When I read about how Owen Wilson got into a fight with Eddie Murphy over who was going to be his co-star in one of their movies, it gave me pause. The two had been acting together for a number of years before the fight came about. It seemed that Wilson’s acting had gotten to be so great that he could not let go of it; hence the punch in the face.
I watched some of the interview that he did where he talked about his relationship with Murphy and even laughed about the blow that was thrown in his direction. The thing is, when you see all of Wilson’s work and when you see the movies that he has directed, you would think that he has had a relationship with the actor since he was a little kid growing up. But the reality is that the two worked together for almost ten years before the real ugly incident took place.
Sometimes, great actors are just so good that they are in it for the money. They think that if they act for too long that they will get bored with it and this will translate into a bad performance. The truth is that they need to have other things going on. But with Wilson, there was no question that he had gotten so great that he could not stop himself from becoming famous.
What is amazing is that many people thought that Eddie Murphy was just being ironic when he said that Wilson was the “funniest guy in Hollywood.” After all, Wilson had been known to have some sort of drug problem. For him to say that Wilson was the funniest man in Hollywood only proved to many people that Wilson had been found guilty of not being funny. Instead, it gave them more reason to want to see the two together.
But Wilson had to have another thing going on; he needed to have his own movies to be in. And for the first three years, he was unable to do that. When it finally became clear that Wilson was going to be able to do it, Murphy made sure that he had to deal with him first.
By showing how he still hated that Eddie Murphy was getting his way, he really made it seem as if Murphy was just trying to put his name in the limelight. After all, what better way for the two to get their movies made than by hurting one another? Wilson would then go on to star in “Dirty Work,” a film where he is required to carry a briefcase on his back while walking across the desert.
On top of that, I remember seeing “Beverly Hills Cop” where Wilson is playing the role of David Warner. Of course, that film is a classic that everybody must see at least once in their lifetime. But, the fact that Wilson and Murphy were involving really made it seem like a terrible situation. They are actors, after all.
If you want to watch this movie, do yourself a favor and do not get the cheapest DVD that you can find. It would be better if you are going to see the movie at a theater. If you are watching it at home, see that you are not sitting right next to Wilson and Murphy because you will get hurt.