For what it's worth, Doc's account is
consistent with what Owen said at the time. I don't pretend to know what the truth is,
but I know that witnesses often lie, and, retrospectively, I think Owen was fabulating
some or all of his situation.
Of course, it doesn't actually matter what the explanation is -- the underlying fact
is that Owen couldn't/didn't even learn his poem for Day One. And he explained
away his discomfort with the situation by telling a story about this girl he supposedly
got pregnant. I believed him at the time, but I've dealt with a lot of dissembling
witnesses since then, so I think he may have fabulated his problems in the hope of getting
sent home with no penalties.
Here's an abbreviated version of his current account of the events on IMdB:
"Not Shakespeare. In college I took a Shakespeare class because I was an English
major, and they had a Summer program called Shakespeare at Winedale, which is out in the
German Hill country in Texas , where you go out and live for two months and then you
perform three plays at the end of that time. And people from Austin drive out and see it.
I was supposed to be one of the two gentlemen of Verona . And I got out there and I just
could not stand being out there. There were also so many lines to memorize that it was
just overwhelming for me. So I ended up going home and I got an F."
You should believe as much of this as sounds credible to you.
--m
On Thu, May 26, 2011 at 4:36 PM, Barker, Michael <Michael_Barker(a)spe.sony.com>
wrote:
Then I will not say a word.
----- Original Message -----
From: James Ayres [mailto:jayres@cvctx.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 06:33 PM
To: mnemonic(a)gmail.com <mnemonic(a)gmail.com>om>; weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
<weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Midnight in Paris
A Paul Harvey thing here, "the real story" about Owen. He arrived one
day and left the next. I provided, demanded, the exit once I
discovered (from his mother and the UT police) that he was using
Winedale as a hideout from families and legal authorities seeking him
for getting a girl pregnant. Nothing at all to do with lines. Only
moral responsibility. The folklore about his connection with
Shakespeare at Winedale should dissolve, disappear. He was never there.
Doc
On May 26, 2011, at 4:12 PM, Mike Godwin wrote:
Famously (or infamously in our circles), Owen
Wilson was a Winedale
student very briefly in the summer of 1989. (Madge and I were both
there that summer.) He opted to leave rather than learn his lines --
we handled it.
It's hard not to feel a bit ambivalent about him even now (in case you
were wondering how long I hold a grudge), but he has shown some great
charm in some of his movies. (Of course, people feel ambivalent about
Woody Allen too. And even about Paris!)
--m
On Thursday, May 26, 2011, Maggie Megaw <maggie(a)bizaffairs.com> wrote:
Meant to write on Sunday after seeing the picture Saturday
night—9:30 screening, sold out, as were the two preceding screenings.
Loved the movie—full of charm and smitten with Paris. Most fun out
at
the movies in a long while. Congratulations, Michael. xxxm
maggie megaw | business affairs, inc | 2415 main street
santa monica ca 90405 | ph 310 954 8440 | fx 310 362 8707
This message
contains information that may be confidential and/or privileged. If
you have
received this message in error, please advise the sender and delete
this
message immediately.
_______________________________________________
Weeklong-l mailing list
Weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________
Weeklong-l mailing list
Weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
_______________________________________________
Weeklong-l mailing list
Weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/weeklong-l
Clayton Stromberger
Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale
College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
cell: 512-363-6864
UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726