Owen Wilson is officially denying any inspiration or connection on his part between the “Dupree” character he plays in You, Me and Dupree and “Cousin Dupree,” the song written and performed by Steely Dan.
Wilson didn’t address the possibility that someone else in the creatve food chain — Dupree screenwriter Mike LeSieur, let’s say — might have gotten the idea for the Dupree character from the Steely Dan song. (Read the song’s lyrics and tell me somebody’s not doing the sidestep.) Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and Donald Fagen complained about the alleged ripoff a week or so ago.
In a statement released by spokesperson Ina Treciokas, Wilson said: ”I have never heard the song ‘Cousin Dupree’ and I don’t even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, HEY 19.”