comment #1

T. Holly says ...

Except the two of them looked like deer in the headlights.

comment #2

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Wildcatin'.

comment #3

romeoisbleeding says ...

Sure it is all about image control. But that is how it is now. Ever since the net was used to hype Blair Witch, this is how it will be and she needs to get used to it. Now it is more important to get a rave review on AICN then the NYT because more people will read it. Whether it is using youtube or myspace to hype movies and their stars.. this is how it is now. The winners are the ones who know how to use the net to their best advantage while not wearing everyone out. Like that Snakes movie. That was way too much over way too little. As for this little video... it was ok. Not too exciting but I think I saw where the numbers for Darjeeling actually went up after it. So go figure.

comment #4

MAGGA says ...

I will cry myself to sleep over not getting to see Owen Wilson sobbing on Barbara Walters.

comment #5

JD says ...

Let's face it, the almighty mainstream press doesn't have the credibility it thinks it has. Just look at that list of examples. Not the most dignified moments in television history. Owen Wilson has never done many interviews and he rarely uses that time to discuss his personal life. Why pretend that he suddenly has an obligation to share his personal secrets with lightweight journalists and, more importantly, why pretend that gossip journalism is hard news? I, for one, don't want Owen Wilson to be the next Britney Spears.

comment #6

malibugigolo says ...

Why makes Sheila Marikar entitled to know anything about anyone?

And who cares about an actor. Possibly the most boring people around.

comment #7

MickTravis says ...

Gary Condit came clean on Connie Chung?

If by coming clean she means he went on TV, grinned like a man who eats shit and repeatedly refused to discuss the situation, then yes, he came clean all over Connie Chung.

comment #8

otakuhouse says ...

Dude I'm sending some Velveeta to go with that whine. Damn.

The world would be a hell of a lot better with much much less press coverage of celebrities, period. In fact, we'd even appreciate their craft more. The less you know about an actor the better they can be at their job.

comment #9

corey3rd says ...

Owen Wilson will be the next head of FEMA

comment #10

berg says ...

Monkeys dont always have your best interest at heart

comment #11

AndrewMallet says ...

What kind of a man tries to kill himself? If its that bad, you go and take out the top 5 people you hate most.

comment #12

scooterzz says ...

The less you know about an actor the better they can be at their job.

thank you sean hayes.......

comment #13

Higgy Hackford says ...

I don't blame Owen Wilson for handling things the way he did. He's got no responsibility to discuss his personal life and problems with the public. But I think it is another example - like the phony FEMA "press conference" last week and the way the New York Times Magazine turned over its pages to the Coen Brothers and Carmac McCarthy to "interview" each other a week ago - of the way people with something to sell increasingly cut out uninterested mediators who don't share their sales agenda.

It's smart from the marketers point of view, but I don't think it serves the public when entertainers or government or politicians bypass the press or agree to cooperate with the media only if no reporter gets to ask questions.

The Anderson/Wilson chat was simply a savvy piece of marketing not unlike the smart way Fox Searchlight used The Hotel Chevalier. Kudos to them. But I can't help but see it as part of a larger, troubling phenomenon. Avoiding the mainstream media shows not only disdain for the press (and the entertainment press certainly deserves that disdain) but also for the public, which is endlessly bombarded by unmediated sales pitches masquerading as entertainment and in some cases as journalism.

I'm not sure it's possible anymore to distinguish one from the other. What's truly troubling is that I'm not sure the public cares anymore about making a distinction. So we week out the Wilson video hoping we'll get some insight or news about his condition (though, of course, it's none of our business). What we get is movie promotion. Judging from the rating viewers gave that video when I visited the site, the overwhelming majority was satisfied with that.

Come to think about it, though, I guess TV shows like Entertainment Tonight, a whole slew of magazines, etc., have already all but obliterated what boundaries used to exist. So, heck, maybe it is all the media's fault.

comment #14

moviemaniac2002 says ...

That's hysterical...journalist complaining that
Owen Wilson didn't follow the current unwritten
rulebook that requires him to explain his suicide attempt, in a dramatically choked voice,
to either Diane Sawyer, Oprah, Matt Lauer or
Dr. Phil.(or maybe Rachel Ray while he's helping her make a five minute fondue) But Wilson correctly understood his
situation...a suicide attempt does NOT require
the same kind of media damage control as illegal activity (DUI's, drug busts, video sex tapes, racist/homophobic/anit-semitic rants, etc). And
besides, he's a mostly beloved figure among
moviegoers and his plight elicited deep sympathy.
If his little internet spin generated frustration among the journalists who swim in the 24/7 celebrity culture cesspool...more power to him. Bravo, Owen.

comment #15

christian says ...

Waaah! They won't grovel before Oprah! Waaah!

comment #16

Glenn Kenny says ...

As a journalist myself (don't everybody break out laughing at once), I think Marikar's whine is completely sympotmatic of the problem she complains about. That is, a journalist with any kind of craft wouldn't waste time whining about the trend exemplified by the Anderson/WIlson MySpace chat; he/she would be getting busy with some kind of strategy to counter and/or compete. But no. Some lazy-ass clod just wants to complain. Which is why when she's out of a job she'll have EARNED being out of a job, by gum...

comment #17

christian says ...

Owen Wilson is like Jonathan E. at the end of the '75 ROLLERBALL.

comment #18

PerfectTommy says ...

How can the public possibly learn anything without the insightful journalistic stylings of Larry King?

comment #19

T. Holly says ...

Besides, although it's charming, it comes off completely stale. "Fist question, why India?" Wait, who's being interviewed? Uhm, like didn't they talk about "why India" aeons ago?

comment #20

Sam Adams says ...

If it were "all about image control," shouldn't they be in better control of their images? The attempt to make Wilson and Anderson look like they're in the same room totally backfire, creating a thoroughly creepy disconnect where it seems like they're both talking past rather than at each other. If the object was to demonstrate that Wilson is still capable of forming sentences then mission accomplished, but I have trouble imagining anyone watching this and thinking, "Wow, those guys look like they're having fun together! I must see their movie immediately." Unfortunately, this chat between two longtime friends resembles the faux camaraderie of your average TV junketeer all too closely. I'd prefer if it was less like journalism rather than more.

comment #21

TL says ...

Oh noes! Tainted celebrities will be pitching themselves softballs on the internets instead of from Matt Lauer reading publicist pre-approved questions on the Today show!

comment #22

JD says ...

T. Holly, I think you're misunderstanding the purpose of this clip. It's not meant ot be an interview of Owen Wilson, it's meant to be a discussion between two artists. Thus the title: "Artists on Artists." Watch some of the other videos in the series:

http://www.myspace.com/artistonartist

comment #23

Dirty Harry says ...

Everytime a member of the dinosaur media whines an angel gets his wings.

Wilson has nothing to publicly rehabilitate or explain. He just needs to work whatever it is out and get better. That's all good people expect from him. Feeling entitled to exploit someone's personal life is just one of a dozen good reasons as soon as an alternative came along the MSM started heading for the tar pits.

comment #24

scooterzz says ...

great link jd, thanks....good stuff....

comment #25

otownroger says ...

The Myspace thing wasn't an interview at all. It was, as several folks have posted, a simple sales job. And it didn't work as sales or "coming clean" or anything else.
Wilson will YET have his Oprah moment, because new or old media is not the question. MASS media is. Only Jack Nicholson gets away with not doing Baba or Oprah or Larry K.
And I'd question that crack re: Ain't It Cool buzz being more important than the NY Times. The democratization of reviews has made all such endorsements more or less worthless, print or web, thanks to the onslaught of them available on the Net. We are bombarded. We tune them out.

comment #26

Bocephus says ...

Did anyone else appreciate the concerned "I'll talk to you later" line that Wes used to end the conversation? It was a simple line, but the way he said it felt very gentle and comforting.

It's good to know that Owen has good friends to help through all this.

comment #27

T. Holly says ...

Point taken JD, I'd forgotten that. Good to know: averse to so many shots and space is a location, as in "where are you?"

comment #28

christian says ...

"Everytime a member of the dinosaur media whines an angel gets his wings"

On that we agree, DH.

But anybody out there who believes all they see on the marketing landscape is already in trouble. That said, this silly little interview is cute and is just about two friends gettin' it on.