People: Let’s hope Owen can feel the love
Owen Wilson, hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt, has dropped out of his next movie role.
The decision was characterized as a mutual agreement between “Tropic Thunder” director Ben Stiller and the 38-year-old Wilson, who was transported by ambulance Sunday after police responded to the report of a suicide attempt at his Santa Monica home.
Some film industry observers say Wilson’s career should not be permanently damaged.
“He’s loved,” says Bernie Brillstein, a veteran Hollywood manager who worked with John Belushi and Chris Farley.
Brillstein said the reported suicide attempt is “serious, but it’s a singular case. Anyone can have a bad day, a very bad day.”
Adds Hollywood analyst Paul Dergarabedian: “Owen Wilson has a really good reputation, and people in general really feel bad for him right now.”
But Wilson’s emotional issues could have “a deep impact on his future employability and the ability to obtain insurance,” says longtime publicist Michael Levine.
The Hollywood Reporter said Wilson had a minor part in “Tropic Thunder,” which stars Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. and revolves around a group of actors who find themselves in the middle of a war.
Wilson’s next starring vehicle, Paramount’s “Drillbit Taylor,” is set for a March release.
A 20th Century Fox rep declined to discuss his scheduled appearance opposite Jennifer Aniston in the upcoming “Marley & Me.”
Don’t think? Don’t drive
A witness says Hulk Hogan‘s son was racing another car moments before he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree, critically injuring his passenger.
Frances Vitalis, a registered nurse, says she saw 17-year-old Nick Bollea‘s Toyota Supra racing a Dodge Viper between traffic signals before Sunday’s crash in Clearwater, Fla.
“We knew something was going to happen,” says Vitalis, who was riding a motorcycle with a friend behind the cars.
Bollea appears on VH1’s “Hogan Knows Best” with his professional wrestler-father, his mother and sister.
Won’t get no satisfaction
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is demanding an apology from Swedish newspapers for their scathing reviews of the group’s performance earlier this month.
The tabloids Expressen and Aftonbladet gave thumbs down to the Aug. 3 concert in Goteborg, with Expressen suggesting Richards was “superdrunk” on stage.
“Never before have I risen to the bait of a bad review,” Richards, 63, wrote to a Stockholm. “But this time … I have to stand up … for our fans all over Sweden … to say that you owe them, and us, an apology.”
Replied Aftonbladet music writer Markus Larsson: “It is Keith who should apologize. After all it costs around $145 to see a rock star who can hardly handle the riff to ‘Brown Sugar’ any more.”
Life is … dangerous
A security guard was shot Tuesday night as Oscar-winning actor-director Roberto Benigni performed in a piazza in the southern Italian city of Cosenza.
Police said the guard stopped a man who was trying to get into the show without a ticket. The man then pulled out a gun and fired six shots, five of which hit the guard in the legs.
Benigni, known to U.S. audiences for his film “Life is Beautiful,” was reciting a page from Dante’s poem about the afterlife, “The Divine Comedy,” at the time.
Upon hearing the gunfire, he said, “What, is hell here, too?” before resuming his performance.
The birthday bunch
Country singer Kitty Wells is 88. Actress Elizabeth Ashley is 68. Actor/politician Ben Jones (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 66. Actress Peggy Lipton (“The Mod Squad”) is 60. Comedian Lewis Black is 59. Actor Michael Chiklis (“The Shield”) is 44. Actress Cameron Diaz is 35. TV personality Lisa Ling is 34.