Owen Wilson Pulls Out of DW's Tropic Thunder

After news of Owen Wilson's hospitalization/possible suicide attempt broke, DreamWorks declined comment on whether Wilson would appear in their upcoming film Tropic Thunder (directed by his buddy and longtime collaborator Ben Stiller), or if Wilson's cameo role would be recast. The studio only offered a one-line statement: "Filming on 'Tropic Thunder' continues." Well, it's continuing, only without the ailing Wilson, who is currently recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Variety is reporting that Wilson, who was scheduled to begin a weeklong shoot in two or three weeks, has pulled out of the project, which also stars Jack Black and is currently shooting in Hawaii. The comedy centers around a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie who are forced to actually become the soldiers they portray (think Galaxy Quest meets Delta Farce). It's unclear if Wilson's role has been cut or if he's been recast, but his exit was characterized as a mutual decision between Stiller and Wilson. "Ben and Owen have made eight movies together," a source close to the project said. "And he can't wait to work with Owen again. It's just not going to be this film." It doesn't sound like Wilson's role was that large, but you have to think that the potential strike played a small part in this decision because everyone is on such a tight deadline to finish as many projects as possible before next March. Tropic Thunder aside, I think it's pretty clear that Wilson's career can survive this incident. Hollywood is more than forgiving when it comes to hiring popular actors with past (or present) personal problems (at least at first). The real question is the specter of drug addiction that's floating around this story. But I don't think that Wilson has alienated his fan base, although it may be tough to watch him in a comedy without reading in some sort of tears-of-a-clown type subtext. But as industry analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Media By Numbers said to CNN, Wilson's public perception is "very positive. [He] has a really good reputation, and people in general really feel bad for him right now."