Once the actor befriended Wilson on the set of A Night of the Museum—the two men played warring diorama figurines—it was only a matter of time, Love suspected, before they mounted their miniature horses and galloped off into the dark abyss. Now Coogan, who was set to have a cameo in the same Ben Stiller-directed movie from which Wilson just pulled out, has rushed back to town for what will likely be the greatest damage control performance of his life. From Page Six:

Our source reports, "Coogan was in Hawaii when the news [of Wilson's suicide try] hit, but he came back Wednesday night and is trying to get in touch with Owen, Luke [Wilson] and Ben [Stiller]. He's trying to make sure that the movie ['Tropic Thunder'] doesn't fall through now."

Coogan fired back on "Access Hollywood," saying, "I do want to set the record straight and say that the allegations . . . are completely and utterly false." [...]

Love hasn't had contact with Coogan in months, except for an e-mail she sent him after Wilson's suicide attempt. It read, "You must feel really great right now. Does this feel life-affirming?" Love has said on her Web site she'll have no further comment.

There would, of course, be more comment—lots more—including this choice one from an interview with The Sun: "Hopefully the guy will leave us alone in this town and go back to Brighton or wherever the hell he's from...and stay there." If Coogan does manage to salvage his Thunder cameo, we suspect the production will quickly become The Most Awkward Set in Hollywood, marked by excruciating moments in which the actor idles up to the craft services table to see what Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. are laughing so heartily about, only to have the three stars fall deadly silent, before ringleader Downey Jr. pipes in, "At least I never took anyone down with me, you fish n' chips-eating enabler."

• OWEN BUDDY: DON'T BLAME ME [NY Post]
• Love: Coogan should go home [The Sun]

"I don't know what happened," JANE SEYMOUR says of OWEN WILSON's reported suicide attempt, "but I know he's a great guy and this too shall pass...He has a great family and people who love him," she says. "He'll be okay."

Other stars have also come out sending their well-wishes to the popular actor. "We're with you," KELLY PRESTON said. "If you need anything, call us, seriously."

"Call us Owen, we love you," her husband JOHN TRAVOLTA added.

"I just hope he gets better fast," AISHA TYLER said.

"We're all thinking of you," JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT said. "You're such a talent. Stay strong and tough. Lots of love and stay well."

Like yesterday's love-affirmation from Bernie Brillstein and Tom Arnold, these good wishes are almost certain to comfort a recuperating Wilson, who'll more than likely receive them this evening when he tunes into the syndicated celebrity news magazine from his hospital bed to help get his mind off things. Even so, after learning from a mental health professional of the dangers of irresponsibly throwing around terms like "succeeded" and "failed," we're now hypersensitive to word choice; we only hope their well-meaning entreaties to "get better" and "stay well" won't place unnecessary, value-labeled stress on the patient. A healthier approach was that of the Travoltas: All Wilson really needs to know right now is that his friends are there for him, and that if he calls them up asking for a cup of mental-health-inducing vitamins, they'll be on his doorstep, no questions asked.

• Jane Seymour on Owen Wilson [ETOnline]

What about the copycat effect? What concerns me is how celebrity suicides are copied by other individuals. The classic is Marilyn Monroe. After she died by suicide, there was a 12-percent increase in the suicide rate in the United States for a month.

It translated to about 119 individuals—mostly women who were blond who used barbiturates. After Freddie Prinze used a gun to die by suicide, young Hispanic males used guns to kill themselves. I'm very concerned right now for young males, maybe even blond males, who overidentify with Owen Wilson.

Take note: If a friend, family member, or co-worker seemed inordinately obsessed with the crashing of weddings and/or other catered affairs shortly after taking in Wilson's summer 2005 blockbuster comedy, and particularly if they have now or ever sported a stunning head of flaxen locks, bangs carefully arranged to dangle approximately one-third of the way over their field of vision, they could be in danger of attempting to emulate their screen hero once again—only this time, in a far more injurious fashion.

• Chain of Tragedy [MSNBC]

Many Hollywood insiders believe Wilson's setback will be short-lived and that he will continue to enjoy big-screen success.

"He's loved," Bernie Brillstein, a veteran Hollywood manager who worked with John Belushi and Chris Farley, said Tuesday.

Brillstein said the apparent suicide attempt is "serious, but it's a singular case. Anyone can have a bad day, a very bad day."

Wilson's friend Tom Arnold also had kind words.

"Most people are confused by this, but as a recovering addict myself it gives me hope that this is his bottom and he can turn it around. He really is a good guy," Arnold told theinsideronline.com.

Having only recently labeled far less sympathetic celebrity meltdown victim Lindsay Lohan with the dreaded "uninsurable" word, we come away entirely encouraged by Brillstein's tragedy-diminishing analysis of the Wedding Crashers star's "very bad day," and the relative lack of a long-term effect it will have on his career. Less reassuring, however, are Arnold's sentiments, which draw uncomfortable parallels between the two men, indirectly suggesting the best Wilson can do to "turn himself around" at this point is to hope for the occasional According to Jim guest spot and the love of a good, Roseanne Barr-sized woman.

• Owen Wilson withdraws from next movie project [cbc.ca]

· Coogan's rep has already responded to Love's claims: "These accusations are unfounded, unhelpful and hurtful to all concerned. We are taking legal advice." [Ireland On-Line]
· Wilson has dropped out of his next project, a cameo role in the Ben Stiller-directed ensemble comedy Tropic Thunder, the result of a "mutual agreement between Stiller and Wilson." This tragedy is tearing one of Hollywood's great screen romances apart! [Variety]
· One writer pontificates on what went wrong: "Numerous comedians, from Jim Carrey to Sarah Silverman, have epitomized the cliche of the sad clown, struggling with depression." [abcnews.go.com]
· While another sneezes loudly, barely muffling a fully intelligible, "Bullshit!" [mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com]

· 911 call records reveal the Santa Monica Police were indeed responding to an "attempted suicide." [Extra]
· Wilson slit his left wrist and swallowed an indeterminate number of pills after a "vicious quarrel" with an unidentified friend, whom until further notice we'll refer to as Mr. Feeling Seriously Guilty Right About Now. [NY Post]

· The all-important, "But what about his upcoming projects?" question: It seems the actor's solipsistic attempt at ending his own life has thrown "a major monkeywrench into production of two movies and [caused] marketing headaches for two more." [Variety]
· Regarding his upcoming promotional commitments for Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, Ina Traciokas, Wilson's publicist and current Hardest Working Person in Show Business title-holder, said, "He's always committed to and supports his projects." [THR]
· These are allegedly paparazzi shots taken yesterday of a bearish brother Luke trying to keep his mind off things by visiting a property the family is developing. [Splash]
· Ex-flame Kate Hudson, who on Saturday partook in an ill-timed PDA in a Pacific Palisades supermarket, was distraught and "whisked off the set" of Bachelor No. 2, currently shooting in Boston, when she heard the news. [bostonherald.com]

DETAILS SURROUNDING OWEN WILSON 'S RUMORED SUICIDE ATTEMPT

(Los Angeles - August 27, 2007) - "Extra" has learned from a source close to Owen Wilson that the actor did indeed attempt suicide over the weekend.

The source revealed only to "Extra" that Wilson has been depressed for the last few months, but insisted it is not over a broken relationship. The source also told "Extra" that Wilson's brother, Luke, found him and that Wilson's family and friends are shocked.

The confirmation of Wilson's suicide attempt by another, slightly more reputable tabloid news outlet, while elucidating, doesn't make the events any less sad. (For sticklers, Variety and the LAT repeated, but refused to verify, the details about the actor having "cut his left wrist and taken an undetermined amount of pills.") Still, we're relieved to learn Wilson's blues were not "broken relationship"-related—a fact that will almost certainly come as a relief to Kate Hudson, who's had to withstand the withering stares of fellow Malibu supermarket patrons, tsk-tsking her open-displays of Dax-groping affection while her troubled ex lay in a Cedars-Sinai recovery unit.

• [Extra]

UPDATE: Owen Speaks! The actor just released this statement requesting some unlikely privacy from the media in the coming weeks:

"I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time."

• Update: Owen Wilson in 'Good Condition' [Extra]
• Owen Wilson asks to "heal in private" [Reuters]