Owen Wilson is not known for his dramatic output. You can pretty much count the serious movies that he has been in on one hand: ARMAGEDDON, PERMANENT MIDNIGHT, THE MINUS MAN, BEHIND ENEMY LINES, and MARLEY AND ME. For some of those, I am being generous in calling them serious.
But, Wilson will be taking what could be his first starring role in a thriller in THE COUP from writer/director John Erick Dowdle (DEVIL).
Crime Scene Pictures will produce the film which Dowdle co-wrote with his brother, Drew. THE COUP is described as an intense thriller centered on an American family that moves to Southeast Asia and finds themselves embroiled in a violent coup where rebels mercilessly attack the city.
Owen Wilson will be playing the patriarch of the family. What remains to be seen is whether he will be a Liam Neeson in TAKEN type father or more of a standard character forced to protect his family in a time of crisis. All I know is that whichever route the script takes the story, Wilson better get a haircut. I just cannot take him seriously in a dramatic role with bangs.
Crime Scene Pictures seems to be making an immediate splash on the production scene. They are also behind the recently announced remake of SUSPIRIA shooting later this year.
What do you think of Owen Wilson taking on a dramatic/action role such as THE COUP?