LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Owen Wilson: Ben Stiller
built 236 days ago
Butterscotch emostallion Owen Wilson is recovering well from his suicide attempt, says Ben Stiller, who was to have reunited with his Zoolander costar in an upcoming film. That role will now be played by Matthew McConaughey, the destitute man's Owen Wilson. Live, Owen, live! [NZ]
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Owen was not in the cast of “Rushmore” and, for a time, it seemed as if the more traditionally handsome Luke might become the more famous Wilson brother. Still, Owen worked a great deal and had his first starring role as a polite young serial killer in “The Minus Man.” His first victim in that film, musician Sheryl Crow... became his first celebrity girlfriend. Owen’s mainstream breakthrough came not long after in the buddy action comedy “Shanghai Noon” with Jackie Chan. And the next year brought the Ben Stiller vehicle “Zoolander,” in which Owen stole nearly every scene amidst heavy competition from Stiller and insane, pink-haired bad guy Will Ferrell.
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By 2000, Wilson began to take center stage in larger Hollywood projects as well. Though it was another Jackie Chan vehicle, Wilson's hilarious co-starring turn as a surfer dude-tinged outlaw in the chop socky Western Shanghai Noon (2000) nearly stole the movie. Wilson's brief appearance as a Jesus-loving, super rich romantic rival to Ben Stiller's put-upon Greg Focker was a comic highlight of the hit Meet the Parents (2000). Stiller's supermodel farce Zoolander (2001) further sealed Wilson's status as a superlative comic actor. As Zoolander's rival Hansel, Wilson's offbeat timing made him the ultimate bubble-headed mannequin; his catwalk competition with Stiller provided the biggest laughs in a hit-or-miss movie. Even as he flourished in broad Hollywood comedy, Wilson continued his partnership with Wes Anderson, co-writing with Anderson and co-starring (with his brother Luke and Stiller among others) in the unusual family story The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).
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Wilson worked steadily for the rest of the 1990s. Wilson managed to bring a reliably laid-back, humorous spark to the bombastic proceedings in Anaconda (1997), Armageddon (1998), and The Haunting (1999). On a more artistically successful front, Wilson's next script with Anderson resulted in the lauded coming-of-age film Rushmore (1998). With its singular cast of characters, distinctive combination of deadpan humor and true emotion, and superb performances by Jason Schwartzman as teen prodigy Max Fischer and Bill Murray as depressed millionaire Blume, Rushmore earned prizes from the critics and proved that Bottle Rocket was no fluke. As far as acting, Wilson's ability to suggest complexity beneath a breezy surface earned positive notice for his unsettling performance as a laconic, self-styled Good Samaritan serial killer in indie thriller The Minus Man (1999). Switching genres, he starred as Roy O'Bannen in the martial arts spoof Shanghai Noon with Jackie Chan.
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Alternating between supporting roles in Hollywood spectacles, collaborations with Anderson and Stiller, and smaller independent projects, Wilson worked steadily for the rest of the 1990s. Though he always seemed to fill the generic slot of Guy Marked for Death, Wilson still managed to bring a reliably laid-back, humorous spark to the bombastic proceedings in Anaconda (1997), Armageddon (1998), and The Haunting (1999). On a more artistically successful front, Wilson's next script with Anderson resulted in the lauded coming-of-age film Rushmore (1998). With its singular cast of characters, distinctive combination of deadpan humor and true emotion, and superb performances by Jason Schwartzman as teen prodigy Max Fischer and Bill Murray as depressed millionaire Blume, Rushmore earned prizes from the critics (if not the Academy) and proved that Bottle Rocket was no fluke. As far as acting, Wilson's ability to suggest complexity beneath a breezy surface earned positive notice for his unsettling performance as a laconic, self-styled Good Samaritan serial killer in indie thriller The Minus Man (1999).
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Wilson's roles have varied between small, quirky comedy collaborations with Anderson and bigger budget box office fare, including eight movies made with comedic actor Ben Stiller. Owen Wilson and Stiller along with Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black, and Steve Carell are considered members of the Frat Pack. Owen is the first "Frat Pack" member to receive an Academy Award nomination.
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