Over the weekend, I read some sad news about Owen Wilson. He had been hospitalized after an “attempted suicide”. Now, I don’t know if that is a fact, but I do know he is in a hospital recovering. His publicist had released a beautifully worded statement the next day, asking for the press to respect his wishes to heal in private. Which is why it seems absurd why so many entertainment news shows are giving this so much attention. But I’m so glad – SO GLAD – that no one from Wilson’s camp is feeding the frenzy. I don’t care if non-denial means confirmation of the suicide attempt – let the family deal with it. There’s a particularly nice item on CNN that said how Owen is part of a tight, loving family and that they are taking care of him and dealing with the situation in a manner that is best for him. I like that. And I am reassured by reports that Andrew and Luke, his other brothers, have visited him in the hospital already. His brothers are there; he’ll be fine.
I have always admired Owen Wilson for his work. Well, that, and the fact that he is not bad-looking made me crush on him so, so bad. My misfortune, to be in the Philippines at a time when film distribution centered on the commercial, meant that I was not exposed to Owen’s earlier work as writer, producer, and actor. Yes, he is more than just the bankable, aw-shucks, slacker comedian. He is a writer. A huge reason for my admiration and crush for Owen is the fact that we both write (albeit he is infinitely more successful at it than I am). When I first saw him in “Shanghai Noon”, I was blown away by his onscreen presence. I initially came in to watch (and support) Jackie Chan. I knew nothing of Owen at the time; I had not even seen “Armageddon”, so I had no idea of who he was. But Owen’s performance just took my breath away. He had a gorgeous speaking voice and really beautiful eyes. And excellent comedic timing, too. That led me to look him up online and saw that he is even more accomplished than I expected. I had this impression of him as an up and coming celebrity, when in fact, he had already made a good stamp on the entertainment business. Along with good friend Wes Anderson (whom I also LOVE), he co-wrote and co-produced “Bottle Rocket”. It was a short film that expanded into a feature as it garnered funding from no less than James Brooks, and it paved the way for his initial success. It also paved the way for the rest of the Wilson brothers to enter showbiz (yes, Luke Wilson would not be this famous if it weren’t for Owen’s help!).
I had no idea how good a movie “Bottle Rocket” was. I have heard of it, certainly, but never seen it, nor knew of the creative minds behind it. But I knew it was incredibly funny in an off-hand way. I downloaded the transcript and spent hours reading it and laughing in many parts. I could envision Owen spouting Dignan’s lines, and laughed even more. It was such a terrific script – it had me at “Cacaw!” It was very simple yet nuanced and poignant that I loved him (and Wes) for having such a way with words. I could be wrong, but there were instances where I could tell which parts of the script Owen wrote, for I could sense a different kind of humor there. (I also felt the same way with “The Royal Tenenbaums”.) I fell in love with him then. I watched “Bottle Rocket” on a movie channel years later, and loved Wes’ directorial style. The way he blocked scenes was great, and his use of music was brilliant. Sort of like Cameron Crowe, but more cerebral. (Props go to ex-Devo member, Mark Mothersbaugh, an indispensable part of the filmmaking team of Wes and Owen.) I knew that Wes only needed to refine his technique and then he would go on to make awesome movies.
I moved on to “Rushmore”. I did not realize that Owen was part of the team that brought this movie to the screen until I read it on his bio. I do remember Bill Murray getting a fair amount of buzz about his first serious acting role. (He got nominated for a Golden Globe, but critics were disappointed that he did not nag an Oscar nom after.) I was disappointed in myself for bypassing it, but then again, I did not think “Rushmore” was even shown in the Philippines. I watched the movie again years later, on a movie channel, and was completely flabbergasted by the fact that Owen and Wes had grown as writers and filmmakers. The humor was more biting, but touching. Wes’ directorial style has become clearer and more refined. (See his American Express commercial during this year’s Oscars; I love it because it was clearly WES. He has emerged with a style all his own that became evident in “Rushmore”. Love it.) The use of music has become so much better, and will evolve by the time “Tenenbaums” comes. After that, I was hoping that these two would work together again.
And they did. With “The Royal Tenenbaums”, their stature as filmmakers became evident with the quality of the cast that they were able to put together. Anjelica Huston? Gwyneth Paltrow? Gene Hackman? Who even won a Golden Globe for it? Awesome. I love love LOVE this movie. Not only was this the only movie that I was able to admire Luke Wilson for (again, kudos to Wes and Owen – although Richie’s suicide scene is now even more eerie to relive given what happened to Owen). It was a culmination of everything that Wes and Owen learned from their years as collaborators and made it into this movie. When I saw it, I knew that this was going to be their last film as a writing duo. It was just too good to top. Wes could write something else, and Owen could write something else, but together, they might find their “Tenenbaums” success hard to beat. They got nominated for an Oscar, for chrissakes! And the movie itself was a gorgeous nod to stylized, older films, and the actors were all top-notch. They will never produce that same magic again. And they haven’t. Owen continues to act in Wes’ films, but they have yet to write another film together. “Tenenbaums” was simply the new benchmark for their collaboration. And that year, 2001, was Owen’s banner year. He not only became known as a comic actor, but also as a writer and critically-praised Hollywood insider. It helped that “Zoolander” was also released in the same year. When he and Wes were nominated for an Oscar, I was so excited for them (even though they did not win). And during the Oscar telecast, the opening montage had actors and directors and various guild members recite their favorite movies, and Al Pacino (or was it Robert DeNiro?) mentioned “Bottle Rocket”. I remember in a post-show interview, Owen said he was tickled pink by that revelation, that someone of that stature had seen their little movie. It was great. I thought the same, that time, and was chuffed, too.
Owen had never been fully appreciated by Filipino audiences. My friends and family, in fact, thought Luke to be the better Wilson, which I disagree. They even thought he was better looking, which I also, and vehemently, disagree with. My friends made fun of Owen’s nose and used it to make a point (about who was better). But I did not even notice his broken nose until someone pointed it out to me! And I only realized how badly broken it was when he was featured in profile at one point in “Tenenbaums”. But that did not make me admire him any less. Surely, good writers and actors do not need perfect noses in which to perform their best? I love Owen, broken nose and all. He is smart (he is, after all, a graduate of UT-Austin), funny (as we all are aware), and creative. And he writes. And garnered success from it. That, to me, was the singular reason that made him better than the other actors of his generation. (Well, maybe he is on the same level as Matt Damon – who, unlike Owen, has won an Oscar. But Matt never followed up his Oscar with another written material. At least Owen has written for the movies three times. And all were good!) I always thought of Owen as the actor that I will always look up to, in spite of whatever faults lands him in the news.
When he dated Kate Hudson, I thought I’d leave him be. It was his life, and Kate seems like a nice person. But they split, and I thought I’d leave him be as well. They were adults; Owen knew what he was doing. And then came this suspected suicide attempt.
I admit I was very concerned about him when I read the news. It was such a waste Error running style: Style code didn't finish running in a timely fashion. Possible causes:
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chowie's journal
distressed