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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years

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Director Kate Herron calls from her childhood bedroom. She's staying at her parents' home in Southeast London for the summer, having spent the past year apart due to the pandemic and directing her latest series, Marvel's Loki. "It's so surreal seeing the show go out," she says over Zoom, "and being in the room that I was last in as a teenager."

Loki's first three episodes have seen the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) team up with Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) and the all-powerful Time Variance Authority to track down a fugitive Variant of himself: A female Loki that goes by Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) who's set on blowing up the Sacred Timeline and, with it, the MCU as we know it.

"My dad, bless him, he was never into Marvel before, but now he's obsessed with it," she says. "When I got the job, he started watching his way through the films, and he's got all these different YouTubers that he now watches for theories, and he tries to get spoilers out of me. He's like, 'What does it mean?!' and I'm like, 'Dad, I can't tell you!' It's very sweet, but very funny."

Now, with three episodes left of the season, she's bracing for their first family viewing experience. "I might not be able to, though. I might be like, 'You have to watch it by yourselves and then we can talk!'" she laughs. "Wait to hear the Loki theme and be like, 'Oh, I can go downstairs now.'"

In the meantime, Herron fielded all of ET's midseason questions about making Loki's bisexuality canon in the MCU, flexing more of his magic than ever before and why Sylvie isn't really Lady Loki or the Enchantress.

We are halfway through the season. Outside your parents, how has the reaction felt so far?

It's been amazing. We had these big ideas in it -- like, about free will and good and evil -- and wanting to [know that] if we're going back in with Loki because he's so beloved, that it's going to be a good story for that character, but some fresh terrain. I think the response has been pretty joyous and it's just so fun seeing what people are liking, what people's theories are. I couldn't be more happy, to be honest.

Being someone who appears pretty online and active on social media, how deep are you going into reading what people say and diving into those theories and all that?

I definitely read a lot of them -- I don't comment on them -- but I used to love Lost and Game of Thrones, and I was on Reddit, commenting, like, "Ooh, maybe it means this or means this," and I think that's the fun thing with our show, right? Our fans are so smart and it's fun seeing what they're getting right and what's not right but is very interesting. The Easter eggs they dig up are always amazing to me. Some of them we put in there, and I'm like, "Well, let's see..." and I'm like, "Oh, they found it!" So, it's really fun tracking it online. It's very weird directing something where you know every frame will be [screen]grabbed by some fans because they're looking for stuff.

I loved your tweet about why it was important for you to confirm that Loki is bisexual in the show. Not really reveal -- because he's bisexual in the comics -- but make that canon. Talk to me about having those conversations with Marvel.

I think it was something very important to everyone. And I felt like, OK, how can we acknowledge this? We have aspects of the story that are there, so how do we build this into the story so it feels earned in the moment? I didn't want it to feel like we were just wedging something in, but we had this beautiful scene where these two characters are being really raw and really honest about who they are, and I was like, "Well, it is a part of who he is and who they are." For me, talking with Michael [Waldron] and Bisha [K. Ali], it just felt like it was the right moment for that line. This episode is really beautiful for me, because it's these two characters getting to know each other, so in that sense, it felt like the right place for that conversation to happen. And I thought it was done really beautifully by the writers.

Obviously, like I've said, it's very personal to me, and I said it was a small step in some ways -- because obviously, he's just talking about it -- but in the bigger scale of things, I'm like, oh no, it's massive actually. If I saw that when I was 10, it would be really big for me. It's been really nice getting comments from people online. Some people were like, "It helped me actually talk about how I feel to my family and helped me come out." And I thought, "Well, if it helped one person do that, then it's worth it."

This is the MCU's first lead character who is openly queer. Did you know that? Were you aware of how big a milestone this would be?

Yeah. Well, in some senses, yes, and in some senses you're never sure, right? Because [Marvel is] so secretive about all their other projects. [Laughs] For me, I was like, I'm telling Loki's story, it's a part of who they are and I just want to acknowledge it. It's canon in the comics and if we can make it canon in the films, that would be amazing. When I came on board, I was like, if there's a way to do this, it would mean a lot to me and, I'm sure, a lot of people. But it was very welcomed, and I think we're all very proud of how we did that.

This may be getting into spoiler territory that you aren't able to talk about, but acknowledging one's sexuality is one important part of representation, seeing it play out through relationships is another. Can we expect to see any further exploration of what it means for Loki to be bisexual in this show?

I'm trying to think how to answer your question. [Laughs] I would say in our story, this is how we acknowledge it. But I hope that that paves the way for deeper exploration.

We're halfway through the season. What were your biggest goals in these first three episodes?

I think the biggest one was obviously, the Loki we're with in this story is on a completely different path, so it was tracking his character in the sense that he basically sees this amazing arc that the other Loki had gone on across the MCU movies, he sees that he reconciles with his brother, but that wasn't him in that moment. He's watching a different version of himself. But seeing that moment and seeing that he has room for growth and change is really interesting with our Loki, because he's in a very different headspace. So, it was tracking, what's familiar about this character from the Loki that we've seen over the last 10 years go from villain to antihero? And what is going to be completely different and completely different sides to this character that we get to now dig our teeth into? That was something really important to me and to Tom and the writing team, and it was really fun unpacking that and what his identity means.

The other challenges, honestly, were just setting up the TVA, because it's outside of time and space and giving that a grounding and a reality and making that feel like a whole new exciting corner of the MCU. That was a big responsibility, and I was really excited by that. And then you have the bigger arc of the story, but you also knowing it's going out weekly on TV. So, how are we going to track this week by week. Where are we leaving the characters and what are we leaving for the audience? Something we always thought about was we knew there'd be discussion week to week, so it was like, "Where are we going to give them certain bits of information across the show?" We wanted to provoke conversation and discussion about even just things like free will, you know?

I will say about the TVA, I'm basically a human Miss Minutes stan account. I think she's the baddest bitch in the MCU. I watch every Miss Minutes fancam that pops up on my Twitter feed.

She's incredible! What I love about it is that she's in our first episode and she actually used to come out of the presentation that Loki watches -- she came out on the screen -- but it was too crazy. We were like, "OK, we can't do that in the first episode. We'll do it in the second episode!" But what I love about her is that we're seeing the TVA through Loki's eyes and it's, like, the status quo, right? And if our status quo is a Southern-talking, Roger Rabbit-style clock, the show is going to probably get quite weird. I think that's what I love about her. And obviously, Tara [Strong] is awesome. Yeah, Miss Minutes is a lot of fun.

You talked about exploring who Loki is and could be. He's always had an arsenal of powers, but in this series, you really get to explore and define what his power set is. What were those conversations like?

That was something else, coming in, I was so excited about. We have six hours of him, let's see some more magic. Because across the comics, he's super powerful, and for example, in the last episode, that's what was so exciting to me about that, the oner at the end of episode 3 was that I've seen a lot of oners but I haven't seen one with magic. So, I was like, let's put loads of magic in there! We get Loki using his telekinesis and his magic blasts and then also Sylvie, as well, and her powers.

For me, it was exciting getting to bring those in in a way that pushed the story forwards. Because I get it, when he first lands in the TVA, they can't use magic, so I know if I was watching, I'd be like, "What? No magic?!" But I think that's the fun thing is, we still have three episodes to go and also it was fun to put him on Lamentis and see him using his powers in different ways. It was definitely something important to me and the team, was to get to show a little bit more of him. But across the films, you can only do so much. Now we have six hours, so it felt like, of course we have to delve into that more.

I don't know if you saw this on Twitter, one of my favorite reactions to episode 3 was someone tweeted a screenshot of Sylvie screaming and her hands glowing and wrote, "she did the meme!!"

[Laughs] That's great!

We've now officially met Sylvie, and we're starting to piece together that this may be sort of a hybrid character of Lady Loki and Sylvie Lushton, the Enchantress. Are you able to confirm that you pulled from both to create your Sylvie? Or is that something that's to be further revealed?

I would say there's more to be delved into. One thing I would say is, like, she's different to the comics. Like, she's a unique character, but obviously, there's things that have been pulled from. I think for her character, she's on the run and she's called Sylvie and she's dyed her hair. The blonde that we associate with Sylvie is played in that sense, but it makes sense for her character within our story. But I would say deeper than that, yeah, there's more to be revealed about her character to comes.

The main thing I would say is: Lady Loki in the comics is a very different character to our character, obviously. I love that character and I think she's got a very different journey. But our Sylvie is a female Loki, in that sense -- because in episode 1 and 2, they know it's a Loki they're tracking -- but I think that's part of the discussion. It's almost like Loki -- as in Tom Loki -- he's like, "Wait, how much of my life have you got? Who are you?" And I think that's the real question is, who is she? So, we will discuss that as the show goes on. Why does she not like being called Loki? What's her past? Where did she come from?

Tom and Sophia have such great chemistry, but how challenging was it for you and Michael and Sophia and the writers to create a character that essentially has to match up with our Loki, who's had however many films to become the fan-favorite character that he is?

It starts in the writing. Because she's a unique creation, and that was exciting and I was intrigued where they were pulling from with the comics. I was like, OK, that's cool. Beyond that, I think it's casting it. Sophia is an incredible actor. I've worked with her before. She has this fire in her and she brings this amazing vulnerability to all her characters, but she's also, like, so funny. It's just, so many of these things she always brings, I was like, they're so Loki. So, I was like, "We've got to get her to read!" And we were just all blown away by her read of it.

She definitely can hold her own. That's the other thing, as well. I know her, and I was like, she will hold her own. I know she will. Because she's going against Tom's Loki and that's such the fun thing about them. Even just on the train, where it's the end of the world and Loki's solution is, "I'm going to have a party and I'm going to have a drink. I'm going to have a lovely time." And her solution is, "I'm not going to have a glass of champagne, thanks. I'm going to focus on the mission of getting off the moon." Those little differences is what's quite fun about them to me. How are they different, and how are they the same?

Was there something you got to do as a director in these first three episodes that you had never done before that you were especially excited or nervous or both to tackle?

I suppose so much of the show, right? Because I've done a lot of drama and a lot of comedy, but they were like, "Here you go! Here's the reins to this massive, genre-driven piece where you have to set up a new corner of the MCU and you're going to have this beloved character." There was a lot to carry. But I'd say in terms of something I was excited about, only because Kevin Feige was teasing me, when we filmed the big oner at the end of episode 3, I was really inspired in the writing, because it sounded like you were really with the characters. I love doing long takes anyway and I remember thinking, "Oh man, this sequence feels like the one that we should do as this oner," because I want the audience to feel like they're with Sylvie and Loki in this moment, and it's also a moment where you finally start to see an apocalypse and it feels more real, because you're seeing the horror and the terror that's going along with that.

For me, that was exciting, but the really cheesy bit that made me so excited is they had these foam rocks that fell on people, but it felt like real movie magic to me. I was so obsessed with the rocks. I was like, "Oh my god. This is like real, big Hollywood filmmaking." And I remember Kevin Feige was like, "You can take a rock home, if you want," and I was like, "Oh my god!" So I have this rock. It's in bubble wrap now, and I'm going to unpack it when I move into my place. But that's probably honestly the most excited I've ever been. [Laughs] I was just so excited by the rocks. Oh, and also, I remember when we were at Roxxcart and Tom gets thrown into those robo dogs, I was obsessed with the robo dogs. He was like, "I think this is the happiest I've ever seen you." So, those are my favorite moments on set. The foam rocks and the robo dogs.

Somebody's going to come into your flat in the future and there's going to be a shelf with just a rock and a robotic dog on it.

Mhmm! And I'll be like, "Yeah, guys, I did something." [Laughs] They'll be like, "What is this...?" But the foam rocks are genuinely amazing, because they look like real, heavy rocks, but they're so light. I was so fascinated with them. I was so excited. I made a lot of low budget stuff before this, so it was a big deal to me.

My favorite part of the first three episodes is the Kate Berlant cameo. How did that come to be?

Basically, I love comedy and my producer, Kevin Wright, does as well, and we were trying to think of people that could be fun. We've got Josh [Fadem] in episode 1, and that was a miracle. I just spoke to her about the part and was like, "This is a very small role, but if you're interested, you're very talented and you're so funny." And she was like, "You know what? That sounds really fun. Renaissance faire? Yeah, I'll come do it." So, it was very kind of her to come down and do that for us. She's so funny, man. She's so funny.

Do you let her riff at all?

We did. We have a lot of alts and a lot of very extended bits of her talking to the Minutemen. I think there's one where she talks about a bird show at the faire. She's so funny. I was very flattered and grateful that she did that for us.

I'm going to start the #ReleaseTheKateBerlantCut campaign. I want a whole episode of her alts. Or she can be the new Stan Lee and cameo in every MCU project. Before I let you go, if you had to choose one word to tease these upcoming three episodes, what is that word?

Hmm. I thought of one word, but then I'm like, it's spoiler-y, so I can't say that. [Laughs] Oh, one word. Exciting? I have to say "exciting," because I can't say the other one I wanted to say!

#Kate Herron #Loki #interview

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karlajoyner · 3 years

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Strawberry Lipgloss (Carrie Wilson x Reader)

A/n: Hey guys! This is my first girl x girl so I hope the requester and everyone else enjoyed it! I'm also working on my first male x male so I'm excited for that! Definitely my first time branching out into doing a lot more with my writing so I hope you guys are liking it so far. I'm working on an Owen smut next and trying to get through my requests! So thanks for reading!!💙

Requested by: lonelygranger (Wattpad)

Warnings: Bullying (kinda sorta)

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The final bell of the day rang signifying class was over. I stood up rushing out of the classroom knowing the hallways would be packed any moment with students trying to leave as well.

"Hey Molina" I heard a familiar voice call from behind me as I put my chemistry textbook in my locker. I sighed shutting my eyes. Turning around slowly.

"Carrie" I spoke through gritted teeth.

"Y/n. I just thought I'd remind you how much of a freak show you are like always"

"Thank you for that. Anything else?"

"Yeah. You should really keep your sister in check with her little hologram boy band. You know before she gets hurt" The girl said making sure to bump my shoulder as she passed by me.

I internally groaned hitting the locker behind me watching as she strutted away.

"Hey are you okay?" I heard my older sisters voice.

I turned my head to see her and her best friend rushing towards me in a panic.

"What'd that witch do to you now?"

"The same as always Flynn. Insult me bump my shoulder and walk away" I said using jazz hands to show the flatness in my excitement.

"I just don't understand why she has it out for me"

"It's all my fault y/n. I'm so sorry" Julie said as we walked out the schools front entrance.

"It's okay Jules. I'll be fine. You know I'll just continue to deal with Carrie for the rest of my high school years until you two graduate. I'll just continue let her to bully me. And I'll just continue cry myself to sleep every night because the pop princess that bullies the hell out of me also happens to be the girl I've had a crush on since my sister first brought her over the very first day of middle school"

I ranted watching my dads car pull up to the front of the school.

"We'll finish talking later" Julie said opening the front door and getting in.

"Call me if you two need anything"

"Thanks Flynn. See you later" Julie called after her best friend who walked in another direction.

"Bye Flynn!" My dad called after the girl as well.

"Mija are you gonna get in or am I just gonna hold up traffic all day"

I heard my dads voice from inside the vehicle. But my focus was on the blonde boy who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Her boyfriend. Clearly not wanting to be standing beside her while she chatted away with the rest of dirty candy.

"Hey get in weirdo" I sighed getting in the car, shutting the door behind me.

"What's your problem?"

"I'm not in the mood Carlos" I spoke to my little brother as we drove off.

"Ooo someone's a bit moody"

"Dad leave her alone. She's had a tough day" Julie explained.

"Nothing a little family movie night can't fix. What do you say kids?"

"I call dibs on picking the movie!" Carlos shouted before anyone else could call it.

I woke up the next morning with determination. Putting on my best outfit. Waking up extra early to do my hair. And I even put a bit more makeup than usual.

Carrie Wilson had been bullying me ever since her and Julie had that falling out and I was tired of it.

I don't know if it was the sugar adrenaline of the large amount of candy I had eaten the night before during the movie. Or if I was just that fed up with the girl but today I put an end to her once and for all.

I walked downstairs with a pep in my step. The smell of waffles hitting my nose.

"There she is my other beautiful daughter" My dad spoke handing me a plate of waffles.

"Hey dad"

"D-did you do your hair?" Julie asked as I took a seat beside her at the table.

"I did"

"Why?"

"Because my dear sister today I am a new person"

"A weird person"

"Carlos" My dad warned the boy.

"It's okay dad. Not even little Carlitos could ruin my mood today" I said pinching his cheeks.

Satisfied with his look of disgust I took a bit out of my breakfast.

"Okay who are you and what have you done with my little sister?" Julie questioned only earning a smirk from me.

"I'm only a year younger Jules but if you must know. Well your just gonna have to wait until lunch time" I spoke before continuing to eat.

Lunch time rolled around quicker than I expected. I had spent the whole morning mentally preparing myself until that bell rang.

Walking out of class I immediately spotted Julie and Flynn sitting at our usual table in the cafeteria. I smiled at them as they waved me over excitedly.

Slowly but surely I began to walk my way over to them with confidence only to be stopped by someone blocking my path.

"Well if it isn't the loner of the two Molina sisters. I mean seriously get some friends your own age y/n"

"I didn't hear you complaining before you and Julie fell out"

"Oh wow look at you. Finally sticking up for yourself" She smirked.

"And for your information I was just being nice. You were always annoying chasing after us" She spat. My heart breaking a little bit more than usual.

As if on cue Nick made his way towards us. Like many other times he tried to get Carrie to leave Julie and me alone.

But this time it was different.

I smirked at the girl in front of me taking her boyfriends hand. Pulling him close to and planting a kiss on his lips. Immediately hearing gasps from the people around me.

I pulled away watching Nicks face contort in confused daze.

And the look on Carries face was priceless. Her signature smirk was wiped off her face as her eyes glossed up.

I didn't get the chance to get a word out before I felt her grab me by the wrist and drag me away from the big scene in the middle of the cafeteria.

"Carrie let me go!" I shouted as she dragged me down the halls.

"Where are you taking me? Carrie!" I yelled as she opened an unfamiliar door shoving me inside.

Immediately assuming it was the music room. Noting all the instruments I turned back to the girl in anger.

"What are we doing here?" I asked as she shut the door behind us.

"Why would you do that?"

"Why do you think?"

"D-do you like Nick or something?"

She asked clearly ticked off.

"You think I like Nick? Seriously?" I asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well do you or not?"

"Of course I don't. I only kissed him to get back at you" I watched relief wash over her face as we stood there in silence before I spoke again.

"You know? I'm just tired of your shit Carrie. You've been bullying me since you and Julie stopped being friends. I just don't understand. We used to get along so well. Then all of a sudden you hated me" I spoke leaning against the wall.

"I don't hate you" She stated my eyes falling onto her.

She quickly made her way towards me stopping a few inches away from me.

"W-what are you doing?" I whispered watching her eyes closely to see them looking down at my.....my lips?

"Just don't say anything for a second" I bit my lip as she slowly leaned in.

Taking the opportunity I met her halfway. Our lips dancing against each other's.

The taste of her strawberry lipgloss making butterflies erupt in my stomach.

I wrapped my hand around her waist pulling her closer. Smiling into the kiss as she pushed me up against the wall behind me.

I was first to pull away seeing a pink tinge take over he cheeks. No doubt my face had a similar hue.

"Can I say something now?" I asked as she playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yes y/n"

"I like you Carrie. A lot. I've liked you since I first met you. And I know your with Nick but-"

"But I was gonna break up with him anyways. We've been having problems for a while now"

"Really?" I asked fidgeting with the ends of her cropped cardigan.

"Yes really. Look I know I've been putting up this mean front but truth is I've always had a crush on you too. I just thought you would hate me when Julie and I fell out. Especially since she's your sister. I just thought you'd side with her. So I did what I do best. I played the mean girl" She spoke her eyes glossing up.

"Hey don't feel bad. I understand everything now. I know you and my sister aren't in the best of places right now but I'm sure she's gonna support this 100% like she always has" I spoke caressing her cheek. Softly smiling as she leaning into my touch.

"You think so?"

"I know so" I smiled pecking her lips once more. A grin plastering itself on her face.

"Your so beautiful" I simpered.

"You are too Molina. You look extra beautiful today with your hair and makeup done"

"You noticed?"

"I always noticed. And though you look amazing now you look just as good with your everyday makeup look. And no makeup at all for that matter. Maybe you could show me how you to do it sometime" She suggested gazing into my eyes.

"I guess I could give my pop princess a few pointers. Though you don't really need them" I said intertwining our fingers.

"I guess I should go break up with Nick. You know before someone catches us"

"I'll be here waiting"

"You better be. We've got a lot of catching up to do"

"It seems we do" I spoke before kissing her cheek.

"Maybe you could teach me some of your dirty candy moves" I proposed as she leaned her forehead on mine.

"Or you could just join dirty candy and learn with everyone else"

"Let's get one thing straight here Wilson. You're the star. And I'm perfectly okay with being your loving supporting girlfriend from the sidelines"

"Girlfriend? I like the sound of that" She grinned.

"So do we have ourselves a deal?"

"Yeah. Just as long as I get to call you my girlfriend"

"Sounds good.....but"

"But?" She asked her smile slightly faltering.

"Can we hold off on going public for a while?"

"Why?" She pouted.

"Well it's just your gonna break up with Nick and I don't want him to think it's because of us"

"But it is because of us" She stated making me send her a pointed look.

"Fine. I'm sure he won't mind but if you wanna hold off on telling people I guess we could play the best friend card for a while. But not too long. I want to show you off to everyone"

"And you will. When the time comes" I said pulling her in for a hug.

"My house after school?" I nodded watching her remove something small from her school bag.

"Here. So you could think of me while your in class" She spoke pinning a custom made enamel pin that read Dirty Candy.

"I always think about you" I stated hearing the first bell ring.

"We should go" I said as we walked to the double door separating once we exited.

I spent rest of the school day with a smile plastered on my face excited to see my newly found girlfriend after school.

———

Up Next: Owen Patrick Joyner x Reader

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

Alex x Male Reader

Luke Patterson x Reader

Charlie x Reader

Jeremy x Reader

Charlie x Reader

Reggie x Reader

Charlie Gillespie x Owen Patrick Joyner x Reader

Charlie Gillespie x Reader

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@lolychu @headheartbellarke @bookish0918 @kcd15 @ifilwtmfc @moviesbooksandfandoms @lovesanimals @lavender-writer @kaitieskidmore1 @morganayennefertyrell @iloveteenwolf @ghostofmgg @jammi13 @theravenclawlife

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frick6101719 · 3 years

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I have no idea if you have watched this or not but: Loki! for the ask game

Oooh I have! Here we go:

favorite male character: I'm torn between Loki and Mobius. I've always loved Loki but tbh this show really did NOT impress me with his characterization, so I'll say Mobius #vivalajetski

favorite female character: Sylvie. Her relationship with Loki was SO interesting right up until THAT happened and I'm really looking forward to seeing more of her in season 2, and maybe other parts of the MCU too! She had such an interesting way of being hurt but still soft, and I think in general she's the sort of female character we deserve to see more of in tv.

least favorite character: There wasn't really a character that I strongly disliked in this show, actually. I was pretty underwhelmed by He Who Remains; it feels like the "incredibly-powerful-being-who-is-just-a-silly-childish-goofball" thing has been done to death. I'd like to see a little more nuance, and from what we've seen of this dude so far (and I've been told he's someone very cool, so that will be nice) he didn't feel all that special.

prettiest character: Sylvie. Have you seen those gorgeous floofy curls? The entire first half of the last episode while I was being bored by the plot and whatever I was just staring at her hair. I love it, and she's just such a cutie.

funniest character: Mobius. We all owe Owen Wilson SO MUCH because he KILLED IT as Mobius, and his particular brand of comedy was just perfect for this character.

favorite season: Well there is only one so far, but fingers crossed this won't be my favourite one lol that would be big bad news

favorite episode: 1.4 - The Nexus Event. Watching these two Lokis running around, wreaking mild havoc, and learning things about themselves/each other was so much fun. It was such a cool idea to have Loki meet an alternate version of himself who is in so many ways like him, though still different enough to not be a complete clone. And this episode takes place at a point when there was just... so much potential...

favorite romantic ship: I don't even know. I mean disclaimer, I am moderate-to-severely aromantic, and I know I have a tendency to not realise a relationship is supposed to be romantic without someone spoon-feeding it to me. I watched this show with my mom and after episode 4 I spent like an entire day thinking about it and then finally asked her if this was supposed to be a romantic relationship or like a "long-lost twin" relationship (which is how I had been thinking of it) and she was like "yeah Mav it's definitely romantic." Which I wasn't like... opposed to? It felt a little weird, but I was like "okay I can get behind this they DO have great chemistry and could be so good for each other" but then the execution was just fucked. They had me, then they pretty much lost me. Loki/Mobius I think never really hooked me either because so much of their interaction is Loki acting very unlike himself, (in my opinion), so though I LOVE Mobius I think the dynamic didn't feel right to me because it didn't seem like LOKI.

That said... All three of them together I can get behind. That's the ship I want to see, and I don't give a fuck if it's romantic or platonic or found-family I just think the three of them would have a super interesting dynamic that would be way more interesting than the way they treated either of the two ships in season one. Loki x Mobius x Sylvie 4 life

favorite family ship: see above.

favorite friend ship: also see above.

worst ship: I'm not going to belabor this point any more than I already have, but yeah. Both ships had GREAT potential and NEITHER even came close to living up to it. We could have had it all!

Oi. I apologize for all the salt?? I did not know I had this many unresolved issues with this show! I really REALLY wanted to love it, and while I did enjoy it and am looking forward to season two, I just never managed to hit that level of obsession I expected to. Thank you so much for the request--it clearly let me get some things off my chest haha 💚💛💚

Leave a TV show or movie in my ask box and I’ll tell you…

#My dad came home like ten minutes after the finale finished and was like 'oh your show's over? How was it?'#and without missing a beat #and in perfect unison #we were both like 'disappointing'#I think the ideas and concepts and even the plot itself was actually good #but it was a bit of a clusterfuck #and the writers all need to be fired for the cheesiest and clunkiest dialogue I have ever had the misfortune of witnessing #Loki #Loki Spoilers #loki x mobius #loki x sylvie #loki x mobius x sylvie

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vaguely-gestures-to-the-void · 3 years

Text

Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

Welcome back! Spoilers below!

I need to clarify that I watch Loki purely as an escape. I've got a biased perspective in that regard because I don’t actively try to find fault with the show, though there are definitely things I’m not so inclined to. This is more of what I noticed and think things mean and it’s something I’m doing for fun. Anyways, here's my thoughts on episode 2 my loves.

Episode 2: THE VARIANT

Pre-title scene

Miss Minutes’ monologue in the recap is different to the one last ep.

1985 Oshkosh, Wisconsin

C-20!

“Today’s guest performances” on a board. Don’t really know if it means anything tho.

The Iconic (TM) I Need A Hero scene.

Pony.

The green tent - the lair of Loki.

I know not everyone’s a fan of the lighting, but it made sense to me. They’re still in the dark about who Sylvie is.

Why does C-20 take off her helmet? For the drama?

I hope Sylvie cleaned her blade. Narnia taught me well.

The Time Samsung (I can’t remember what it’s called right now) says that the date’s 04/12/1985.

Loki’s first mission (?)

‘Volume 26’ - how many of these does Mobius have?? #giveMobiusajetski

“ONLY at your LOCAL AUTHORIZED DEALER” - subtext about the TVA being control freaks? Jet ski safety?

I googled Wake Magazine. They’re up to volume 20 from what I saw, whilst Loki is reading volume 26, so I guess that’s something

Loki and Miss Minutes lmaooo.

Behind Loki’s elbow is the taxidermy something from the last episode. Also confirms that Loki threatened Casey at Mobius’ desk lol.

The thing has an egg?? What the hell is Mobius collecting? (He’s a Harry Hart variant lmao).

There are little twitches in Miss Minnutes’ hands. That’s so cool!

The egg timer’s a nice easter egg (I’m a comedian).

Mobius! B-15! :)

Is it just me or do the minutemen look similar, but not exactly the same. Makes sense if they’re variants.

I just realised the lights are built into the ceiling. Whoops.

What’s Mobius’ favourite?

Couple of things:

The racks full of identical uniforms/ones just hung up on doors.

The music has started to pick up the pace, but not in the way we see later on in the episode.

There’s a sign saying ‘FARE THEE WELL’ on it. Google tells me that it’s ‘used to express good wishes on parting’. Dang that was some good foreshadowing!

The person that looks like Agatha is still present.

I wonder whether it was supposed to be colder or whether the weather was just like that when they filmed.

The pony’s still around.

I think B-15 certainty that “a Loki couldn’t have gotten the jump of C-20” comes from her experience with them. She constantly tries to make it clear that because she’s not a variant, she’d know Loki better than he would, which (personally) makes the revelation that she’s a variant feel more devastating.

Again with the lighting, they’re still in partial darkness, constantly moving in and out of the light. Whilst what Loki says about the variant setting a trap is true, it isn’t in the context that he says it. Sylvie whoops their asses later.

The black and red-orange flags remind me of tomb markers. It’s a stretch, ik.

B-15 only has tally marks on one side of her helmet.

Mobius has fake pockets in his suit jacket. They’re the worst.

The ticking increasing in tempo as they approach red line - great for setting up tension.

I believe that Loki uses personal space like a weapon - slowly approaching them from the front, and then going behind Mobius’ back when he wants his way. It would make anyone uncomfortable, especially on a subconscious level because there’s a threat behind you.

Or maybe it’s that I have different personal space boundaries, not everyone likes being approached from behind. Loki’s movement felt intentional at least.

Getting Mobius to physically turn his way because of that might have been very subtle manipulation?

Loki looking back and forth trying to judge their reactions lol.

I liked the music in this scene, it sets up tension for Loki’s first attempt at betraying Mobius but then doesn’t completely dismiss it when it’s resolved.

Ravonna Renslayer’s office

The music here is 18 morceaux, Op. 72, No. 2. Berceuse. 18 morceaux, Op. 72: No. 2, Berceuse (Arr. For Theremin and piano) by Clara Rockmore for anyone that’s curious. I found out through Natalie Holt’s Twitter (I think).

The score is, and always will be, perfection.

Mobius’ small talk amuses me.

“Why do you get to keep all the trophies from my cases in here, you don’t think I’d love having that roller skate?” Mobius, what about the thing on the shelf behind your desk????

Ravonna seems like she’s answered these questions before, but she has a fondness for him that makes me think they’re good friends.

Also does Ravonna have multiple complete collections of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in her office? What are those books??

“I hope it’s a double.” Me too Mobius, me too (drink responsibly).

I don’t get how people think Mobius doesn’t remember leaving the stains. It sounded like Ravonna was chiding him for a bad habit and Mobius just made up a remark, not confusion.

Although he does place the cup at a different spot to the rings.

The ship flying past in the windows is a wonderful detail.

“The variant likes to stall for time.” It's very satisfying to me how everything stays relevant. Every detail advances the plot/contributes to it.

“Look, I know you have a soft spot for broken things.”

“I don’t think so-”

“Yes you do.”

Both Mobius and Ravonna only look at the middle figure when referring to the time Keepers. Either the other two are side-lined or don’t contribute at all.

“I’ll delete him myself.” At this point in time, I think Mobius is serious. As the episode progresses, his status may have changed, especially after the Jet Ski philosophy session.

Ravonna’s sash on the peg reminds me of the ones the people talking to Casey were wearing in episode 1.

Man those doors are so cool.

Peak sitting outside the principal’s office energy.

Mobius whistles at Loki as opposed to talking to him like he does later.

Any screen shot from the following scene is pristine chaotic disaster bi Loki energy featuring tired-of-your-tomfoolery Mobius.

“Isn’t that precisely why I’m here?” This marked a change in Loki to me. Up until that point, he’d tried to use what he’d known, who he’d been by scheming his way to the Time Keepers. By admitting he wasn’t sure of his purpose, we’re back with the person at the end of the last episode. It’s very Loki to try all avenues to get what he wants, and after having his world turned upside-down a few times in a short period, maybe he just wanted the familiarity of his old tricks, who he thinks he is.

Loki tensing up and then trying to assert control again reaffirms what I just said.

Man, give Mobius a holiday after all of this. Loki really tested him, huh?

Loki definitely likes validation on some level.

TVA archives (a.k.a the Salad Scene)

I can’t believe that place really exists. The looks combined with the music are just *chef kisses*.

I’m not sure if I’m thinking of the right progression, but the music reminds me of a plagal cadence. Google examples and play it side-by-side, you’ll get what I mean, maybe someone knows what it really is?

On either side of the elevators near the Time Keeper statues are the signs TVA archives.

The symmetry pleases my goblin brain.

I believe the entire show was just flexing the skills of the Loki crew and I couldn’t be happier.

“Pretend your life depends on it. I’m gonna get a snack.” This was so funny in the trailers but Mobius is dead serious (delete him myself comment). And he couldn’t even enjoy his salad.

Love that the end of credits takes from some of the scenes in episode 2.

The archivist has neat glasses.

I want some TVA stationary y’all.

It’s that moment fam.

I can’t be the only one curious by the ‘DISPLACED by 000:000:002:162’. Is that in Units? It would explain why the time line looks slightly bendy whenever we see it, especially if Apocalypses are so frequent.

IT’S THE SALAD LADS!

Mobius is reading the magazine that Loki was looking at earlier. Jet skis are Mobius’ comfort character.

“Don’t set fire to the palace.”

Tom Hiddleston has so much energy, he can move so fast.

“Oh God.” - Mobius, Null Time Zone

“YOU.” - Casey, Null Time Zone

Casey!

No thoughts, head empty, the Salad (TM).

But seriously, people only seem to be at their tables with others that work in a similar section. Not hunters and analysts eating in tandem to me, folks.

Oh Casey. Please don’t hurt him.

Aw, Mobius’ little giggle warmed my heart. Owen Wilson’s giving me whiplash with Mobius. My heart can’t take this y’all.

79 AD Pompeii, Italy

They’re both so giddy, Your Honour, I love them.

Mobius snuck them out lol.

“Bird noises?”

“BE FREE MY HORNED FRIENDS, BE FREE!” The post wouldn’t be complete without this.

Loki just throwing food at people and telling them “...enjoy your last meal while you can” is top tier comedy to me.

This is the first time we see Loki openly say nothing matters. I feel like the case file on the destruction of Asgard really pushed him to treat fate as unchangeable.

LXXIX is 79. Nice one Loki crew!

Mobius’ eye twitching as he checks the variance is a nice touch.

Loki throws away the stick that was holding the goat pen closed at the end.

TVA Archives, TVA cafeteria

Mobius picked up those files so smoothly I had to re-watch it.

Their position reflected what they were talking about - when Loki thinks it’s his individual contribution, he’s walking separately to Mobius, but they meet up when working together. I loved the blocking in that little moment.

I seriously thought that Loki was unconscious when I first saw him asleep around Mobius. I’ll admit it, it felt out-of-character for someone with such bad trust issues. Both of them seem pretty tired tho.

It’s the Jet Ski conversation comrades!

I’m beaming. Mobius talking about Jet Skis was the only time I’ve really remembered it’s Owen Wilson talking. It’s such a fun line to think about!

Loki’s smile. Adorable.

Just go watch the scene, it’ll give you good brain juices.

Mobius does it all for the Jet Skis and nothing else. I don’t make the rules, the Time Keepers do.

“My own glorious purpose.” This is a recurring theme in the season. Ultimately, I think that Loki is going to run for as long as it brings in money/until Loki gets killed again. However, I do like to think that in following seasons we’ll move beyond setting up Phase 4 Marvel stuff and just get deep dives into Loki’s character, though it may happen in the later eps or not be as interesting. Part of what made this show so interesting is the new setting in the Marvel universe but it’s hard to make predictions as to whether it will last in a show featuring the God of Mischief. Whatever happens, I’m happy that we got to see Loki’s existential crisis together, lads.

The music picks up, signalling that this quiet moment is about to end.

“No one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is every truly good.”

“Scared little boy.”

These lines mean a lot to me. Loki perceives Mobius as an equal, similar to himself but not completely identical. The TVA’s whole aesthetic is Kafkaesque (Disney+ used that word), the imperfections keeping the place from looking mechanical and orderly like what the TVA promotes itself to be. Loki wants Mobius to acknowledge it, but Mobius is in the past, not addressing what’s right in front of him, surrounding him. That’s probably because Mobius doesn’t believe, he accepts what he’s been told though Loki wants to change that. He’s still focused on his job, the variant. I don’t think Mobius will struggle against change in the ‘belief’ part as long as things are rational.

Kate Herron (director) said that the Kablooie scene was improv which makes me wish we had more B roll of Owen and Tom. They seem so professional, invested and fun on set.

“No wonder you’re so bitter.” I’m sorry Mobius you sound as salty as your salad.

‘Artificially flavoured chewing gum’ Has something happened causing artificial flavouring to be preferred?

‘Blue’ has canonically changed to ‘Bloo’ by 2050 in America in the MCU. I blame capitalism.

Why does Mobius look so tiny? I say that like Owen Wilson wouldn’t look like a giant next to me lol.

Owen Wilson is 3.5 inches (9 centimetres) shorter than Tom Hiddleston. Yet he is dwarfed as Mobius. I need to stop talking about this and move on.

There’s no ‘variance energy detected’ line in the report.

“You’re gonna take my job if I’m not careful.” Loki looks so chuffed.

One day, I’ll properly address my thoughts on the shipping. Until then, I just want no one to die.

“Yeah, he’s doing great.” Mobius is so hyped. Good for him.

Owen Wilson has dimples.

Ravonna’s screen doesn’t show the timeline like it does later.

Ravonna is the done mom friend. Sane, undeserving of this, please give her a jet ski moment.

Buckle up folks because the last twenty minutes of this episode are my favourite so far.

At 34 minutes in, we get the music fading in with “Okay. But Mobius...” and a transition to my favourite composition so far. Natalie Holt outdid herself. The soundtrack is nearly constant, there’s no break for a moment of clarity anymore. The progression of events is inevitable, tying the bow on a plot line created in an hour and a half. The little embellishment from the strings (possibly) as Mobius and Loki exit is perfect. Combined with Loki’s raised fist leading to a pan to the ceiling, it prepared the audience for everything being turned upside down.

The changing camera angles and shot lengths (the continuous shot when B-15 takes the knives, the circling behind as the briefing occurs) keep viewers on their toes. The continuous shot is fluid, B-15 doesn’t look at Loki or Mobius, her reaction is natural and that just proves that the timing on that scene was impeccable. The circling behind reminded me of Loki positioning himself behind Mobius as he did earlier, but now he’s on the same side, part of the team though he continues to distinguish between himself and the variant. The building sensation that change is coming is met by the incredible swell in the music as we watch the picturesque Haven Hills get destroyed by modern technology and face the terrifying reality that is the Roxxcart store. There’s a close up on the Roxxcart storefront with school buses with the words ‘Evacuation shuttle’ in the background as we see the TVA’s minutemen come out reinforcing that even when the end is nigh, large corporations will loom over. A storm is raging with worse to come. I can go on and on, but you get the point.

2050 Roxxcart Disaster

I love that y’all are calling this the Alabama supermarket breakup. Makes me chuckle, that’s for sure.

I too hate when people can hear my footsteps. Someone that gets the struggle.

Sylvie places the TVA Samsung over a Roxxcart Security manual. She’s overridden both and is in control.

The date is 03/15/2050.

I think that the way the Hunters and minutemen hold their baton things is so that they don’t get yeeted. Neat.

As always, the beats are slick yo.

I hope the Azaleas guy gets some Azaleas wherever he ended up.

I love the way Loki says “In this storm.” It’s so satisfying for no real reason.

The wonderful Wunmi Mosaku does not get the recognition she deserves for this scene. She switched from B-15 to Sylvie so effortlessly. They’re two distinct characters, her facial expressions, body language everything changed in that instant. Even from the one line, “No, they usually survive,” her delivery had changed in a way that was noticeable. It’s uncanny, exactly what was needed when facing a foe that remained unseen. And the smile? It’s before we know the variant as Sylvie, so naturally it’s that signature Loki smile with a hint of malice we associate with the variant. Damn y’all, Wunmi’s incredible! I really hope she’s recognised for being so talented in this series, if not in all her other work!

Mobius really cares about those people. I really want his redemption (?) arc.

It’s been pointed out that even in those conditions, Roxxcart were selling blankets and water. I think it means that by 2050, cash would be defunct. If only electronic payment existed, as long as there’s electricity they can run a business. Chew on that.

If the man they speak to is 50 to 60, he was a 90s kid.

There must be a difference in the reprogramming or kind of variant selected to be a hunter as compared to an analyst. The Hunters look after their own, but the analysts (or Mobius) go as far as empathising with variants.

C-20 is sitting in front of safety standards.

“A bit amateurish.” Loki knows that the variant isn’t as skilled with magic as he is.

As Loki and the possessed people walk, the lighting becomes brighter. He’s moving out of the shadows.

Me too Loki, I’m worried about B-15 too.

Sylvie unironically saying bless is hilarious.

Randy must be hella tall.

There’s a low angle shot as Loki and Randy face off with the flickering light above with a sign hanging above them like a sword of Damocles and a physical separation. Terror is nearly constant in Loki's life now, but he responds by letting go of his drive to survive.

The subtle swells in the music just add to my rising blood pressure.

C-20’s voice over is sad lads.

“I wanna go home,” we know she’s not referring to the TVA.

Mobius seems like a caring person.

When B-15 sits up and searches the room, I think it’s her realisation. Her shiver was from fear and shock, the music wasn’t about her not seeing Loki, it was about the TVA and what had happened to her.

The head snap and the score timing matching. So satisfying.

“I would never treat me like this. Hi.” I think that’s Loki realising that his foe is not willing to talk their way through conflict.

This fight scene contradicts all the magic we see later ik, but if he didn’t want to hurt anyone and was trying to draw out the real enemy it made sense.

Some of Sylvie’s powers must come into the people she possesses. The guy punched a glass screen and didn’t even bleed.

“I have shit to do.” Sylvie wasn’t raised with court etiquette (from what we know) and her lexical choice reflects that.

Dell computers survive into 2050 in the MCU. So do those robot dogs and Roombas. I am only happy about the Roombas. Where did the real dogs go? :(

“Mobius.”

“Where is he?”

“I lost him.”

“What happened?”

“I...”

Until now, B-15’s delivery has felt slightly rhythmic, like she was used to having the same arguments, particularly with Mobius. When she trails off however, I think it’s her trying to rationalise what she’s been through with Sylvie’s possession. Her devotion to the TVA was rooted in the fact that she wasn’t a variant, her life had a purpose and it was intentional. This must have rocked her, I’m invested in where she’ll go.

THE CUT TO BLACK OH GOOD GOSH.

Sylvie, my queen. I’d roll off a cliff for her.

The person with the moustache (you know the one) has pure fear on his face.

Ravonna knows what’s up.

And so do you, yes it’s the music, go listen to it.

THE RED LIGHTING

The zoom out to that incredible hallway shot and then stopping behind the time door. It was never about him after all, he was in the background of her plans.

Sylvie’s wave in Roxxcart vs. Loki’s on the train. Discuss.

The blackout, thunder and Loki’s pause under the flickering red and white light, do y’all really want me to talk about the s y m b o l i s m????

He’s conflicted, you know it, I know it, Mobius knows it.

Speaking of Mobius, there he is, we cut back to Loki and see him make his decision, zooming back in on him.

And with that final flourish in the score, we are done with episode 2!

Cue the most amazing end credits score you’ll ever hear.

Do yourself a favour, listen to all of it, including the part after the main credits, both are Works. Of. Art.

Ep 2 review

In case you didn’t notice, this is my favourite episode so far. There are parts I didn’t take to as much, but details from the previous episode being used in the plot as well as others being explained by Sylvie in episode 3. Rewatching it was easier than episode 1 though it left me wanting more. It will get more interesting from here, but until then, that was a fun romp.

See y'all next time. I hope whoever's reading this has a wonderful day!

Part 1, Episode 1 extend review link:

#spoilers #loki review #Loki spoilers #my respect for people that write scripts/analysis of any kind has increased immensely.#opinion #things i've noticed #sorry if they're not original #b-15 deserves love #the analysts (mobius) the hunters the minutemen casey every one of them deserves love #here's to everyone who worked so hard and put so much into this series #WUNMI MOSAKU IS AMAZING #I love Ravonna #It's great

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ocw-archive · 2 years

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Quotes (T-Z)

Tabloids

"And I'm susceptible to being in an airport and looking at the trashy, celebrity-driven gossip crap. I do my best to stay away from that stuff, but it's always like a good indicator of my spiritual health - if I'm looking at those magazines, I'm not doing so good."

Television

“I really loved TV as a kid,” said Owen, “but we’d have to go over to a friend’s house to watch it. We’d watch the afternoon movie on Channel 11, where we’d see Planet of the Apes Week one week and Clint Eastwood Week the next.”

"That's great because I loved James Garner in The Rockford Files. I loved the way they'd open each show with Rockford's answering machine going off and him getting some cruddy message like, 'Hey, Jim, just calling to let you know that that race down in Baja that we thought was this weekend - it turns out it's next weekend. Hope you haven't already left'. I love that."

Texas

"I didn't really feel much Texas pride when I lived here, but I find that when I'm outside of Texas, I'm, like, proud to be from here. Texas has weight behind it. It has a hold on people's imagination in a way other states don't."

TRT

"No, the character that I probably actually would have, like, written more of, or like identified with . . . I liked, uh, well, ike Ben [Stiller]'s character I really liked a lot. Wes really wrote a lot [of] Eli's stuff. And, uh, I think it worked out better that way, kind of, you know. It was like, I showed up for work and Wes was like, 'What do you think about having war paint?' And [I was like], 'I don't like that idea. I don't want to have war paint.' And the next thing I know I've got war paint."

"This guy [Royal Tenenbaum, played by Hackman] kind of abandons his family, and he's able to work his way back in. We put the characters through a lot, and in the end, it's no hard feelings. I think it's an element that Wes and I seem to respond to. Our humor isn't mean-spirited. There's a sweet quality."

Watching himself on screen

“I had a hard time, like most people, hearing my voice and such on screen,” says Wilson. “It’s kinda strange.”

"I'm disappointed with pretty much every movie. I always have this idea in my head of how things should look, the way people have this image of the way they look and then they see a picture of themselves and they're like, "What the f***?" So I don't like watching my movies."

"Look, you're talking to someone who can't even watch himself on screen. I just get very critical and can't judge what I'm doing objectively."

Watching The Passion of the Christ with a group of priests

"It was a little awkward; they were all in robes," he said. "And there were some armrest issues with the priest next to me. I mean, it's a long movie."

Wax sculpture of his own at Madame Trousseau's

''I'd be afraid to see what I look like,'' he admits. ''Those places are creepy.''

Weather Channel

"It's not like I spend a lot of time watching the Weather Channel, but I do get into storms and stuff - and I guess I get pretty excited about the big waves."

Wes Anderson

"We begin with a funny idea or a funny character," says Owen Wilson, "and we kind of spin it out from there."

"I think what makes it easy for us to write together," Owen Wilson continues, "and why we're close friends is that we have similar sensibilities. So I don't think of it as a relationship where one person is really good at writing female characters and the other guy's good at plot. If anything, our weaknesses are the same. Neither of us is that great at plot, and both of us like funny, odd characters."

"We were doing a playwriting class together: this thing where everybody, about nine of us, sat around a table and discussed plays. And I always sat in one corner, not really at the table, and Owen always sat in another corner, not really at the table, and we never spoke the whole semester. I never even met him."

"I don't like scatological humor, and I know Wes doesn't," says Wilson. "Wes probably doesn't even like the word 'scatological.'"

"We went to school together [at the University of Texas at Austin] and were in a play-writing class. We never spoke the entire semester. There were only eight people in the class, and everyone sat around a long table, and we sat in desks in opposite corners of the room. A mutual friend introduced us the next semester." Wilson: "We recognized each other from that class: 'There's that jerk who wouldn't take part, who thought he was too good. Who does he think he is? This brooding outsider.'"

"It's sort of the cart leading the horse," Owen says, sinking into a huge armchair. "We don't know what it's gonna be. We're just talking, trying to get each other laughing."

"We just hole up together," he says. "And it always seems to disintegrate into us just going to the places we like to eat and both of us kind of telling stories to each other that we've both heard but that we still think are funny. Or getting on somebody we feel has wronged us in the past, like in college, and talking about that person for three days."

"Wes and I don't want to do something that's corny or sentimental. There aren't too many original emotions. So the world that Wes creates is a way to keep it original."

“Wes walked in wearing L.L. Bean duck boots and short pants,” Owen has said, “which I thought was kind of obnoxious.”

" It's kind of interesting, isn't it?" Wilson says in his slow Texas drawl, much deeper than the nasal whine of many of his onscreen roles. He scratches at the tangle of blond hair under his ball cap before sitting on his hands to keep from fidgeting. "The movies I've acted in have been the big Hollywood-type ideas, and the movies I'm part of writing with Wes we don't have that in mind. We don't wonder if people are going to get it. If it appeals to us, it goes in," he says. "Besides, there aren't that many original stories, so it ends up being how you execute that story. It's the details that make it original."

“And, yeah, I don’t know how to type, so Wes is at the keyboard.” "Friscalating," Owen whispers to me. "Wes made up that word. It's what you see on the horizon at sunset with the light kind of shimmering." Only after they'd written the scene, Owen admits, "did we try to figure out, Well, how can we get that in?"

"He was the only friend I made in Austin in three years there. Practically the only person I talked to."

"Wes won't characterize it as a fear of flying, but more as a love of the open road. Once my mom asked why he won't fly, and Wes replied, 'Nobody knows.' That's become the standard answer."

"Having a collaborator is like having brothers. It serves a good purpose. It kind of keeps you in check."

"UT had a great movie thing, showing them every night in Hogg Auditorium or that Texas Union place, and we'd walk over and there'd never be anybody there. Wes actually worked up in the projection booth for a bit."

"I know Wes likes Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights."

"We met at the University of Texas in Austin. We were in a playwriting class together. I was friends with a kid who grew up with Wes in Houston. He introduced us and we became friends. We had similar interests and backgrounds. He has 2 brothers like me, one older and one younger, we both saw every movie that ever came out and we both wrote short stories for the literary magazine. "

"It's not so much like dividing it up, it's just kind of spending time with each other, and just kinda talking about ideas and trying to get each other laughing about stuff, or kind of trying to latch onto a story. The way it worked with this [The Royal Tenenbaums] was Wes had an idea for, uh . . . he wanted to do a movie set in New York about a family of geniuses. So everything spun out from there."

"Our weaknesses are the same. Neither of us is very good at plot and both of us like funny, odd characters. My character is really funny, just the idea that he could have come up with a book about Custer. I could see Wes and I doing a movie next about how exactly did Custer survive and where he went."

"Like, did Wes wanna be a Wilson? I think maybe he did at one point. He likes our family a lot."

“We’re both from Texas, but Wes doesn’t seem like he is,” he explains. “I don’t want to say he’s affected this persona, but it’s quite a presentation. I’ve never seen him in a pair of jeans. He’s like a Texan by way of a boarding school in Switzerland or something.”

"We're probably more similar than we are different,'' he said. ``We're both from Texas; we're both middle brothers. Obviously, Wes is probably wearing a coat and tie today, one of those special suits that he has designed. So that's a little different, but that's all kind of superficial stuff.''

"Wes has been very patient, so it's been good." - about finding time to write with Wes while being in demand as an actor.

"He's not doing anything to let you know that he knows how to move the camera--you don't have to worry that he's gonna do anything affected or tricky, or show that he's seen all of Scorsese's movies. It's exciting to watch, but it's not pretentious."

Women & dating

"I don't think I'm obsessive, but yeah. You can get into a pattern where you're always chasing women."

"There are a lot of attractive woman all over the world if you really think about it."

"Can I talk about my mother to try and win over your reading public?"

"You know, I'd really like a girl from Ireland. That's where my ancestors are from. They seem to have a good sense of humor. I think whatever girl ends up with me is going to need that. "

"In the past I've been much better as a friend than a boyfriend, but you know, hope springs eternal."

"Well, you can't grow up in Dallas and not have dated a few strippers. It's like the strip bar capital of the world."

"It's so stupid because it's one of the main things you'll be saying when you're in love. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry".

"I'd have to say I'm probably a better friend than boyfriend,"

"People used to cruise Forest Lane, and cares were a place where sometimes you would hang out with your girlfriend. I don't want to get too much into that, but there were probably benefits to having a Blazer: a little more room to stretch out."

"I was never that into these fake Barbie-doll blondes."

"Firstly, you've got to be attracted to the girl, and then once you've cleared that hurdle, like, can you stand to be around them and do you find the stuff that they say interesting? A lot of stuff has to fall into place."

"It hasn't put me off dating women in the public eye, but I think it'd be nice to get married to someone who wasn't in the business. I don't want a woman to just sit at home and wait for me, but someone who had a different type of career, like a doctor, would be great," he says. "But I live in Los Angeles, so it's pretty relentless how everything revolves around the entertainment business. But sometimes I think that if I was with someone in an unrelated field, they might not be comfortable with the bullshit of Hollywood," he says. "Generally, I get along better with smart women." "It depends on the girl," he says. "I think everyone can kind of relate to having this one person that really intimidates and thrills you and makes you feel like an idiot in the stuff you say."

"One time, I saw a Cosmo that said "Seven Ways You Know He's Out the Door. I wanted to break up with this girl, so I picked it up, and everything the article mentioned, I was doing - like putting myself down so she'd want to dump me. It was as if Cosmo read my mind. I felt naked!"

"I always say stuff like sense of humor, but the first thing you respond to is if you're physically attracted to her. I prefer tan, dark-haired girls. But I like blondes too."

"I'm pretty good at writing notes and letters - something kind of funny but also romantic that I know will really get to her." - on how he wins a girl over.

Worst vacation

When the Shanghai Knights star was 16, he and brothers Luke and Andrew visited an uncle in Cape Cod, and they decided to take his vintage BMW for an illicit spin — and slammed into a fence. "Nobody was talking to anybody by the end of that trip," he says.

Writers

"I can tell you some of the authors I love: Mark Twain, Fitzgerald, Richard Ford, Raymond Carver and Tobias Wolf. "

Zoolander

"The walk off was the most uncomfortable scene for me to shoot, cos I literally have never danced in public or really even in private. I'm not a musical person and we had to dance like Michael Jackson and we had to do breakdancing..."

"Deep down, Hansel really admires Zoolander and looks up to him. When we become friends, I let my guard down and say how much I admired his work in the 'International Male' catalogue." - on Hansel, his character in Zoolander.

#misc #quotes

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Women's Owen; UK Glamour (2003)

Most actors want to get all serious and talk about work. But not sexy Owen Wilson, who can't stay off the subject of women. Which is fine by Chrissy Iley It seemed to happen very quickly that suddenly there were these two Wilson brothers gracing our screens like Hollywood royalty. Luke Wilson had the famous girlfriends - Drew and Gwyneth. Owen Wilson had the unruly blond hair, crooked nose and animal attraction, only enhanced by his Oscar nomination for co-writing The Royal Tenenbaums with his writing partner Wes Anderson. He's swiftly alternated cult and cool with other Anderson writing collaborations such as Rushmore, and movie cameos with his friend Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents and supermodel farce Zoolander.

Off screen, he has a reputation as a party boy. He always has a different woman in tow. She's usually gorgeous and she's usually not on his arm for long. His last known girlfriend was Sheryl Crow three years ago. This bad-boy reputation was only enhanced by the selfish, vain character Roy O'Bannon he played in Shanghai Noon in 2000, whose foolish comedy charm was a foil to karate-capering Jackie Chan. Now Owen's brought him out again for the sequel Shanghai Knights, where he and Jackie go to London to prevent a conspiracy to overthrow the Royal Family, all a little too effortlessly. So is there anything of the ludicrous Roy O'Bannon in Owen? "Oh yeah, probably. I have a better disposition, but I have my days. Maybe I'm more like Roy than I care to admit," he says, sounding pleased with himself. "I play him as a person who's guilty of the seven deadly sins to the extreme - that makes him funny. I suffer from all those sins. Especially in jealousy, and self-absorption - is that a sin?"

The movie is set in Jack the Ripper Britain and it's merciless in its ribbing of the English - bad weather, bad teeth...you get the idea. It does, of course, have a plot...but it's also a great vehicle for Owen to look rakish, make terrible anti-Brit jokes and behave badly and get away with it; another sin driving his character is insatiable lust and womanizing. Does Owen identify with that?

"I don't think I'm obsessive, but yeah. You can get into a pattern where you're always chasing women. I haven't had a girlfriend in a couple of years and I've been traveling around a lot, sot he thing to do is go out and meet women. But I don't think I've reached a critical point yet." Would he like a proper girlfriend? "Yeah...Well, probably. But I haven't been ready for a relationship. And it's hard to meet the right one," he says and I'm not sure if he's being facetious or not, but I laugh out loud anyway. He breaks into one of those full-on Texan smiles and I notice he has luscious full lips. "I mean, there are so many, right?" Is it because he doesn't want to meet the right girl? He just wants to meet lots of wrong ones? "Yeah," he smirks. "I have been lucky. We filmed this movie in Prague; there are a lot of attractive women there. There are a lot of attractive women all over the worked if you really think bout it," he says, staring into middle distance, with his eyes dink of fixed in wonder.

Rumor has it he's been dating Gina Gershon (of Showgirls, Bound, and Face Off fame), but he denies it. "Yeah, she's nice. I like her. But we're not dating. She's a friend."

He's just spent a few days in London, hanging out in restaurants and presenting a Brit Award with Jackie Chan. So what does he think of British women? "Well, just walking around I see lots of pretty girls in London, but hey!" he says in a sudden panic. "This is not for the lads. I'm going to sound kind of boorish. Can I talk about my mother to try and win over your reading public?"

So he tells me how much he loves his mother, acclaimed photographer, Laura Wilson. His fathers, Robert, is in advertising. Owen's always had a rebellious streak. He was expelled from school for cheating in a geometry exam. "I went to a strict, all-boys school and I was a very bad student. I stole the teacher's answer book and it worked for a while...until I got caught." And after he was expelled?

"I was sent to military school in New Mexico and that wasn't easy," he says, and I can imagine that the shy and sensitive Owen probably got buried somewhere there and that's what contributed to the little-boy-lost look that comes out occasionally now. But, he doesn't want me to have the impression he was a very bad bad-boy. "Just mischievous. It's not like I was hot-wiring cars...But what boy isn't mischievous?" he asks, conjuring a twinkling eye. He's 34, but seems much younger. His next movie is called The Big Bounce, and is produce by Elizabeth Hurley's roguish ex, Steve Bing. I tell him that Bing is thought of as a cad and a bounder over here,, but also that a friend of mine was with him once in Vegas and he was giving everyone in his party $2,000 to play blackjack. Owen's personal view of Bing is a good one. "He was sure generous with me-and he's smart. He's one of those people who could be off-the-charts smart. he doesn't seem to sleep and has a lot of energy. Remarkable."

When he's finished promoting Shanghai Knights, Owen will be getting ready to film Starsky and Hutch with Ben Stiller. Though he stated off part-acting, part-writing, the one fuelling the other, recently the acting seems to have taken over. As well as his smaller films he's also starred in big budget fare such as I Spy with Eddie Murphy and Behind Enemy Lines with Gene Hackman. Is he too busy having fun to write? "It's more fun acting, but it's probably more rewarding to write. But it's harder. Or it is for me. I haven't had too many of those 'it just wrote itself' experiences. You always hear people say that." Every time I try to talk about his work, he usually manages to bring the subject back to women. "You know, I'd really like a girl from Ireland," he admits. "That's where my ancestors are from. They seem to have a good sense of humor. I think whatever girl ends up with me is going to need that. In the past, I've been much better as a friend than a boyfriend,, but you know, hope springs eternal," he says with his blue eyes looking sincerely at me over his curiously crushed nose. For second, he's serious. Then he just breaks into giggles and slouches further back into the sofa.

#2003 #interview

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Quotes (A-B)

Acting & Writing

"This is a huge hundred million dollar movie, but the introduction of my character - I'm supposed to be riding a horse, so they just put me on a barrel in the middle of the Disney parking lot and angled the camera so they get the sky behind me. They get a fan blowing my hair, and that's me riding a horse!"

"If I had a role where I had to do an accent, maybe I would work with somebody, a voice coach," the actor demurs. "I think it would be great to take an acting class, because acting is fun - more fun than writing, the instant feedback. It's not sitting alone in a room trying to write something, because that's a long process - it can take a year to write something, a year of struggling and trying to keep your confidence up, not knowing if it's going to amount to anything. With acting it's right there, you're around people, it's more sociable. I'm able to do both, it's worked out nicely."

"I find stuff from dramas funny, that's kind of more the humor I'm attracted to. Even Raging Bull has scenes that are hilarious to me." "I think people are realizing how hard it is to break into the movies, and that if you want to do something, you have to do it on your own - when you're an actor, your destiny's kind of in the hands of a lot of other people, but when you're writing, you have the chance to control an idea more," he says of the rise in under-30 talent on the production end. "I'm in a good place, kind of flying under the radar, getting to do different interesting things. It's not like a lot of pressure, with people watching like, 'Ooh, what's your next move going to be?'"

"I wouldn't mind kind of doing what I've been able to do now...which is making a living doing something creative."

"I like to work on ideas and new dialogue before I get to the set and talk them over with my director and co-stars," Wilson says.

"Because I didn't study acting or think about it as a career, I have never taken myself that seriously as an actor," he says between spoonfuls. "I look at someone like Dustin Hoffman or Al Pacino, who can change their voice and their whole look. I don't think I would be particularly good at that."

"Acting is more fun than writing," he said. "Writing is harder, more like having a term paper."

"I can't think of a movie I wish I'd acted in, but there are movies I wish I'd written."

"If I show up and there's some stuff I think is embarrassing for me to say, I really focus my mind and try and come up with something. But you have to be sensitive to other actors."

“I was a big movie fan,” said Owen, “but I didn’t see how you could really work in movies. That seemed sort of impossible. The subject I was okay at was English, so I could see trying to write short stories or maybe even books. The most practical thing seemed to be in advertising, writing copy.”

"There hasn't been a lot of thought or planning about the roles I've taken," he admits. "Usually, something is offered and it sounds like fun or it's somebody interesting to work with. I wanted to work with Gene Hackman; that's why I did 'Behind Enemy Lines.' But in terms of reading a script and saying, 'I love this,' that doesn't happen very often. More often, you take something and say, 'Well, we'll work on the script.' "Sometimes you do that and you can save the movie and sometimes you can't. In 'Shanghai Noon,' I felt we made it better. In 'I Spy,' we tried to wing it and it didn't work that well."

"Acting is more fun, to show off," Wilson says. "I prefer to act off people (Chan, Eddie Murphy)."

'When I'm writing, I'm on a roll. Like being back in school with a term paper. And I tend to rewrite my own dialogue until I get in sync with the character."

"From a young age, I got good feedback about my writing. My dad is a really good writer, so I would always go to him for advice."

"What inspires me to write is thinking of a funny idea. And when I say "funny", I don't necessarily mean a big comedy. The best dramas, if they're real, have funny elements to them. Punch-Drunk Love did a great job of that. Real pain is funny stuff. That's why I love my character in Bottle Rocket or Max Fischer in Rushmore or Bill Murray's character in Life Aquatic. Those characters have lots of insecurities, foibles, vanity and ego - emotions - and to me, that's where humor comes from."

(asked whether or not his improvisational skills bother fellow actors) "Yes, sometimes people get irritated, starting with my brother Luke in BR. He would get pissed at me, like, 'Why don't you just say the lines that you wrote?'

"The first priority is the stuff, the work that I do with Wes"

"It seems like in every movie that you act in, you end up doing some writing on or at least trying to come up with ideas. Sitting down and conceiving an idea from start to finish, I haven't done that in a while. But it would be nice to try that again. It's sort of like having a term paper. It's not something I get really excited about - sitting in a room for three months trying to create something - but it's fun when you get on a roll, and it's great to finish something."

"I would like to play...Well I loved The Insider, but I can't really see myself playing a Russell Crowe character, so I see myself as having limitations as an actor. Almost not being like a real actor, being able to, you know, change voices and things."

"I've always been interested in the craft of acting. Plays and stuff. When you're writing you kind of act things out, or sort of sound stuff out in your head. My first film acting was when we did the short. "

" I had performed a little before, although I have never taken acting classes. I am hesitating to say this, but I don't think there's much to acting. Wait, that sounds horrible. No, it's difficult to be a good actor. about working on The Godfather."

"I just saw "American Beauty" and I would have liked to play the Kevin Spacey character but I'm too young. "Taxi Driver" -- I liked that character a lot. When I love a movie, I like the characters in it and I would have liked to play them. The thing Wes and I are writing now has a character I'm going to play who is very funny and moving so I'm looking forward to that."

"If I waited for a script I loved, I would never have acted," explains Wilson, who says he tries to work with directors who allow him to improvise. "So I guess [my films] make up a funny list. At least it's not pretentious.... But it does kind of drive my agent crazy."

"You show up on the set, you make new friends, you get to be friends with the crew. Writing is more like having a term paper. You hole up and try to pull something out of nothing. "

"The thing is with acting, it's like I'm tapping into the same stuff I would do with writing because I'm improvising sometimes. It's like the best type of writing because you're forced to do it that day. If you're given the lines you're going to say that day and the lines are embarrassing, there's nothing like that to motivate you to sit down and try to write something so you don't sound like an idiot."

Agents

"There's that Mark Twain quote: 'It takes two people to hurt you: your enemy to say something bad about you and your friend to come and tell you what they said.' In Hollywood, your agent serves both roles."

Armageddon

"It's kind of like a Miramax cast in a huge blockbuster-type movie," says Wilson, who became interested in the part of Oscar Choi when Bruckheimer and Bay told him some of the other people who were going to be involved. "I had known Billy Bob Thornton and really liked him, and Steve Buscemi - it just seemed like a good group of guys. Bruce Willis is sort of my favorite."

On the scene in Armageddon where he rides a horse - "They used somebody else for the faraway shot, and then for the close-up, they had me on a barrel in the parking lot with a fan blowing on my hair, saying 'yah-yah.' "

"Especially when there's a tour group going through, and the guide is saying, 'There's our big summer blockbuster being filmed.' People musta been thinking 'Jeez, Disney is sort of tight.' "

"I saw it a week ago - it's pretty amazing, because when you're making it you don't have an awareness of the overall movie, especially some of the special effects - to see Paris get decimated is amazing," he notes, recalling the deceptive simplicity of the filmmaking while he was working on it. "This is a huge hundred million dollar movie, but the introduction of my character - I'm supposed to be riding a horse, so they just put me on a barrel in the middle of the Disney parking lot and angled the camera so they get the sky behind me. They get a fan blowing my hair, and that's me riding a horse!"

"I was on a barrel in Armageddon. They shot a guy on a horse in Arizona or somewhere while I was probably drinking a smoothie in Los Angeles. It was so embarrassing. They didn't even have me on a soundstage. Because they needed to get the sky, they had me out in the middle of the parking lot on a barrel that they kind of moved, with a fan blowing into my face."

Behind Enemy Lines

"I'm hoping it might give me like a slight edge when we get into arguments and fights, like it might make him hesitate just that split second before he thinks about challenging me, and that split second's all I'll need to get my first shot in," Wilson says dryly. - on using his new action hero status against his brother, Luke.

"The way it worked out was," Owen told us, "Gene Hackman saw Shanghai Noon and recommended me for Behind Enemy Lines, and, uh, I think that's why they hired me. . . . It wasn't so much my agent bringing me the script. It was Gene wanted me to do it."

"No, I'm like, uh, I grew up going to the ocean a lot, so I'm real comfortable in the water. It was actually funny, 'cause my military advisor who, you know, was kind of shepherding me through the thing, like, I guess like as a show of good faith and camaraderie, for the buoyancy thing, where you had to just tread water for like three minutes and take this thing out of your pack and blow it up, he said he'd do it with me. We had to do it for three minutes, and I look over and he's in the corner of the pool and he's like going under! They had to kind of fish him out. So I felt good that I did better than my military advisor."

"Well, they say comedy's hard, but I think drama's the real killer. When you're doing a comedy you kind of have a sense as you're going along if it's working, if it seems funny, if the crew is laughing, how it's playing. With a drama, you don't have any ideas if it's going to work. With this movie, it was really tough, because most of my scenes are just me running. You show up every day and you have to come up with a bunch of ways to make running dramatic, you know - now you're running though a field, now you're running down a hill, now you're crawling through mud. You have to be a real professional to make that interesting (laughs)."

“A lot of the time I wasn’t playing off of somebody. I would just show up at work and [they’d say], ‘Run here and now crawl through the mud here.’ It was a little different,” explains Wilson.

"I mean, it should have been called Running For My Life, cause that's what I'm doing through the whole thing. I don't play a very good badass, and it's funny because the character was originally written that way. It's easier to play him this way than to play a badass. It's like Shanghai Noon. That character was originally supposed to be like this major outlaw. And, I don't know, those characters aren't as funny to me as somebody who's kinda shifty or a con artist."

"Sitting out here, I think of Harvey Keitel in U-571 saying 'I'm an old sea dog,' or whatever he says. Maybe I've got a little of that in me, the old salty dog. Salty Dog Wilson. I've also found myself thinking, on that nautical theme, about Treasure Island, Cast Away and also Cabin Boy. You know, Chris Elliot? Yes, my thoughts do run to Cabin Boy." - talking about filming aboard the USS Carl Vinson at sea.

"We switched it from the pilot to the backseater guy, the navigator. I'm definitely not playing a Schwarzenegger, because I don't think I'd buy myself doing something like that. But I can buy myself running for my life."

"The feeling you get is that these are the best people we could have out there. These are the people we want defending our country." - on the men sent to fight the war against terrorism/the crew of the USS Carl Vinson & the USS Constellation.

Behind Enemy Lines Premiere

"This is going to be so cool," he enthuses. "I take a helicopter to Point Magoo in Malibu, and then I get on an F-18 to San Diego where we're showing the movie to 1,400 guys at the naval base (with reception to follow on the U.S.S. Nimitz)."

"I mean, it'll be incredible. You know how long it takes an F-18 to get from Point Magoo to San Diego? Eight minutes! That's a little faster than the 405 (the San Diego Freeway)."

Ben Stiller

To this day Wilson says that letter from Stiller is “… one of the best notes I’ve ever gotten. Not many people saw BOTTLE ROCKET and Ben was an established person. He took the time to write such a thoughtful letter - it meant a lot to me.”

"Yeah, Ben and I met on the film The Cable Guy and then he wrote a really nice letter saying how much he'd enjoyed Bottle Rocket," says Owen. "We've been close friends ever since. We definitely find the same things funny."

"Ben, for example, is kind of a moody guy, and you kind of have to put on the kid gloves because you never know which Ben is going to show up on set."

"I like to keep things loose when I perform. Ben has a really different approach."

"We're both up-and-down personalities. We've been friends for a long time, and we have a similar sense of humor, but (to Stiller) you're pretty sensitive to stuff. Sensitive to me - on the Zoolander DVD commentary, they start slamming the way I look, saying 'what's the deal with his nose?' And I could hear Ben try to defend me.""

Ben always had a technical term for every mistake he made. If he hit the wall, it was a power slide."

“I wrote a funny thank you note to Ben pretending like he was bothering me, that I really didn’t have time to answer his letter, that I was dictating this letter to my secretary,” laughs Wilson. “I get his name wrong and I say, ‘Your comments are duly noted.’ He actually has that letter up in his office.”

"Writer, director, actor, quitter!" - Owen to Ben Stiller, 2002 Oscars.

Bottle Rocket

“It’s always gratifying when people come up and recognize me from a movie, but the one that means the most is Bottle Rocket. It was the first one, it’s me and my brothers, my friend Wes directed it, and we wrote it together.”

''The star treatment has continued,'' says Wilson. ''On the publicity tour, Dunston (the orangutan from 'Dunston Checks In') stayed at the Ritz-Carlton. We stayed at the Econolodge.''

""It didn't feel like a real movie until James Caan came down,'' said writer Owen Wilson. ""That kind of validated it. ''

"This sums up the trip," Owen observes. "We have had some excellent views of better hotels."

''Brooks came down to Dallas (where the pair now lived) with Polly Platt, and we drove around and talked about the movie. And then we took them to our apartment,'' Wilson remembers. ''He was sort of shocked at our living quarters , and I think that helped us because there was no doubt we could use some assistance once he'd been in our apartment.''

"Yeah, like in The Adventures of Huck Finn, when Tom Sawyer comes to get Jim out, he can't just open the door. He makes them dig a tunnel under the house and do all this stuff they got from The Count of Monte Christo. So Dignan has the same things, where it's not just doing it, it's the style you do it in."

"It's nice to have someone come up and mention Bottle Rocket. That was the first thing that I wrote with my friend Wes Anderson, and he directed it, my two brothers were in it with me, and we filmed it in Dallas, where I grew up--so there's a lot of personal stuff. Hardly any people saw it when it came out in theaters, but then it got a second or third chance on cable and video. If somebody comes up and compliments me on Armageddon or Anaconda [1997) [laughs], it's nice, but it's not really the same."

"None of us moved back to Texas. We just took anything we could to make money."

"Someone added a category beyond four on his card, which was 'sucked'. It was kind of harsh."

"The idea that Luke and Wes and me have been able to do pretty well for ourselves is amazing to me, and it's all because of 'Bottle Rocket. 'The truth is, as soon as I found out I could make movies for a living, it was the happiest day of my life.''

"Why didn't people like that movie more? It's depressing. We thought it was so funny."

"Yeah, cacaw, cacaw. People will say that to me when I'm walking around. But when someone says "cacaw" to me, I always turn and have a connection with that person."

The reviews of Rocket were abysmal, Wilson was devastated. He found himself turning to God again, "I wandered blindly into a cathedral near the Universal lot, tears streaming down my face, looking for a sanctuary."

"Sometimes I stop and think how strange this all is," explains Owen. "Something that began as a little idea in Austin, that Wes and I just walked around talking about between ourselves, has turned into all this. "

"Wes really stuck with "Bottle Rocket" when we had terrible test screenings. I was looking into joining the Army. I swear," he says, grabbing his keys, ready to move on and resuscitate the mood. "Maybe I'm the kind of optimist who deep down knows it's not going to work."

"I think Bottle Rocket means the most to me," he says, "because it was the first movie, and it's got so much of me and Luke and Wes in it."

"After test screening so badly, I was never able to enjoy it or be proud of it at all. Also, it felt personal because it was the first time I had acted and people were walking out. So, of course, they're walking out because I'm a shitty actor and so is Luke and what the f*** made us think we could act? We were insane. Why would we think people would laugh at this stuff? It's so stupid, it's so indie humor we think is funny. Of course no one else is going to think it's funny. But when we were filming it, we were killing ourselves laughing. And then it turns out it was pretty good. It has just taken eight years for people to come round to it."

"I don't know if the studio was so gung-ho," Owen Wilson says. "It wasn't something they would normally embrace. Jim had just got done with a big, complicated movie, "I'll Do Anything," and he liked the idea of doing something simple and self-contained."

"I think Jim was thinking, 'If I don't make this movie, what's gonna happen to these guys? What will become of them? They just seem to be hanging by a thread here.'"

"I asked Jim, 'So, what did you think of that reading we gave?' " said co-writer and co-star Owen Wilson, 27, one of three brothers involved in the project. "He said, 'It was the worst one I ever heard in my whole life.' " "We kept the crime element in it, but the characters became more like oddballs than real criminals," added Owen Wilson. "These characters aspire to be like the guys in 'Heat.' "

"We couldn't have done it without Ross Perot,'' Owen C. Wilson says.

''(Brooks) asked us to do a reading of the script, which was fine, except we'd never actually done one before,'' Wilson says. ''The script was about 140 pages long, but the computer printout we had made was three or four times that size. It was almost too big to hold, and so we're blundering our way through this epic comedy, and we knew we were blowing it.''

'We went back and frantically cut out a bunch of stuff,'' Wilson says.

(on the full length film being rejected by Sundance) ''We weren't crushed, but we were a little surprised,'' Wilson admits. ''It actually was more amusing than anything. Of course, if we had still been trying to get a deal together to finish it or to get it distributed, it might have been a little more difficult to see the humor in the situation.'' ''Only the font Wes was using on his printer made a 140-page script the equivalent of 300 pages,'' says Owen Wilson. ''We knew something was wrong two hours into it when we were only on page 40. We had a real epic comedy. Jim Brooks looked like he'd been hit with a stun gun.''

''They put us up, but it's not like it was a luxury hotel,'' says Wilson. ''Where we were staying, they told us there were patients on the third floor. But they wouldn't tell us what kind of patients, and they wouldn't let us go up there. So the whole time we were wondering, 'What the f-- are they hiding on the third floor?''

''Everybody was celebrating,'' says Wilson, ''but we thought we already had the green light. Then after the green light, it was back to '99 percent sure.' In L.A., 99- percent is like 50-50 in the rest of the country. And 90 percent means you're lost.''

After the premiere, says Wilson, ''We had a barbecue -- catered barbecue. People told us that premieres are usually stuffy, but that they had a good time at ours.''

"Dignan is sort of childlike in his enthusiasm and energy. He doesn't censor himself. He has little boy ideas about what it is to be a criminal."

"I didn't read a how-to book, we just kind of started writing the screenplay - Wes had a format on the computer for how to do it, and we just wrote until we had something that we both liked. When we first gave it to Jim Brooks, it was way too long, it was like two hundred pages, so then we did a lot of work with Jim Brooks in sharpening it and giving it more of a three-act structure. That was a really great learning process - I think Rushmore's a better script than Bottle Rocket.

"I knew it wasn't going so great when [Brooks] started watching a basketball game on TV."

"And that's kind of how it was with Bottle Rocket, 'cause, we had been working on the script together out here [Los Angeles] with Jim Brooks. And I had started wearing all white, but like, kind of what I considered kind of a cool version of all white. And then Wes kind of took what my idea was, which was kind of cool, and in Bottle Rocket wanted me to wear all white, but look kind of ridiculous."

Brothers

"We were good until we started getting into firecrackers and girls."

"We’re all real close but we fought a lot and we still will fight but we probably spend more time with each other than we do anybody else."

"It would be hard for me to be the brother who wasn't famous, especially the fact that Andrew is the oldest. But he's just really proud and excited for us. Actually, often Andrew seems happier than Luke or myself with his life. I know it's a cliché, but maybe it's true that success and money doesn't necessarily translate into being happy."

"I remember a Christmas party a couple of years ago, when me and my brothers were all talking and this guy came over and he was like, `Split up you three, you're not doing this, you're always together, you've got to go and talk to other people'. And it really is like that. We like hanging out together."

"Andrew was the hero of the family--a great athlete, dated the prettiest girls. Luke and I really looked up to him," Wilson says. " I don't think I was the clown. My dad was the funny person of the family. I was kind of thought as being creative...and getting into trouble."

"Well, Luke's the heart-throb of the family," he laughs. "Luke was always popular with the girls while we were growing up, but I have to say that I kinda held my own, too. But, in fact, our older brother Andrew is traditionally the best looking in the family. He's acting now, too. He had a little part in Zoolander, actually."

"When Luke and I went out to Los Angeles to meet James Caan (who plays a sleazy thief in the comedy), we went to the beach to play football," said Owen Wilson. "We got into an argument about interference, and the next thing I know, Luke is throwing a punch at me when I'm not looking. So we went into this meeting and I had this shiner and this cut down my face, and it was really funny."

"It's just the three of us, no sisters, and we're really tight," Owen said. "My mom deserves a special place in heaven for putting up with us."

"Yeah. That probably helps in why we don’t feel competitive in terms of movie stuff because we are kind of different. We don’t look that much like brothers, me, Luke and Andrew."

"It's my 'Big Chill' moment," Owen said. "He's family, so I just love him and I feel protective because he's my younger brother. He just makes me laugh."

"s there nothing that bugs him about Little Brother? "He's moody, like I am."

"We get along pretty well, but there are some disagreements over how the house should be run," he says, comparing their setup to The Odd Couple. "Luke is actually kind of like Felix and I'm more of the Oscar. He's a little bit touchy about his stuff."

"For some reason women always go for Luke, it must be those hang-dog eyes."

(on kissing Luke's then girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow on-screen) "I don't think he was jealous about it, but I was a little self-conscious maybe," says Owen. "We're only competing for her affection on-screen."

"I think there is a middle child syndrome" says Owen, "I don't know quite what it is but I think I suffer from it."

"Maybe when we were really little, Andrew would would beat me up sometimes and stuff," Owen recalled. Now, he and Luke are working on a movie they might direct together, so he's around. But he hasn't been high profile and stuff. It's weird, I think it could [change the relationship] with me if Andrew and Luke made it and I felt kind of left out. But I guess it's a testament to Andrew -- sort of that strength of character -- [that] he always seems really happy."

"We spent so much time together that I can remember us being in our teens and our dad saying we should try to find some other friends because he thought we were our own lowest common denominator when we got together."

"And the worst would be advice I've gotten from my brothers, Luke and Andrew. I'd tell them about a situation and their response was always to escalate it -- you have a violent reaction, make it even worse. They're never ones to say, 'Just walk away and let it go. They're like, "F--k that guy!'"

"Well, we're like real competitive with games," Owen said, "like who can hit that post with a rock. But with Hollywood stuff, Luke and Andrew saw Behind Enemy Lines and they loved it, and I think they're really excited. There's a shared excitement in making movies and making a living doing something creative. We bond over watching the World Series together and going down to the ocean, playing around down by the beach."

"It's really not so much what we're doing," Owen continued, "but being around each other and kind of talking. One of the nice things is that you don't have to be real polite, the way you would with strangers. You can give each other a little grief, and a lot of times it seems two of the brothers are ganging up on another. It's like Lord of the Flies."

(on living with Luke) "That's probably a sign of real immaturity. It needs to change. It's ridiculous."

"But it’s really weird to have trailers out at the same time and it’s weird to both have movies coming out. It’s strange enough to be in the movies, but to have a movie coming out at the same time as my brother is really odd. I get more nervous about how his movie is going to do than I do about my own for some reason. We’re best friends so we don’t really get into whose movie is going to make more money."

(on giving Luke hints that it was time to move out) "The hints got more and more obvious," he says. "We have a message board in the house. I wrote on it, 'Going to miss you, Luke.' "

(on cooking at home) "Luke was doing chili for a while," Owen says. "It was out of a can, warming it up. For us, that was pretty enterprising."

"Usually it's like two brothers ganging up on another one. It's like Lord of the Flies sometimes."

"To be honest, I have to say that I don't miss Luke," Owen laughs. "I certainly didn't invite him to live with me in the first place. I told him one day that I'd bought this house in Santa Monica, and he came on and hit me hard and said, "When do WE move in?'" recalls Owen. "I'd been trying to get him out ever since," he laughs.

"I said, 'Sir, I've gotten a lot of tickets, and I know I deserved them...but can I just say in my brother's defense that I was urging him to go faster.'" - helping Luke to avoid a speeding ticket.

(on Andrew and Luke directing him in TWBS) "I felt like both Luke and Andrew were kind of directing me," he says. "Although Andrew was probably talking to me more about my character. But I would notice that Luke was kind of whispering stuff to him."

Which one was the toughest director? "Andrew actually seems the most easygoing," Owen says. "Luke can be sort of tightly wound. But Andrew can snap. And he did actually, at one point. With the pressure of the movie, he could sometimes lose it a little bit."

(on being directed by his brothers) "There was some debate about that before I got down there," Owen says. "It's OK to be directed by your older brother. I'm used to him bossing me around. But having your younger brother tell you what he thinks you need to do, that's more difficult to swallow. But I managed to rise above it. I told Luke that if he had anything to say to me just say it to Andrew and let him tell me."

(on Luke) "I was surprised to see the way the movie was edited," Owen says at a press conference earlier in the day, smiling as he gets ready to spin some whimsy. "Because the way it was pitched to me was that I was kind of the hero of the piece. I was a little disappointed that I didn't really have the audience on my side."

Owen admits "it's a very difficult position to be in" as the middle child in life and in filmmaking.

#misc #quotes

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