Im not sure what to say about Owen Wilson. Ever since I first saw him in Bottle Rocket I have thought he was hilarious and brilliant. His movies with Ben Stiller like Zoolander and Meet the Parents are some of my favorite films of all time. Its good to see him put aside that smarmy knowing persona that he has perfected in numerous movies over the past few years and play someone with the wide eyed innocence that Ned Plimpton has in Wes Andersons The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.
Check out the website for The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Daniel Robert Epstein: You didnt work on this screenplay with Wes. How did you end up in the movie?
Owen Wilson: Wes had this character for me to play. I remember in college when we were roommates; he had written a half page thing that had a lot of elements of this movie. He had the jaguar shark and the life aquatic and the characters name was Steve Cocteau and Eleanor but that was it. He wanted me to play the part but I couldnt quite see why I would be good playing the Ned Plimpton because he seems like a straight man. But I warmed to the challenge. I met with Wes and we came up with me making him a southern gentleman. I was watching that Civil War documentary with Shelby Foote, so some of that seeped into it and then a little Foghorn Leghorn and presto you got a character.
DRE: How has the relationship between you and Wes changed over the years?
OW: We went to dinner the other night when Luke and I got into town for the premiere. He is someone I am extremely familiar with. We know each others stories so we are kind of saying the same stuff over again but it still kind of makes you laugh. We talked about Bottle Rocket experiences. Also Luke and I live in California and Wes lives in New York so we are not around him much anymore. That is the big change. We used to all live together literally in the same house.
DRE: Do you ever do much writing for something that you are not acting in?
OW: No, not so much. In fact I never did other than Rushmore. I didnt act in it but I wrote it with Wes. For Life Aquatic, I didnt contribute anything to the script and I hardly improvised at all. Wes is pretty focused on how he wants it and there isnt really a lot of improvising going on.
DRE: Wes said Cate Blanchett was a bit intimidating.
OW: Not to me. I love working with her. She was pregnant.
DRE: What about the love scenes?
OW: Well they werent like love scenes, it was more innocent kissing. I guess I was a little nervous to do that but she was very easy to get along with. She showed up later in the picture and wasnt there for the whole run. She kind of just blended right in with a good sense of humor.
DRE: How did you prepare for the role?
OW: Usually, I feel freer to improvise for a role and change the dialogue but this was a character that was very specific and I dont know if I would have changed things. He and Noah had made the stuff and fine tuned it so there wasnt room to change stuff.
DRE: It seemed like there should have been a part for you in Dodgeball. Why werent you in that?
OW: I dont think there was a part for me. Also probably the fact that Ben and I have worked together a lot. I think weve been in seven or eight movies together. I saw it the other day on the plane. It was funny.
DRE: Whats The Wedding Crashers about?
OW: Its a movie that Vince [Vaughn] and I worked on. David Dobkin is directing it and he directed me in a movie before [Shanghai Knights] and had directed Vince in a movie [Clay Pigeons]. We were all trying to get the script right and the writers had a funny story. We added some stuff and hopefully improved on what was there. I think it did turn out good.
DRE: Do you like working with the same group of people?
OW: I think its just people you have confidence in. I was the first person to sign on to The Wedding Crashers and did so hoping that Vince was going to be the other guy. Once he signed on, his role became bigger because we were playing off each other.
DRE: No more Shanghai movies?
OW: No, I would like to. I like working with Jackie Chan a lot but I dont think we will do another Shanghai movie.
DRE: Were you sorry about Heat Vision and Jack not becoming a series?
OW: I never saw even the pilot, so its hard to miss something that I didnt have that much to do with other than doing that voice. But Jack Black would have been an astronaut and I was his friend who had been turned into a motorcycle. It sounds like a fun idea and from what I remember of that first episode, it sounded funny. Thats how Ben Stiller met his wife I think.
DRE: Are you and Wes very similar?
OW: I think we are probably more similar than we are different. Were both from Texas, middle brothers; there are a lot of similarities. I think in the more fundamental ways we have similar takes on stuff which probably hurt our scriptwriting. Instead of great plots and stories, it was funny characters that we liked to fashion a story around.
DRE: What about working with Bill Murray?
OW: I wasnt really around on Rushmore but met him there and on [The Royal] Tenenbaums I was around him. But this was the first time I was really around him so much. I grew up seeing him in all these great movies which had an impact on me as a kid which was good to draw on because my character looks up to him and wants to be accepted by him.
DRE: Have you ever had to compete with your brother for a part?
OW: Actually for Theres Something About Mary, the part that Ben Stiller played.
DRE: What was that like?
OW: We both hoped one of us would get it but if it wasnt us, then Ben was a good person.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the website for The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Daniel Robert Epstein: You didnt work on this screenplay with Wes. How did you end up in the movie?
Owen Wilson: Wes had this character for me to play. I remember in college when we were roommates; he had written a half page thing that had a lot of elements of this movie. He had the jaguar shark and the life aquatic and the characters name was Steve Cocteau and Eleanor but that was it. He wanted me to play the part but I couldnt quite see why I would be good playing the Ned Plimpton because he seems like a straight man. But I warmed to the challenge. I met with Wes and we came up with me making him a southern gentleman. I was watching that Civil War documentary with Shelby Foote, so some of that seeped into it and then a little Foghorn Leghorn and presto you got a character.
DRE: How has the relationship between you and Wes changed over the years?
OW: We went to dinner the other night when Luke and I got into town for the premiere. He is someone I am extremely familiar with. We know each others stories so we are kind of saying the same stuff over again but it still kind of makes you laugh. We talked about Bottle Rocket experiences. Also Luke and I live in California and Wes lives in New York so we are not around him much anymore. That is the big change. We used to all live together literally in the same house.
DRE: Do you ever do much writing for something that you are not acting in?
OW: No, not so much. In fact I never did other than Rushmore. I didnt act in it but I wrote it with Wes. For Life Aquatic, I didnt contribute anything to the script and I hardly improvised at all. Wes is pretty focused on how he wants it and there isnt really a lot of improvising going on.
DRE: Wes said Cate Blanchett was a bit intimidating.
OW: Not to me. I love working with her. She was pregnant.
DRE: What about the love scenes?
OW: Well they werent like love scenes, it was more innocent kissing. I guess I was a little nervous to do that but she was very easy to get along with. She showed up later in the picture and wasnt there for the whole run. She kind of just blended right in with a good sense of humor.
DRE: How did you prepare for the role?
OW: Usually, I feel freer to improvise for a role and change the dialogue but this was a character that was very specific and I dont know if I would have changed things. He and Noah had made the stuff and fine tuned it so there wasnt room to change stuff.
DRE: It seemed like there should have been a part for you in Dodgeball. Why werent you in that?
OW: I dont think there was a part for me. Also probably the fact that Ben and I have worked together a lot. I think weve been in seven or eight movies together. I saw it the other day on the plane. It was funny.
DRE: Whats The Wedding Crashers about?
OW: Its a movie that Vince [Vaughn] and I worked on. David Dobkin is directing it and he directed me in a movie before [Shanghai Knights] and had directed Vince in a movie [Clay Pigeons]. We were all trying to get the script right and the writers had a funny story. We added some stuff and hopefully improved on what was there. I think it did turn out good.
DRE: Do you like working with the same group of people?
OW: I think its just people you have confidence in. I was the first person to sign on to The Wedding Crashers and did so hoping that Vince was going to be the other guy. Once he signed on, his role became bigger because we were playing off each other.
DRE: No more Shanghai movies?
OW: No, I would like to. I like working with Jackie Chan a lot but I dont think we will do another Shanghai movie.
DRE: Were you sorry about Heat Vision and Jack not becoming a series?
OW: I never saw even the pilot, so its hard to miss something that I didnt have that much to do with other than doing that voice. But Jack Black would have been an astronaut and I was his friend who had been turned into a motorcycle. It sounds like a fun idea and from what I remember of that first episode, it sounded funny. Thats how Ben Stiller met his wife I think.
DRE: Are you and Wes very similar?
OW: I think we are probably more similar than we are different. Were both from Texas, middle brothers; there are a lot of similarities. I think in the more fundamental ways we have similar takes on stuff which probably hurt our scriptwriting. Instead of great plots and stories, it was funny characters that we liked to fashion a story around.
DRE: What about working with Bill Murray?
OW: I wasnt really around on Rushmore but met him there and on [The Royal] Tenenbaums I was around him. But this was the first time I was really around him so much. I grew up seeing him in all these great movies which had an impact on me as a kid which was good to draw on because my character looks up to him and wants to be accepted by him.
DRE: Have you ever had to compete with your brother for a part?
OW: Actually for Theres Something About Mary, the part that Ben Stiller played.
DRE: What was that like?
OW: We both hoped one of us would get it but if it wasnt us, then Ben was a good person.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
freek:
the only actor with a funnier lookin nose than me. makes me feel good.
life_returns:
I met owen wilson in venice beach a few days ago. He drives a toyota prius.