mean, and also, we don't give enough credit to soap opera stars. That's hard. I mean, my character, Bunny, wasn't so hard. But it was for me. I was so nervous. But they have so much to say, and there are teleprompters, and they have to look natural. I would be the whole time.

But, yeah, that was one of my first jobs. I did a lot of commercials. I did a New York telephone ad. I did, do you remember that show? Mary? I'm not show. I'm sorry, store named Mary Go Round. Yes.

I did one. You were in one of those? I did, yeah. This resume you're building out here is just astounding. I can't believe they have not done like some sort of special on me. Like, this is important stuff. You are also in the, I'm going to go back to Birmingham for a minute, Parisians department store catalog.

I think you were in that. Okay, where did you find that? And if you pull up a picture, I'm going to be real. No, I don't know. Okay. I did. I did it. It's modeling back. I did book covers. You know. Yeah. So is the big break, the Springsteen video? Is that the moment where... I think it was the Parisians ad. That's what I think. That's when the talent agents were like, her.

Yes. Get her to New York, A-Sap. Yeah. Yeah, Bruce Springsteen video for sure was the thing that I was on it for 24 seconds. but who doesn't love Bruce Springsteen? I mean, who didn't love that song Dancing in the Dark? And I just went on stage and that was something that people really wanted to know what's Bruce really like.

So I was like, okay, I'll tell you. And I don't really know. He's just a great guy. But that was like a lead-in to getting in the door. Yeah. So what are the, like a casting director says, we liked her look, we liked her dancing, whatever it was.

What's the leap from that video to, okay, let's get her on family ties and all the other things that came after that. Well, it was a commercial audition, essentially, and I walked in, and there were all these dancers, and I thought, well, I obviously got the wrong place because I'm not a dancer. And I loved to dance, but I went into Brian DePaul's office, who directed it, and he put on a, probably not an eight track, but he put on whatever, an album, no. Through a tape in, probably. Yeah. It was a cassette, probably.

Yeah. And he said dance. And it was like by myself right here. And so I did. And that, I guess, that nervousness and that kind of wide-eyed look. What was that question you asked me? Why am I telling you everything? No, I love to keep going. I love this story.

So we did this concert in St. Paul. Yeah. And he played it once. And they said, what do you do if you like something that much? And everyone said, do it again. So he did. And that's how they were able to film the video. And then from there, I don't know what I did.

Oh, I auditioned for things in, oh, I did misfits of science. Another resume-worthy thing. That was fun. I played a girl with telekinetic powers. Did you see it? You really can do it all. I think I did. I know you did.

That's like 80, early, 85, something like that maybe, ish? Probably, yeah, 86, yeah. That's about my wheelhouse watching stuff like that. And then there was a period where I didn't have any money, I was down to about a month, maybe three weeks. And my dad, that's when he said, C.C., it's a long fall from California to Alabama. And I'm like, well, it's actually not because it's Birmingham. It's kind of the same thing.

But he just thought I should come home and do what I do, sales. And then right after that, I got family ties. And I was like, oh, whew. And then you were good. You're in the business. I was in the business. And then I did the last two years of that. And I think I got friends pretty soon afterwards.

Throwing a little late Ventura. Like, you had a lot out there. Yeah, I think the first year, and that's also when I got Scream. I did do a series, I think we did six episodes. Another one I'm going to highlight. It was called The Trouble with Larry. Yeah. Yeah, it was really good.

Bronson, Pinchot. Sure. Yeah. Right, right, right. Belke. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, this is amazing.

I wish I had your IMDB page. I just ask you about everything you've ever done. I mean, how old really am I? I am 72. Now, this raises a question. At your pool at home, do you test the water yourself? Since you're an expert? Well, what I do really, I have a salt water pool, so I don't know how to test that.

Yeah, I don't think you have to. That's the idea. Well, let's be clear. They put chlorine in it. I can smell it. I don't know if that has to do with salt, but, you know, It's not all salt. I mean, it's not like you float when you swim.

It doesn't dry you out anymore than, well, probably does, actually. I'm just very impressed by your range of skills, I guess, is what I'm saying. Thank you. Yes, going all the way back to the pool. All right. So you've got so much going on. Is there something out there, Courtney, that you still think you could do that you haven't done? You're going to direct.

We've got home court going. We're going to have many more seasons of shining veil. What else is on the menu that you're like, oh, that would be cool. I'd like to do that. I want to keep playing the piano. I have a lot of hobbies. Thank you. I want to get better because I learn a song

or I'm playing with my piano teacher and I can't believe how I've got this. He literally gets up from the bench. He walks into the other room and I'm, oh, Joel, can you come back up for God? I mean, that's not the memory thing. It's just there's something about performing with somebody that you're not nervous around.

So I want to play the piano. I love tennis. I love cooking. What else do I want to do? I want to keep doing all of those things. It's a good full life. Yeah, keep designing. Yeah.

But Home Court, I really, it's my baby. I am involved in every decision. I'm so particular. I'm sure I'm annoying because I don't ever want anything to come out that's not something I'm so proud of. And also the doors open to other things. I would imagine. Oh, it's unlimited.

Home court, yeah. You can go anywhere with that. Is that a preview of coming attractions? Yeah. There's a lot coming. I think of things all the time that can go under that banner. Yeah.

Except for clothes. I mean, I don't say I'm going to bring that in. No? Why not? Well, I mean, the only kind of clothes that I think I would excel at are jeans because I think sometimes people put the pockets too far apart. Really? Yeah.

The back pocket? Yeah. I like pockets that are close together because, I mean, can I say, but it looks wider if the pockets are. So I like them closer together. And I like them a little bigger. I don't want small pockets back there. Uh-huh. Get the phone in or any other products that you might be carrying on you?

Look, I don't think a phone looks great in your back pocket for a girl. Do you do that? I do. Where are you going to put it? Well, it looks better in the back pocket than it does in the front. Exactly. I have a friend who carries his wallet in the front, and his jeans now have the outline of the wallet.

He knows who I'm talking about. But he loves it, and I'm never going to change him because that's just the way he is. All right. So now we've just launched another product, tight pocket jeans by Courtney Cox. Yeah, close together. We'll work on the name, but that's the concept. I think my pants right now, they're not like full pockets. I think they're close together.

Yeah. You wouldn't have it any other way. I wouldn't know. It's Neely Loughton. She's a great designer. Man, you're going to be very busy, and then, of course, there's the pool maintenance company

that you're going to launch down the road. It's going to be amazing. I'm going to really push for Coco to do that because if you could see her apologies after she's done something wrong, I mean, the text, I get so, Coco, you're so grounded by the end of the text that she's written.

I mean, she should run for, like, office. I mean, she's good. Talks her way right out of it. Makes you feel bad for feeling bad. She's incredible. I know that move. You do? Yeah, I've got a 14-year-old.

Yeah. Where did they learn that? I guess her school is so, I don't want to say kumbaya, because it's probably like a bad thing to say. But it's very, is that bad? Am I going to, I can't talk for that? I don't know what it means. No, no, it's it. But anyway, you know, oh, you didn't turn in your seven reports.

As long as you get them in by the end of the year. you can pass. I feel that school in general has gone that way. Very nurturing. It's okay. You can take the test again. I know you got a 50 on it. Just take it again.

What? No, we just got a 50 and that was that. Yeah, that's so true. I don't know if college is going to be like that, so I try to tell her, you know. You can't order from Nobu and you better get used to some,

do you still have raised pizza here? Oh, yeah. Okay. And, you know, papaya, what was that called? Oh, grazed papaya. Paya. Do they still have those? They do. Seshwan Cottage. I mean, come on, Coco. You got some McDonald's in your future. I used to say Coco, you are not going to eat McDonald's. No way. That is not healthy.

Now I'm like, get used to it, girl. Yeah, that's what the budget carries. You get French fries and a burger. That's all you're getting. Budget is something I would really understand. It's going to be an adjustment, leaving no boo for happy meals. She loves some sushi. She'll do it. She'll do it. And we live in, I mean, I don't want to say it, because it's a matter. I say it all the time. Malibu.

So you have like four restaurants to choose from. So she's lucky she gets novo. Stick around for more of my conversation with Courtney Cox right after a quick break. Welcome back. Now the rest of my conversation

with Courtney Cox. So again, we have mutual friends and I hear that like even at the Sunday party, you've always sort of got an eye on, okay, that glass was down or that needs a little cleaning. You were talking to Jimmy Kimmel the other night about him cutting the tomato on the marble,

and that kind of drove you nuts. You like a clean environment. I do. I mean, obviously, Jimmy Kimmel. He's a friend, and I just really adore him. But that was tough. I mean, really? Jimmy, come on, that's acidic.

You can't just let him fall over the cutting board, and they go right there because it takes the white rings. And he should know better. He should, yeah. And he did talk to me recently after the show. and he said, it is a problem, isn't it? Because it does stay in your counter, but I found this thing you can do.

And it's, you know, anyway, I can go on forever about things like this. But no, I do. I love to clean. I do. I can't help it. It's not like I'm, like, people always say, oh, Courtney, is it okay if I said here?

I'm like, I have, like, I love people to come over. I don't care what you do. I'm not, you know, if you're staying at the house, yeah, close the door if you don't, if you're like everything on the floor. But I'm not weird. I just enjoy it. I mean, I don't care what you do, but just don't judge me if I wipe it up.

I mean, I don't know. I do like to keep a clean counter. Some reason, you know, in kitchens, if you have an island, it becomes a catch-all. Right. I'm so my favorite. So I straighten it a lot and I clean. And I put, well, this is weird, but I put dish soap in my toilet. because it's not only can you clean it that way,

but then you come into, you know, first thing in the morning and it smells great. The bouquet. I went from the toilet, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't really like the way I'm coming across, but what are you getting out of me? We've really learned a lot.

We've learned so much about you. Yeah. And my, I just want to say because I, it's a direct-consumer product, it's, you can buy it on homecourt.com. Dotco. Yeah. All right. Well, Courtney, thank you so much for the time.

This was so much fun. I appreciate you doing it. My big thanks again to Courtney for really a great conversation, so much fun to sit down with, and such important details about her life and her career in the pool maintenance industry. You can catch her new series, Shining Vale, premiering March 6th on Stars. And my thanks, as always, to all of you for listening. If you want to hear more of these conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC.

I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.