Post by Librarian on May 11, 2007 16:38:17 GMT -5
The Fabulous Baker Brother by Michael Dougherty
From the Marx brothers to the Wayans brothers, fraternal comedy groups have found success by keeping it in the family. The same goes for Luke Wilson, who, fortunately, comes from good stock. Wilson, along with brothers Owen and Andrew, first came to audiences’ attention in the hipster favorite Bottle Rocket—a film that subsequently launched director Wes Anderson’s career. He collaborated again with Anderson on Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, while taking on leading roles opposite Hollywood heavyweights like Diane Keaton, Will Ferrell, and Uma Thurman. Today Wilson (who resides in Santa Monica near his brothers) is gearing up for the release of his quirky hit-man comedy You Kill Me, costarring Téa Leoni and Ben Kingsley, later this summer. He also gives Los Angeles Confidential the scoop on his recently released labor of love, The Wendell Baker Story, the “Frat Pack” label, and why he wants to move his offices to a tacqueria.
LOS ANGELES CONFIDENTIAL: How did The Wendell Baker Story come about?
LUKE WILSON: I read a lot of scripts, and nothing ever came along that was quite right for me. Owen suggested, “See if you can write something on your own.” So I started working on an idea…. I wasn’t really diligent; I’d work on a scene here, a scene there. Gradually I got a script finished, and there was this producer, Mark Johnson, whom I’d worked with a couple of times and gotten along with real well. We took it around and finally found somebody who wanted to make it. Then [we] got Andrew on board to direct it and Owen to act in it. Now that it’s done, I can’t imagine anyone else doing the parts, and I feel so lucky that people like Eva Mendes, Kris Kristofferson, Harry Dean Stanton, and Jacob Vargas—all people I’ve been a fan of—were willing to do it.
LAC: You play Wendell, a very redemptive character in the movie.
LW: The character is a good-hearted con man, the kind of guy who’s always got different business ventures. I wanted to write an upbeat guy, one of those people who never seems to get down. It’s a freewheeling comedy, like in the 70s, when they seemed more episodic. They’re not as crisp as movies today, with their three-part structure.
LAC: Were you drawing on anything specifically for this character?
LW: I’d always think about Warren Beatty in McCabe & Mrs. Miller or Kurt Russell in Used Cars—characters where the guys are screwups, but likable.
LAC: The everyman….
LW: I think people can identify with having a friend like that. Not necessarily a con man, but somebody who’s always... scheming. The kind of person where you pick up the phone and there’s no “hello”—they’re already rapping at you.
LAC: You’ve become known for collaborations with your brothers. What was it like working with Andrew and Owen on this one?
LW: It’s how we started. I miss working with those guys. It’s not as if we have this idyllic relationship, but I think we get along pretty well, and we have the same sensibilities. Getting Andrew to direct was great because I had no dreams of directing, and it was great to get Owen on board, just in financial terms. I think of him as my brother, but mention him to investors and you see dollar signs in their eyes. So that was extremely helpful. But obviously, I wrote [the Neil character] for him. We did need all the help we could get, because even though it’s a comedy and a love story, it’s more idiosyncratic. Not that I was trying to make it that way. You always want something to be accessible, and I’m not trying to prove that I’m quirky.
LAC: But that’s one of the appealing features of your work.
LW: I know—and I feel like that will come across anyway, without me trying to do something like Todd Solondz.
LAC: Right.
LW: And that’s just what comes naturally to me, maybe it’s more mainstream than some of the other things we’ve made with Wes Anderson.
LAC: Was there always a collaborative sense between you and your brothers?
LW: We were, and are, a close-knit family and always got along. Not perfectly—there were fistfights and things like that. But we were always into the same things. As we got older, our friends picked up trades, and we were like, “What the hell are we gonna do?” We were never the kind of guys who knew what we wanted to do. Then it was a question of Owen and Wes Anderson just being driven to make happen what they had in their minds.
LAC: The film Vacancy was a real departure for you, being a horror movie….
LW: I read it and thought, This would make a good movie. The next thing I know, it’s a month later and I’m on the set thinking, What the f**k am I doing here? Wait a minute, this goddamn movie takes place over the course of one night. It’s just amped up from start to finish. At the end, I definitely felt like I’d accomplished something: I did have to bring a lot of energy to it.
LAC: What are your thoughts about the “Frat Pack” label?
LW: People ask if that bothers me and I say, “sh*t, maybe it bothers somebody like Ben [Stiller] or Jack Black.” But I just feel lucky to be included in the group. What’s good about it is that every one of these guys gets his own thing done. When you’re able to get your own thing done, it does make it easier to say, “Hey, do you mind if I use Will [Ferrell] in this part?” Or for Ben to have Owen do a part, and Vince [Vaughn]…. But it’s comedy, so maybe people think, “Oh, boy, who’s gonna pop up in this?”
LAC: Meanwhile, what’s downtime like for you in LA? Anything exciting?
LW: Ummm…. I’m trying to think….
LAC: What’s your favorite taco stand or whatever?
LW: There’s a place right by the Buffalo Club called Tacos Por Favor that’s great. Just a great room with great tacos—the real deal. I was in there with Andrew and I was like, “sh*t, man, this would be a good place to make our satellite office, come in here to work on ideas.” He was like, “Yeah, man! That’s a great idea! Should we get another beer?” And then it just became more about having a few beers than actually getting any work done.
The Wendell Baker Story comes out on May 18.
From the Marx brothers to the Wayans brothers, fraternal comedy groups have found success by keeping it in the family. The same goes for Luke Wilson, who, fortunately, comes from good stock. Wilson, along with brothers Owen and Andrew, first came to audiences’ attention in the hipster favorite Bottle Rocket—a film that subsequently launched director Wes Anderson’s career. He collaborated again with Anderson on Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, while taking on leading roles opposite Hollywood heavyweights like Diane Keaton, Will Ferrell, and Uma Thurman. Today Wilson (who resides in Santa Monica near his brothers) is gearing up for the release of his quirky hit-man comedy You Kill Me, costarring Téa Leoni and Ben Kingsley, later this summer. He also gives Los Angeles Confidential the scoop on his recently released labor of love, The Wendell Baker Story, the “Frat Pack” label, and why he wants to move his offices to a tacqueria.
LOS ANGELES CONFIDENTIAL: How did The Wendell Baker Story come about?
LUKE WILSON: I read a lot of scripts, and nothing ever came along that was quite right for me. Owen suggested, “See if you can write something on your own.” So I started working on an idea…. I wasn’t really diligent; I’d work on a scene here, a scene there. Gradually I got a script finished, and there was this producer, Mark Johnson, whom I’d worked with a couple of times and gotten along with real well. We took it around and finally found somebody who wanted to make it. Then [we] got Andrew on board to direct it and Owen to act in it. Now that it’s done, I can’t imagine anyone else doing the parts, and I feel so lucky that people like Eva Mendes, Kris Kristofferson, Harry Dean Stanton, and Jacob Vargas—all people I’ve been a fan of—were willing to do it.
LAC: You play Wendell, a very redemptive character in the movie.
LW: The character is a good-hearted con man, the kind of guy who’s always got different business ventures. I wanted to write an upbeat guy, one of those people who never seems to get down. It’s a freewheeling comedy, like in the 70s, when they seemed more episodic. They’re not as crisp as movies today, with their three-part structure.
LAC: Were you drawing on anything specifically for this character?
LW: I’d always think about Warren Beatty in McCabe & Mrs. Miller or Kurt Russell in Used Cars—characters where the guys are screwups, but likable.
LAC: The everyman….
LW: I think people can identify with having a friend like that. Not necessarily a con man, but somebody who’s always... scheming. The kind of person where you pick up the phone and there’s no “hello”—they’re already rapping at you.
LAC: You’ve become known for collaborations with your brothers. What was it like working with Andrew and Owen on this one?
LW: It’s how we started. I miss working with those guys. It’s not as if we have this idyllic relationship, but I think we get along pretty well, and we have the same sensibilities. Getting Andrew to direct was great because I had no dreams of directing, and it was great to get Owen on board, just in financial terms. I think of him as my brother, but mention him to investors and you see dollar signs in their eyes. So that was extremely helpful. But obviously, I wrote [the Neil character] for him. We did need all the help we could get, because even though it’s a comedy and a love story, it’s more idiosyncratic. Not that I was trying to make it that way. You always want something to be accessible, and I’m not trying to prove that I’m quirky.
LAC: But that’s one of the appealing features of your work.
LW: I know—and I feel like that will come across anyway, without me trying to do something like Todd Solondz.
LAC: Right.
LW: And that’s just what comes naturally to me, maybe it’s more mainstream than some of the other things we’ve made with Wes Anderson.
LAC: Was there always a collaborative sense between you and your brothers?
LW: We were, and are, a close-knit family and always got along. Not perfectly—there were fistfights and things like that. But we were always into the same things. As we got older, our friends picked up trades, and we were like, “What the hell are we gonna do?” We were never the kind of guys who knew what we wanted to do. Then it was a question of Owen and Wes Anderson just being driven to make happen what they had in their minds.
LAC: The film Vacancy was a real departure for you, being a horror movie….
LW: I read it and thought, This would make a good movie. The next thing I know, it’s a month later and I’m on the set thinking, What the f**k am I doing here? Wait a minute, this goddamn movie takes place over the course of one night. It’s just amped up from start to finish. At the end, I definitely felt like I’d accomplished something: I did have to bring a lot of energy to it.
LAC: What are your thoughts about the “Frat Pack” label?
LW: People ask if that bothers me and I say, “sh*t, maybe it bothers somebody like Ben [Stiller] or Jack Black.” But I just feel lucky to be included in the group. What’s good about it is that every one of these guys gets his own thing done. When you’re able to get your own thing done, it does make it easier to say, “Hey, do you mind if I use Will [Ferrell] in this part?” Or for Ben to have Owen do a part, and Vince [Vaughn]…. But it’s comedy, so maybe people think, “Oh, boy, who’s gonna pop up in this?”
LAC: Meanwhile, what’s downtime like for you in LA? Anything exciting?
LW: Ummm…. I’m trying to think….
LAC: What’s your favorite taco stand or whatever?
LW: There’s a place right by the Buffalo Club called Tacos Por Favor that’s great. Just a great room with great tacos—the real deal. I was in there with Andrew and I was like, “sh*t, man, this would be a good place to make our satellite office, come in here to work on ideas.” He was like, “Yeah, man! That’s a great idea! Should we get another beer?” And then it just became more about having a few beers than actually getting any work done.
The Wendell Baker Story comes out on May 18.
Click here for some amazing pics