EXCLUSIVE: COURTENEY COX DISHES THE DIRT!

Courteney Cox gossips about the latest on her new FX sitcom, Dirt, in which she plays Lucy Spiller, the driven, ruthless editor-in-chief of two celebrity news magazines. The former Friends star gossiped about getting naked on screen, keeping her figure in shape, and balancing her career and family with her new gig!

Q: How are you like Lucy? Are you competitive like her?
I am driven. I don't think I am as competitive as she is. But when I believe in something, I really go for it.

Q: Are you working out more because you are taking off your clothes?
Absolutely.

Q: What are you doing?
The elliptical. I have one in my office on the set.

Q: Can you elaborate on the focus on weight. It seems like every magazine has a story on weight...
Yeah, all the Friends, I remember, we were all kind of taken down at one point for being too thin. And you know what? We all go through change at different points in our lives. Sometimes we get stressed out and we get thin. Sometimes we don't know that we're thin and we think we look great. There is so much emphasis on it. It is such a personal journey that people go through with their weight and I don't think there is anything we can do about it. It is hard, but you can't be responsible for everybody. I mean, look, I have lost weight since I started this show. Let me tell ya: a) I am working out b) I do love scenes and c) I've got a lot of pressure right now.

Q: What's the difference between doing a love scene and a love scene with yourself?
Wow. When I did a love scene with myself I was really nervous. For some reason I felt so vulnerable and awkward. I don't even want to see it. I don't watch it. I just close my eyes.

Q: Do you bring your daughter Coco to the set?
She comes all the time. She even goes to school at Paramount sometimes.

Q: How are you managing balancing motherhood and working?
By her coming to the set everyday. It is just really important that she is there. It is really helpful.

Q: And with your husband David being an executive producer on the show...
That seems easier than the child part of it. Just making sure that she comes is the most important thing.

Q: What's the secret to a good relationship?
As you grow, take time to talk things out because it is easy to grow apart. People change and if you don't discuss your changes and make sure everybody is in sync, it can be difficult and I think that is the key.

Q: What shows do you like to watch?
This show has taken up so much of my time that I haven't had a chance to watch even any movies. I think David's show is really funny. I've seen that, but I spend so much time when I am home watching Aladdin and Cinderella that I don't have time to do anything now.

Q: Which scenes did Jennifer Aniston like the best?
She liked the whole thing. She just thought the characters were all so fun. And she got a really big kick out of it.

Q: Is there anyone besides Jennifer that has been asked to be on the show?
My friend Laura Dern loves the show. I am sure I could get say "Laura, come on, you gotta do the part." I know a lot of my friends would do it. Why not work together and have a good time? So far, Vincent Gallo is a good friend of mine and he did it. Paul Reubens is a really good friend of ours — he did it. Lucas Haas is one of our closest friends. He is doing it this week. So we are using our relationships for sure, but for the right part.

Q: You are getting a fraction of the audience that Friends gets...
I was really pleased once the Neilson ratings came back and they said they made a mistake. If you are going to have a drop off, you still want to be in the game. So being that the numbers were higher, the drop off won't be as bad.

Q: Have you had interactions with the paparazzi where you think, "Maybe they're human?"
Oh, they are. They are just doing what they consider their job. There was one guy, I went some place the other day, and when I left I thought "That guy looks so familiar". And he was like "Courtney — can I get a picture? I painted your house when you lived on blinky blink..." And I was like "Yeah. I met you through my boyfriend at the time." It's just that the competition is so great...

Q: Isn't there an upside to the exposure of being in the magazines?
Yeah. I guess if you are not being written about in the magazines at all probably means that you are not hot right now. But because the competition is so great, it becomes a little bit dangerous. I remember when I used to go out with this guy... He was the most famous guy at the time and it was nothing like this. Now it is just crazy.

Q: What have you learned about yourself from all of this?
I have learned that I am not a little girl anymore. I am a woman. And it is okay. I was really nervous at first about exposing myself in any way. I sometimes think I am exposing a lot, but I am not really, because you can't really show those things. But I was like, you know what? I am not going to get a body double. I am going to be who I am.

Q: Is David into dishing? Who's more into dishing?
Not David.

Q: Do you think men prefer bitchy women?
I think men like strong women. I don't know about the bitchy type. It depends on how they like their mom.

Q: So....will there be a Friends reunion?
There is going to be no Friends reunion. It is too hard to get everyone together. All the writers and everything. I just can't see it happening. Not that I wouldn't do it because it would be fun to work with everybody again for kicks. But I don't think it will happen.