Dubai: Hollywood star Owen Wilson, who plays a writer time travelling in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, says initially he was nervous to encounter the legendary director but started bonding with him through weather updates.
The film, about a Hollywood screenwriter struggling to write his first novel in Paris and encountering people like Earnest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso and Scott Fitzgerald, deals with themes of nostalgia and modernism. Wilson, who is mostly known for his commercial films like Wedding Crashers and Shanghai Noon, says he got a nice letter from Allen asking him to star in the movie.
“He wrote me a nice letter saying ‘you may find it more intellectual than the characters you normally play but if it interests you we can spend six weeks in Paris’, and it did interest me,” said Wilson, who was given Variety’s International Star of the Year award at the ongoing Dubai International Film Festival here.
The 43-year-old actor, however, admitted that he initially found it a bit unnerving to be with the famed director.
“He did not talk to me much about the role so there was not much of pressure. But I was nervous like you would be to be with a legendary teacher. He would check weather all the time on his iPhone and we bonded on it.” Wilson said. Wilson’s character is based on Allen’s alter-ego but the actor says he did not imitate the 76-year-old filmmaker.
“I am not good at imitation so people would say that Woody used to do it but Woody would say no he is a different guy. I come from New York, he is from California. He loves dogs and I hate them.”
The actor feels that the movie did well because it hit a cord with the people because it showed the romantic period of history. Wilson, who started his career as a writer-actor, said at some point of time he would like to write and direct a film.
“I would at some point of time… It would be fun to write something of my own and direct,” said the actor. When asked whether he would like to do theatre on stand-up comedy, Wilson said he is scared of the stage. “You would not believe it but I don’t like public speaking. I get nervous. It would be scary.” (PTI)