Nicolas Cage has played many roles in his storied career, including some famous horror roles. He’s been a guy who thinks he is a vampire (Vampire’s Kiss), to someone who definitely did not like bees (The Wicker Man). And, more recently, he starred in the cult film Mandy. Now, he’s finally playing a serial killer, in the upcoming film Longlegs. The upcoming film is from director Osgood Perkins, who comes from quite the horror pedigree himself. His father was Anthony Perkins, the iconic Norman Bates in the Psycho franchise. You can check out the trailers for the upcoming serial killer horror film from NEON Films right here.

The movie centers on Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) a fledgling FBI agent, who is attempting to crack a long-unsolved case of a serial killer. Eventually, the investigation becomes more complex, when they uncover some occult evidence. We glimpse a book about the Nine Circles of Hell in the trailer. Eventually, Harker discovers that he has a personal link to the killer (Nicolas Cage), and has to race against the clock in order to prevent another murder from happening.

Longlegs also stars Alicia Witt (The Walking Dead, Twin Peaks) and Dear White People’s Blair Underwood. Nicolas Cage is producing via his company Saturn Films.

Despite suggesting a horror film that connects to spiders, the tagline for the film says in a very cryptic way “You’ve got the teeth of the Hydra upon you.” So it looks like we’re seeing some Hydra ancient mythology that connects to this particular mystery.

We’re a sucker for a good cult-themed horror story like True Detective: Night Country. A story that has ties to some kind of mythological being.

The poster art for Longlegs says “The Man Downstairs is Coming.” It appears this mysterious man will arrive in theaters on July 12.

Originally published on February 5, 2024.

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Sometimes, the most exciting news is the kind dropped the most casually. Back in 2022 during a conversation with ComicBook.com about Top Gun Maverick, iconic producer Jerry Bruckheimer seemingly revealed a piece of information many fans have been eager for, for a long time. He said that National Treasure 3 movie was in the works with Nicolas Cage’s possible involvement. It sounded like they were in the early stages of the script and movie. We were hype about actually getting National Treasure 3 with Cage involved, but now that doesn’t seem to be the case.

UPDATE, 3/13/2024: In a 2024 interview with ScreenRant, Nicolas Cage said that there is no National Treasure 3 after all. His statement on this apparently nonexistent sequel is very direct, indeed. “Here we go!,” said Cage. “See, you’re the one that brings these things up and they go out and they eclipse everything else. No, there is no National Treasure 3. If you want to find treasure, don’t look at Disney, okay? It’s not there.”

UPDATE, 3/27/2024: Despite Cage’s comments, Jerry Bruckheimer shared that National Treasure 3 actually is in the works. He noted to MovieWeb, “Well, we hope there’s a National Treasure 3 . We’ve been working on it for quite a while. We have a brilliant writer working on it right now, so hopefully, if we get a script in a timely fashion, we’ll send it to Nic [Cage] and, if he likes it, we’ll make another one. We certainly would like to.”

UPDATE, 5/31/2024: The National Treasure 3 wildness continues. As reported by CBR, franchise director Jon Turteltaub spoke about the film on Comicbook.com’s National Treasure podcast, saying the script is “being written” now.

“That doesn’t mean it will be finished and be great, but if it’s being written it will definitely be momentous when we read it,” he explained. “We all know what’s in it. But there’s a very, very good writer writing it right now who tends to write really good movies. If the script comes out close to good and you can see the finish line from where you are, we’re making the movie.”

Riggghtttt. He also said that there’s a 100% chance of the original cast returning. Someone tell that to Nic Cage.

We need Benjamin Franklin Gates to get on this mystery, stat.

PREVIOUSLY: Jerry Bruckheimer notes that he’s “working on another National Treasure” as one of three big things on his plate right now. When asked if Nicolas Cage would return for National Treasure 3, he offers, “Let’s hope. We’re working on a script right now, hopefully, he likes it. But I think it’s really good, so hopefully, we’ll get it to him shortly.”

Meanwhile, Justin Bartha, who plays Riley Poole in the franchise, offered:

There is a script. That’s all I’ll say. There have been a few different scripts, actually, but the one thing that has to happen is for all the stars to align. I had seen something awhile ago, and it was solid, but the unsung hero of these movies that doesn’t get mentioned as much is Jon Turtletaub. Those movies really are an extension of his being. He is very smart and funny, and has a buoyancy to him that mirrors the tone of the movies. I think he has to feel really comfortable and feel like he can see the movie before it happens — and it is getting closer to that.

There’s been a lot of conversation around Nicolas Cage and National Treasure recently. Nicolas Cage, of course, starred in movies such as Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. During the press tours for these movies, he talked a lot about his career. And, in all honesty, Cage’s interviews did not make it seem like National Treasure 3 was on the table. He even said that there would “probably not” be another movie.

The National Treasure franchise, meanwhile, has yielded a Disney+ TV series. National Treasure: Edge of History released in December 2022, and it saw two actors from the original franchise return to the world. Harvey Keitel returned as Peter Sadusky, and the aforementioned Justin Bartha returned as Riley Poole. While the creators of this National Treasure series have indicated they would love for Nicolas Cage to come on board, he does not seem involved.

All this to say, people have hoped for a National Treasure 3 movie starring Nicolas Cage since National Treasure 2 aired. And while it seems like the movie has had many false starts before, maybe it is finally on its way. We hope Nicolas Cage likes what he sees when reads the National Treasure 3 script.

Originally published on August 19, 2022.

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The Spider-Verse is about to get even bigger via the small screen. It is also about to get a lot darker, mysterious, and funny. And, let’s be honest, a lot weirder. Prime Video has officially done what Spidey fans have been waiting to hear. The studio has formally ordered a new live-action series starring Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, the character he originally voiced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Amazon used its inaugural upfront presentation in New York City to announce it has finally ordered Noir to series. The Spider-Man Noir show will see Nicolas Cage playing the live-action version of his character from Sony’s animated 2018 Oscar winner. The series, based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, will air on Prime Video and MGM+.

Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag, Killing Eve) will direct and executive produce the Spider-Man Noir‘s first two episodes. Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street) and Steve Lightfoot (Marvel’s The Punisher, Shantaram) will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. They developed the show with the Spider-Verse‘s Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal. All three are also on board as executive producers.

For those who have (for some absurd reason) not yet seen Into the Spider-Verse or are unfamiliar with the character’s comic history, Amazon also shared a brief synopsis for the Spider-Man Noir series.

Noir tells the story of an aging and down on his luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.

Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios, explained why the studio wants to make this series in a release. (As though we need an explanation.) “Expanding the Marvel universe with Noir is a uniquely special opportunity, and we are honored to bring this series to our global Prime Video customers,” he said. “The extremely talented Nicolas Cage is an ideal choice for our new superhero, and the accomplished producing team with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, and the incredible team at Sony is dedicated to expanding this franchise in the most authentic way.” 

We’re ready to dedicate our time to watching when it debuts. The Spider-Verse is an infinite place of possibilities and heroes. But we very much want to spend more time with this version of the character. And obviously, more time with Nicolas Cage.

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Nicolas Cage has revealed his sci-fi loyalties. They lie with Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets, and not Star Wars’ Galactic Republic. Cage recently said “I’m not in the Star Wars family, I’m in the Star Trek family” expressing his love for Gene Roddenberry’s seminal franchise. And even shared he dreams of acting on the Enterprise. Cage has chosen his weapon, and it is a phaser instead of a lightsaber.

This, of course, has us wondering what we have to do to get some Nicolas Cage in our Trek. Anson Mount, who plays Captain Pike on Strange New Worlds, seems to want this to happen too. Here are the Star Trek characters we think Nicolas Cage would simply excel at playing, should they wisely choose to beam him on board the Enterprise.

Sybok

Spock’s older half-brother was introduced in the much-maligned film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. A full-blood Vulcan (Sarek was his father, but his mother was a Vulcan princess), Sybok became a heretic for embracing emotion. The Vulcan High Council exiled him from his home planet, and he became a cult leader. He only appeared in that one Star Trek film.

Star Trek never spoke of Sybok again for over three decades, until the first season of Strange New Worlds mentioned him. They even showed his head from behind. We think when he’s properly introduced, Cage should play him. We think Cage as a Vulcan who embraces emotion and also leads a cult would be genius casting. Just imagine the impassioned speeches! Please, just let us see Cage in the Star Trek universe with pointed ears.

A Classic Era Klingon (Kor/Koloth/Kang)

If Nicolas Cage is a Trekker, then on some level he must be dying to play a Klingon. But we don’t think he should just be any old Klingon. We think an appearance by Nicolas Cage on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as one of the three main Klingon antagonists from The Original Series era is in order, Kang, Koloth, or Kor. After all, we have no idea if any of these warriors met with Captain Pike before meeting Kirk. He could also play one of these Klingon Dahar Masters in a Kelvin timeline movie. This is all we ask. In the Strange New Worlds era, all three of these Klingons don’t have forehead ridges. This was thanks to a mutagenic virus that made them look human. Keep the continuity intact!

Trelane

Before there was Q on The Next Generation, there was the character of Trelane in The Original Series. His only appearance was in one episode, “The Squire of Gothos.” There, they introduced him as an omnipotent being who was bratty, petulant, and wielded godlike powers. He also loved to dress in 18th-century clothing. So yes, he was absolutely the prototype for Q decades later. We never saw Trelane again—although non-canon novels explained him as a member of the Q continuum. But it would be fun to see Nicolas Cage show up as this Star Trek character and chew some scenery.

Captain Matt Decker

When we met Commodore Matt Decker in the classic episode “The Doomsday Machine,” he had gone a wee bit mad after losing his entire crew to an ancient planet killer. Actor William Windom gave an unhinged performance as the grieving and revenge-driven Commodore. Well, during the Strange New Worlds era, Commodore Decker would probably still be Captain Decker. We think it would be fun to see Cage play the same Star Trek character at an earlier point in the timeline, maybe giving us a hint of his madness that we’d see come to the surface later.

Gary Seven

Gary Seven was a “Class 1 Supervisor,” a human being altered by aliens to guard the timeline at various points in history. His only appearance took place in the 1968 episode of The Original Series called “Assignment: Earth,” which saw Kirk and Spock travel to the 20th century. There, they met Mr. Seven and learned about the existence of these timeline watchers. Paramount intended for Gary Seven to have a spinoff show, but it never happened. But it would be fun to see Nicolas Cage inherit the role. Who’s to say he’s not alive 1,000 years after the Pike/Strange New Worlds era?

The President of the Federation

The original series gave us no hints as to who the President of the Federation was during the time of Kirk’s first tour of duty on the Enterprise. It wasn’t until the movies that we saw two different Federation presidents, a human male in Star Trek IV and an alien in Star Trek VI. Who better to play the leader of galactic democracy than one Nicolas Cage? Since this is not a pre-existing character, yet someone we know exists in the timeline, we say let Cage run wild with a performance of the Star Trek galactic leader. You just know he’d do something special.

Originally published on January 9, 2023.

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Lifelong Trekker Nicolas Cage has long professed a desire to actually be in Star Trek. Last year, when he was asked about being in Star Wars, he fully showed his allegiance to Starfleet. At the recent Saturn Awards, at which Cage won best supporting actor for his roles as Dracula in Renfield, Screen Rant asked again about his desire to be a part of the Star Trek galaxy. Judging by his response, which you can read below, he has not changed his stance. He does have one condition, however. He wants to be on the bridge of the starship Enterprise.

There were a couple of phone calls. I don’t know, I’d have to see a script. It would have to be something that I could really add my flavor to; have some pop and some spark. I wouldn’t want to just do anything, because I have so much love for the franchise. I want to be on the Enterprise. Ideally, I’d have to be on the Enterprise in some capacity. I don’t want to be floating in space on a satellite! I want to be on the bridge, but they have to bring it to me.

We can’t say we blame Mr. Cage here. If we were going to be in a Star Trek film, we’d want a role on the Enterprise too. Besides, Nicolas Cage is too big a star to just get the part of “random Klingon #4” in the background. We think there are plenty of established roles in the canon that Cage could play in a Star Trek feature. We assume it’s a film he wants and not a Trek TV series, as the actor has gone on record that he’s not a “TV guy” but a film actor. Now, someone just beam this guy up already.

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Nicolas Cage has always been a weird but captivating screen presence. Once people stopped trying to make him a bland action leading man, his talent has truly come to the fore. But unlike some other quirky actors—Christopher Walken for years; Jeff Goldblum more recently—who just get by on their familiar mannerisms, Cage continually tries new and different characters. Naturally he brings his trademark Cageyness to everything, but is recent filmography is supremely varied. From the brutal rage-filled Mandy to grizzled loner in Pig, to Count Dracula himself in Renfield. In Dream Scenario, Cage gives another outstanding performance playing one of his least likely characters.

Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s latest follows 2022’s Sick of Myself, a nasty satire about fame in the vapid socialite scene. Here, he gives us the altogether more fantastical premise of shared dreams and instant, unearned fame, notoriety, hatred, and oblivion. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a college professor, husband, and father who longs for more recognition in his chosen field. A nice enough guy full of the all-too common 2023 problem of middle-class man-anger. Suddenly, he finds himself the center of a bizarre phenomenon wherein he is present in everybody’s dreams. Doesn’t matter the dream, doesn’t matter if the dreamer has ever met him before, he’s just there. Though outwardly uninterested in this instant pseudo-stardom, Paul begins to relish the recognition that comes along with being the man of everyone’s literal dreams.

Paul’s wife Janet (Julianne Nicholson) has zero interest in any of this. She wants Paul to just ignore it, but as more and more people want to figure out some way to monetize him, he lets all the trappings go to his head. Finally people will take him seriously, finally he won’t be looked over. Unfortunately that’s right when Paul stops being a passerby—or sexual object—in the dreams and becomes the monster in everyone’s nightmares. What does that do to people? What does that do to the nightmare man?

It’s around this point in Dream Scenario that the central metaphor starts to break down for me. Paul starts to be much less the everyman and more just an a-hole who plays the victim. It feels very of-the-moment, surely, but ignores the kind of fantastical-meets-mundane elements that won me over early on. Not that Paul was ever particularly likeable, but it became much more a case of “Ugh, this effin’ guy” every time he did something. Maybe that’s the point, but it wasn’t what grabbed me early on. Despite the 100-minute runtime, it started to drag on at around the hour mark.

This is not to say it’s not an interesting movie still, nor that Cage and the rest of the cast aren’t excellent. He is, and they are. Cage’s idiosyncrasies add such a weird layer to Paul Matthews, and Paul feels like he’s putting on socially acceptable masks to hide all of his many insecurities. Masking is, of course, quite common for those with autism. Overall, Cage plays such a great dingus with a mean streak. It’s his most best, assured performance since Adaptation.

Nicholson is superb as the most normal person in the movie, and you totally buy her struggle between loving this man and getting increasingly irritated with the whole situation. Their relationship needs to work for the movie to work, and it does by and large. Michael Cera and Kate Berlant play members of a digital marketing team who hope to represent Paul in something. As someone who works on the internet, their breed of trying to shoehorn products into whatever client they have hit very close to the mark. Tim Meadows has a smaller role as the dean of the college and Paul’s friend and I wish he had more to do because he’s terrific as always.

Dream Scenario has one of the best and freshest premises I’ve seen in a movie in a while and while I didn’t need it to go absolutely wild in the third act like Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid or anything, it felt like it had the opposite problem and petered out. (Incidentally, Aster is a producer on Dream Scenario.) I wish I could have loved this movie outright, but it’s still a great showcase for one of Hollywood’s most reliably out-there actors and worth your time.

Dream Scenario ⭐ (3 of 5)

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Nicolas Cage is back at it. He can do pretty much anything from playing himself to putting on fangs to transform into Dracula. Nic Cage is in so many movies that it almost feels like he is around us all the time. In fact, it wouldn’t be shocking if his face showed up in your dreams. It’s a little scary, but also I would like to experience it …unless Nic Cage is on some Freddy Krueger stuff. I’ll pass in that case. His stare and antics can cause a shiver to creep up your spine, after all. Entertainingly, Nicolas Cage appearing in people’s dreams (and maybe nightmares) is exactly what’s happening in the trailer for Dream Scenario.

Here’s the synopsis for Dream Scenario so the trailer makes sense: 

Hapless family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams.  But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom, in this wickedly entertaining comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli and producer Ari Aster.   

This whole concept is quite interesting. Why is Paul in everyone’s dreams and nightmares? What makes him such a special person? Why is this happening at this particular point in his life? We all know that A24 is masterful at these types of stories, so the answers will likely surprise us. And who doesn’t love to see Nic Cage being very weird and funny? Cage is starring in whatever floats his boat nowadays, so we might as well go along for the Dream Scenario ride.

In addition to Nicolas Cage, Dream Scenario stars Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, and Dylan Baker. The film will hit select theaters on November 10 before getting a wider release on November 22.

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What can’t Nicolas Cage do? Recently, he took on one of the most iconic roles ever, Dracula, in Renfield. And then Nicolas Cage went on to take on an even more epic role, himself as he transformed into a playable survivor in the survival horror game Dead by Daylight. Now, he’s about to transform again, this time into a grandfather who can really pack a punch. Check out Nicolas Cage as the grandpa assassin in the trailer for his upcoming movie, The Retirement Plan.

The thing about Nicolas Cage is that he’s always prominently Nicolas Cage. But we love to see the various guises he can put on for his roles, both literally and acting-wise. The Retirement Plan looks like just the kind of ridiculous fun we expect from a Nicolas Cage movie.

Deadline shares more about the movie’s plot, revealing:

In The Retirement Plan, when Ashley (Ashley Greene) and her young daughter Sarah (Thalia Campbell) get caught up in a criminal enterprise that puts their lives at risk, she turns to the only person who can help – her estranged father Matt (Nicolas Cage), a retired beach bum. Their reunion is fleeting as they are soon tracked down by crime boss Donnie (Jackie Earle Haley) and his lieutenant (Ron Perlman). The bad guys get more than they bargained for because Matt is not the wacky character he appears to be. 

We wouldn’t want to take on a Nic Cage disturbed from his beachy rest… Especially not if there’s a glass bottle within reach. What we’re saying is, good luck to the bad guys in The Retirement Plan, they are certainly going to need it in spades. Because yeah, Nicolas Cage’s Matt, father and grandfather, is totally an assassin. Honestly, we’re ready to add The Retirement Plan to our list of films to watch when we’re ready to just laugh at the absurdity a lot.

This latest Nicolas Cage movie will arrive in theaters on August 25. Time to make a plan to see The Retirement Plan.

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Nicolas Cage has become very comfortable in playing a version of himself on screen. He did it last year for the movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and now he’s doing something similar for a video game. Nicolas Cage will play himself once again in Behaviour’s popular multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, officially joining the game on July 25. Behaviour Interactive recently gave fans preview of what the Dead by Daylight Nicolas Cage game model looks and sounds. In addition, Cage is also available to play early in the game’s public test build. You can check out all the Nicolas Cage Dead by Daylight fun below.

Welcome Nicolas Cage to Dead by Daylight

For those out there unfamiliar with this game, here’s the basic premise. Dead by Daylight is about four survivors who attempt to escape from a sadistic killer. They are forced to repeat the cycle again and again, regardless of whether they lived or get murdered. It all unfolds in a hidden, dark reality where a power simply called the Entity rules.

Nicolas Cage’s Dead by Daylight Lines, Powers, and Backstory

Now that Nicolas Cage is actually available to play in the test build, more details of his character have emerged. This includes the different lines he says throughout the game, his acting-related powers, and his incredible character backstory. “It takes the cake and eats it toooo.” (sung)

In Dead by Daylight, Nic Cage is an actor who is sent a script that has to do with the game’s lore. But, of course, it’s all a trap. When Cage arrives to film the movie, he summons Dead by Daylight’s entity while performing a scene and it’s all over for him. He gets taken into the world of the game. As a Dead by Daylight survivor, Nicolas Cage has the powers of Dramaturgy (a speed effect), Scene Partner (see Killer’s aura), and Plot Twist (recover from death). We love the theme.

Cage on the Role

Recently, Cage took to the stage at 2023’s Summer Game Fest to talk about joining the game. He mentions, in his indelible Nicolas Cagey way, that the reason he wanted to be in Dead by Daylight was because Sadako from Ringu is in it. I mean, whatever works, Mr. Cage.

Other famous horror icons one can find in the game are Freddy Krueger, Cenobites from the Hellraiser series, Michael Myers, and characters from Resident Evil and Silent Hill. But Nicolas Cage is the first celebrity to play himself in Dead by Daylight. Somehow, it seems fitting the guy that has played a vampire twice would get the honor.

As mentioned, Nicolas Cage is now available to play in Dead by Daylight‘s public test build. The character will arrive as a fully playable character/survivor on July 25.

Originally published on May 17, 2023.

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The Flash made its rules of time travel easy to understand by comparing Barry Allen’s impact on the space-time continuum with Marty McFly’s. But it also utilized Back to the Future for its plot. DC’s speedster realized what a mess he’d made of the past even before he met Michael Keaton’s Batman. He knew when he learned Eric Stoltz drove Doc Brown’s Delorean to fame rather than Michael J. Fox. Of course, Stoltz wasn’t a random recasting. He really did star as Marty McFly before Fox replaced him during production. That was just one of the many ways The Flash used famous sliding doors moment in Hollywood history to reimagine its world. From Nicolas Cage’s lost Superman and two big screen Kryptonians who never met, to Kevin Bacon and a reshuffling of the 1980’s leading men, these are the real stories The Flash turned from “almosts” and “what ifs” into alternate timelines.

Why Did Nicolas Cage Appear as Superman in The Flash?

In 1996, Warner Bros. executive Jon Peters hired Clerks‘ Kevin Smith to write the script for a movie titled Superman Lives. Eventually Batman‘s Tim Burton signed on to direct. He had his famous Man of Steel ready to go, too. Thirty million dollars later and all Warner Bros. had to show for their efforts was some test footage of a long-haired Nicolas Cage in a Superman costume. Eventually the rest of us got one of the most notorious stories in Hollywood history and a documentary about the calamitous project. That is, until The Flash finally brought Cage’s Clark Kent to the big screen for some alternate timeline fun.

Kevin Smith’s tale about his absurd meeting with Jon Peters is infamous with good reason. (Whether you’ve never heard it or know it by heart, it’s always worth listening to.) Among Peters’ many ridiculous comments and requests, he didn’t want Smith’s Superman to fly or wear his red and blue suit. What he did want was for Superman to fight a giant spider at the end.

Burton had Smith’s script rewritten when he joined the production. He also had Nic Cage outfitted for a suit with traditional Superman colors. But all that time, money, and talent didn’t matter. Shortly before filming began Warner Bros. pulled the plug, denying us a Man of Steel who apparently really dug The Cure.

Now The Flash has finally rectified that. It has given us Nic Cage—who named his son Kal-El—as Kal-El. His Superman exists in another dimension. He also flies. That’s not what Jon Peters wanted, but at least he got to see Cage fight a big giant spider. (Which the producer did make happen in Wild Wild West.)

But that wasn’t the only alternate (super) reality Barry Allen let us see come to life. The Flash also brought together two children of Krypton that never got to share the silver screen even though they existed at the same time.

The Flash Brings Together Christopher Reeve’s Superman and Helen Slater’s Supergirl

In 1984 Helen Slater brought Supergirl to theaters. The spinoff took place in the same universe as Christopher Reeve’s Superman franchise. His Clark was originally set to appear in the movie, too. Supergirl was going to rescue him from captivity. But following the disappointment of Superman III the previous year, Reeve decided against starring in the film. Instead Supergirl‘s script explained Superman’s absence by saying he was in another galaxy on a “peace-seeking mission.”

Slater’s Supergirl did not return in 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which was Reeve’s last time playing the hero. As a result the two ’80s Kryptonians never got to appear on screen together. That didn’t happen until The Flash showed them united side-by-side in their dimension, thereby creating a cool alternate timeline.

The Flash used another famous film franchise of the ’80s to create an alternate reality, too. It found inspiration in a time travel series that had fun changing events of that decade. Only Back to the Future did so both on screen and off.

Why Did The Flash Choose Eric Stoltz to Play Back to the Future‘s Marty McFly?

Michael J. Fox was Robert Zemeckis’s first choice to play Marty McFly. But with Fox unavailable due to Family Ties‘ filming schedule, Zemeckis cast Eric Stoltz in the role.

However, after six weeks of filming Zemeckis realized Stoltz just wasn’t working out. While the director has always praised Stoltz’s work and commitment on the movie, the actor just wasn’t bringing the comedic element the part required. That led to Zemeckis and producers firing Stoltz and developing a production schedule that allowed Fox to film Back to the Future on nights and weekends.

Deleted scenes and images from Stoltz’s performance have made their way out into the world since his departure. And it seems like one scene with Stoltz (or at least his fist) actually made its way into the final film. Otherwise, his version of Marty is lost to time. At least it is in this timeline.

In The Flash‘s alternate timeline, Stoltz didn’t just stay in the role. His version of Back to the Future was still a monumental hit. It catapulted him to stardom. It led people to get his face tattooed on their thigh calf. Was that because the movie was just that good it would have worked with anyone? Or because Stoltz made it good? What about the timelines where Ben Stiller or Jon Cryer nailed their (very real) auditions and got the part instead?The only way we’ll ever know if is Barry Allen messes with the timeline and therefore Back to the Future again.

Obviously Marty McFly wasn’t the only famous ’80s movie the Flash changed via time travel. He caused a chain reaction of big-time recasting.

Was Michael J. Fox Almost Cast in Footloose?

Famous casting “what ifs” are rarely as well-documented as Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. Most auditions go nowhere. Sometimes performers discuss a potential role without ever seriously considering it. Other times they do want the part but aren’t seriously considered for it. And casting directors, producers, writers, and directors throws out big name as a possibility without ever having a chance of landing that actor. And yet, years later those people will still be mentioned as the list of people who “almost” got the role.

Still, even by those very (foot)loose standards there’s no evidence Michael J. Fox was ever up a possibility to play the part of Ren that Kevin Bacon made famous with his feet. That alternate timeline is totally unique to The Flash.

However, there is still a very fun connection between Footloose, Michael J. Fox, and The Flash. According to IMDb, Kenny Loggins wrote that Footloose‘s final scene was not filmed with his theme song playing. It was only added in post-production.

On set the actors actually danced to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” the very same song Marty McFly performed at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance in Back to the Future.

Strands of spaghetti, indeed. And that’s just the beginning of The Flash‘s alternate Hollywood dominoes.

Was Kevin Bacon Almost in Top Gun?

While there’s no evidence Michael J. Fox was ever up for the lead role in Footloose, The Flash‘s other ’80s leading man switcheroo was a possibility. Producers did consider Kevin Bacon for the role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. A bevy of other actors either turned it down or got passed over, too. (Tom Cruise, the top choice, initially didn’t want the part.)

(In The Flash‘s timeline where Bacon is Maverick, do you think him and Cruise also swapped roles in A Few Good Men?)

The list of other potential Petes included: Matthew Modine, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Charlie Sheen, Jim Carrey, Rob Lowe, Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey Jr., John Travolta, and Eric freaking Stoltz!

As if all of that isn’t enough, the movie originally considered having TOTO or REO Speedwagon record “Danger Zone” before turning to Footloose‘s Kenny Loggins.

And with so many real world connections in alternate version of 1980s Hollywood that The Flash gives us, at this point we have to wonder if Barry Allen really did go back in time and alter our actual timeline. Maybe he’s the reason Michael J. Fox replaced Eric Stoltz in the first place. That worked out for Back to the Future, but we can’t forgive him for Nic Cage’s lost Superman Lives. Especially now that we know he would have kicked that giant spider’s a**.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at  @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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It’s one of the coolest scenes in The Flash (and DC film history), period. Towards the climax of the film, when the multiple versions of Barry Allen are traveling through the Speed Force in an attempt to change history, or not change it, we see various timelines bleeding in. And all of them are familiar to fans of the long history of shows and movies based on DC Comics characters. This DC Multiverse scene offers cameos of some of the most iconic actors to ever play members of the Justice League, including several who are no longer with us. And we are gonna break down all the DC multiverse cameos in The Flash right here.

Superman (George Reeves)

Although not the first actor to play the Man of Steel (that would be Kirk Alyn, who played Superman in the 1940s serials), George Reeves became an icon in The Adventures of Superman TV series, which ran from 1952-1958. A show that then ran for several decades after in syndication. Although several episodes were shot in color, they filmed most in black and white. And so, the DC Multiverse version we saw in The Flash of George Reeves’ Last Son of Krypton was seemingly in a black-and-white universe. We’re not sure if it’s logical, but it sure feels right.

The Flash, Jay Garrick

One of the more perplexing DC cameos in the Multiverse scene is the original Flash, Jay Garrick. As DC Comics fans are aware, he was the speedster of DC Comics’ Golden Age, operating from 1940-1952 in the comics. The Jay we see here was shot in black and white. Just like the George Reeves Superman. It looks like this was actor Teddy Sears, who played the fake Jay Garrick from the CW Flash series. He turned out to be the villainous Zoom. But why not John Wesley Shipp, since he was the real Jay Garrick in the show? Not to mention, the first live-action Flash, period. We don’t know the answer, but whoever the actor is, that is definitely the original Golden Age Flash running through the Multiverse.

Batman (Adam West)

If you blink you might miss him, but the original cinematic Batman, Adam West, appears in the Multiverse scene. And yes, thanks to the 1966 Batman movie, which was a spin-off of the TV series, that means West was the big-screen Caped Crusader over two decades before Michael Keaton. We didn’t notice Robin there with him, which is a shame, because it’s hard to imagine Batman ’66 without him. But the so-called “Bright Knight” is definitely there in his blue and grey tights, fighting the good fight.

Superman (Christopher Reeve)

For an entire generation, the late Christopher Reeve was the ultimate Superman. First appearing in Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman: The Movie, and its three subsequent sequels, Reeve’s portrayal is still thought of as one of the greatest superhero performances on screen. In his appearance in The Flash, it looks like he’s brought to life via archival footage and CGI. Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, fans clamored for Reeve’s Superman and Keaton’s Batman to appear in a movie together. And now, that collaboration is sort of real.

Supergirl (Helen Slater)

Sasha Calle was not the first cinematic Maid of Might. No, that honor goes to actress Helen Slater, who played Kara Zor-El/Linda Lee in the very campy 1984 movie Supergirl. And later, Slater played the CW Kara’s adoptive mother on the TV series Supergirl. It was set in continuity with the Christopher Reeve Superman films. Although sadly, the pair never appeared on screen together…. until now, that is. Thanks to The Flash, the Kryptonian cousins fly together past the Metropolis skyline at last, thanks to some digital trickery.

Superman (Nicolas Cage)

In the biggest shocker of a cameo in The Flash, Nicolas Cage appears as Superman. And he’s fighting a giant spider too. As fans may know, they cast Nic Cage in Tim Burton’s Superman Lives way back in 1997. The film’s producer Jon Peters wanted his version of Superman to fight a giant spider. A giant spider he managed to work into his next film, Wild Wild Wet. Director Kevin Smith famously shared this story, which went viral. But that movie never happened. Now, at long last, Nic Cage gets to wear the cape and tights of the Man of Steel in The Flash. We can’t wait for the inevitable action figure.

Sadly, not every iconic live-action DC hero could make the final cut. Director Andy Muschietti admitted that there were plans for Marlon Brando’s Jor-El from Superman: The Movie, as well as some of the villains from Batman ’66, like the Joker and the Penguin. Perhaps the most brutal cuts were the removal of Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman and Grant Gustin’s Flash. (The latter feels especially egregious, given the nine years he put into playing the role on TV.) Maybe we’ll see them in a future “Extended DC Multiverse Cut” of The Flash. After all, the world is no stranger to longer versions of DC films finding a way to happen.

The post Who Are All The DC Multiverse Cameos in THE FLASH? appeared first on Nerdist.

Is Nicolas Cage secretly playing Lucifer in Sympathy for the Devil? Because he’s giving a performance befitting of the darkest demonic hellspawn. But in true Nicolas Cage style, the performance is over-the-top and hilarious and yet somehow chillingly unhinged, all at once. Of course, Nicolas Cage could just be a regular person gone wrong in Sympathy for the Devil— humans are the most dangerous creatures after all. Or, in a twist of fate, perhaps it is the meek driver, played by Joel Kinnaman, who is actually the devil for whom we will feel sympathy. The Sympathy for the Devil trailer plays with all these ideas and more while letting Nicolas Cage be his purest self. Take a look below:

The description for the trailer doesn’t share much more about Sympathy for the Devil. It only notes:

After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger (Nicolas Cage) at gunpoint, a man (Joel Kinnaman) finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.

But that does not even begin to capture the manic energy of the movie we see before us. Nicolas Cage’s character may not need any stress put onto his night, but he’s truly bringing the tension. And this trailer really does invite us all to wonder what we would do if we were in this intense situation. Will the driver make it to the birth of this child? What does the passenger want? Will Nicolas Cage recover the 50% sexy he lost throughout his night? To find out, we’ll have to watch Sympathy for the Devil when it releases in theaters and on-demand on July 28.

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Recently, Nic Cage went on the record saying he didn’t need to be part of the MCU. Because, well, he’s Nic Cage. But apparently, being Nic Cage won’t stop Nicolas Cage from being in the DCU. Because, well, he’s Nic Cage, but it’s about time he is also Superman. Nic Cage is, of course, his own kind of Superman every day. But Cage almost played the Man of Steel in Tim Burton’s Superman Lives over two decades ago. The movie, of course, did not come to fruition. But now Nicolas Cage will become Superman, and he will do so by having a cameo in The Flash.

The Flash‘s director Andy Muschietti recently revealed to Esquire Middle East, “Nic [Cage] was absolutely wonderful. Although the role was a cameo, he dove into it.” Muschetti also noted, “I dreamt all my life to work with him. I hope I can work with him again soon… He is a massive Superman fan. A comic book fanatic.”

Cage recently revealed that in Superman Lives, his version of Superman “was more of a 1980s Superman with like, the samurai black long hair. I thought it was gonna be a really different, sort of emo Superman, but we never got there.” Honestly, we can dig it. But we don’t yet know how closely this emo version of Superman will resemble the cameo character that Cage will play in The Flash. However, we would like to see Cage with long black hair blasting Taking Back Sunday. Batman and Spider-Man have both gotten to go emo before. So why not Superman?

You can see a little glimpse of what could have been/what will be below. The video reveals Nicolas Cage doing some costume tests for Tim Burton’s Superman and maybe gives us a glimpse into his The Flash looks to come. And yes, we see the long hair and the eyeliner.

And soon, we guess we will get to see the real thing. Cage’s cameo and The Flash itself head to theaters on June 16.

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There’s a reason all of the promos and marketing material for Renfield highlight the seemingly bizarre yet perfect casting of Nicolas Cage as Dracula. Casting him was a genius move, as is the funny conceit of having Dracula’s familiar—the titular R.M. Renfield (Nicholas Hoult)—go to group therapy for toxic codependency. But the trouble is, these elements, good as they are, take up precious little time in the already brisk 93-minute runtime. Would you guess most of the plot has to do with corrupt cops and a drug-trafficking crime family? I wouldn’t, and didn’t. I wish that it did not.

One of the biggest issues for me when watching any kind of higher-concept studio picture is when I can see evidence of major recuts. It’s part of the reason Black Adam felt so off. Renfield is obscenely brief for all the things it wants to do. It boasts a lot of over-the-top, blood-soaked action, but the comedy and drama fall largely flat due to sheer speed. Three credited editors and the barest of stories.

The story follows Renfield who has, since his master’s last defeat, relocated the vampire prince to New Orleans. He has to provide the reconstituting Dracula with a steady supply of fresh blood. But, after so many years, the killing has gotten to him. He begins to attend a group meeting for people in toxic relationships where he gets advice on how to overcome his own from Mark, the therapist (Brandon Scott Jones). This is not good news for Dracula, of course.

At the same time, a traffic cop named Quincy (Awkwafina) is trying to take down the Lobo crime family after they murdered her hero cop father. Due to the family’s influence in New Orleans, and paying off part of the police, even the inept exploits of brash Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz) don’t result in meaningful convictions. Renfield and Quincy intersect as Renfield uses his Dracula powers (which he gets from eating bugs) to help her. The movie has a very murky sense of morality as it pertains to these, also. Killing innocent people is wrong. When he slaughters criminals or corrupt officers? He’s a hero. The movie never contends with the inherent hypocrisy of this.

The plot of this movie is a mess, I have to say. Based on a Robert Kirkman story with a screenplay from longtime Dan Harmon acolyte Ryan Ridley, you’d think the pedigree would be there for at the very least an entertaining movie. And let us not forget, you have Nicolas friggin’ Cage playing Dracula! That alone should have made this great. He is great, and all of the things having to do with Dracula directly are fabulous. The production design, costuming, and makeup are all top notch. Cage delivers a new but totally legitimate take on the character, which is impressive after 101 years in movies.

But beyond Cage (and Jones who got the only two actual laughs out of me), and a fine performance from Hoult, there is just a substandard cops-and-robbers narrative with a nigh-invulnerable superhero-type who tears people’s limbs off after eating a spider or some flies. It’s just so threadbare. What could have been a fun character study, a modern riff on classic Gothic characters, becomes a more lighthearted Morbius.

Many people—and certainly a lot of them were in the screening I attended—are perfectly content just to watch Cage revel in his Dracula fangs, but he’s hardly the main character, and everyone else is irritating or boring. Awkwafina can’t decide if she’s supposed to be funny or stoic. Schwartz is playing Jean-Ralphio without any of the charm. And I don’t care about corrupt cops or supremely annoying criminals. Get out of my Dracula movie!

Even the delightfully gruesome set pieces and Cage’s mastery can’t amount to more than a very dumb, not-funny comedy, a not-scary horror movie, and a not-exciting action movie.

Renfield will hit theaters April 14.

Renfield ⭐ (2 of 5)

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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It’s no secret that a lot of actors really, really get into their roles to the point of never breaking character. Method acting can get pretty wild, like when Tom Hanks lost over 50 pounds and refused to bathe while filming Cast Away. But when it comes to Nic Cage’s time as Dracula in the upcoming film Renfield, that is actually not the case. Director Chris McKay said Nicolas Cage was fully method acting for Renfield; however, the actor says that is simply not the case. 

The actor spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, affirming that he was, in fact, not acting like Dracula between scenes. “I just don’t have that recollection, I don’t know why Chris said that,” Cage said. “I had a lot of laughs in between takes with both Chris McKay and Nick Hoult, so maybe that was his experience, maybe because I still had the fangs in my mouth that made me speak a certain way, but that wasn’t my experience.”

Now I’m wondering if those laughs were normal Nicolas Cage laughs or more in the style of The Count from Sesame Street. That character is a parody of Bela Lugosi’s Count Dracula, after all. Either way, the Renfield trailer shows that Nicolas Cage totally nails, no method acting needed, it as the most famous vampire of all time. And that’s what really…counts.

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At least, I think that’s the Pope. Either way, Nicolas Cage’s Dracula is up to some major sacrilege in Renfield‘s final trailer. And honestly, with every new tease we see for this movie, we love it more. It seems to have all the components to really become a hit. Firstly, it knows where to poke fun at itself. Secondly, it has Nicolas Cage as Dracula, and he’s slaying. And thirdly, beneath all of that camp and bluster is a true emotional heart that will probably hit home universally. Monsters, they’re just like us. Insect munching and cloak dry-cleaning aside, we’re all Renfield in our hearts.

Renfield‘s latest trailer has a lot of guts (and blood) and a lot of heart. That’s many internal organs, but we treasure it. Renfield has been Dracula’s servant for almost a hundred years, and he’s sick of it. So the time has come for him to self-actualize. Unfortunately, like all toxic partners, Dracula doesn’t like the sound of that too much. But luckily, Renfield is about to learn that he is enough.

The synopsis for the movie shares:

In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Emmy nominee Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men franchise) stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage). Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.

Of course, Radiohead’s “Creep” playing in the background is just the cherry on top of this emotional/hilarious blood sundae. Basically, we’re crying already over this Renfield trailer. And we can’t wait to watch the whole movie when it releases in theaters on April 14.

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There’s truly nothing that Nicolas Cage cannot do. He can play a wizard who wears old man shoes, a homicidal sociopath, or an exaggerated version of himself. For many fans of his work, it is honestly shocking that he hasn’t made his way into the all-mighty MCU. But, that’s just not going to happen. In an interview with Variety, Nicolas Cage says he will not be in the MCU, even though his performance name draws inspiration from that universe.

Why doesn’t Nic Cage want to be an MCU star? Well, according to him, it is because he is Nic Cage. That’s it. That’s all. Cage does affirm that he’s not bashing Marvel movies nor any actors who star in them. That would be impossible considering that his acting surname was inspired by Luke Cage. He says there’s room for superheroes and sweeping dramatic films alike. “I understand what the frustration is,” Cage said. “I get it. But I think there’s plenty of room for everybody. I’m seeing movies like Tár. I’m seeing all kinds of artistic and independently driven movies. I think there’s plenty of room for everybody.”

A good point of view to have. We may never see Nic Cage in the MCU but there’s plenty of universes where he can shine. Like playing Egghead in a future Batman movie.

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When news broke that Nicolas Cage would be playing Dracula in the upcoming Renfield movie, we were all very excited. After all, Cage is basically the perfect actor to portray the campy vampiric count. And when we finally saw Cage bring Dracula to life in Renfield‘s trailer, we were in love. But it turns out that Nicolas Cage’s take on the vampire doesn’t actually get too much screen time in the movie. It is called Renfield, after all. But luckily, Cage is ready for more. And we are too. Let’s just hope Hollywood agrees.

Cage says of the role to Total Film, “You know, there are some minor moments here where you get to see some of the pathos in Dracula’s eyes. That made me think that maybe one day I might like to try for a whole movie where you’re really understanding the psyche of the character. I didn’t really have the time to delve into that here.”

And he also adds that he knew he would one day play the count, noting “I wanted to see if I could bring something fresh to the character. And I also kind of always knew I had to do it at some point.”  Listen, if it’s Cage’s calling, who are we to deny the pathos of Dracula a full cinematic outing?

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Nicolas Cage shot down any hopes Pedro Pascal had for bringing him into the Star Wars fold. While we’d love to see The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent co-stars reunite, it sounds like it won’t be in a galaxy far, far away. It turns out Cage prefers a different science fiction franchise. “I’m a Trekkie, man,” he tells Kevin Polowy of Yahoo Entertainment in the clip below when asked about Pascal’s desire to get Cage into Star Wars.  

This certainly got us, and the internet, fan-casting Cage in any and all upcoming Star Trek projects. A guest role in one of the many TV shows seems the most likely scenario. Cage only mentioned the original series timeframe, saying he grew up on Shatner and thinks Pine is “terrific.” So maybe he’d prefer Discovery or Strange New Worlds. But we’d love to see him bring even more wackiness to Lower Decks.

Cage could be a Starfleet Academy classmate of the U.S.S. Cerrito’s Captain Carol Freeman. Maybe there’s a dark secret and it goes full Wesley Crusher conspiracy like in “The First Duty”. Or perhaps he could just play himself? He’s certainly as important as other historical figures who show up on The Next Generation holodecks, like Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain. Or maybe Star Trek and National Treasure take place in the same universe and Ensign Beckett Mariner hits up Benjamin Franklin Gates’ diaries for treasure-hunting tips.

In the interview, which we saw thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, Cage elaborates more on why he prefers Star Trek to Star Wars: “To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that really you can say whatever you want, however you feel. You put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time or in the future, and you without people just jumping on you, you can really express your thoughts like Orwell or whomever in the science-fiction format. And Star Trek really embraced that.” 

While there’s plenty of political and sociological themes in Star Wars, it’s totally fine if Cage prefers Star Trek. It’s certainly welcome news that he has been a fellow Trekkie all this time. And hopefully he knows it’s not mutually exclusive. He can also be into Star Wars! Or even show up on The Mandalorian without being a lifelong fan.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Melissa is also a lifelong Trekkie. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.

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It’s hard to have a toxic relationship with your work. But just imagine if your boss was the actual “Dark One,” a.k.a “The Lord of Death,” a.k.a Dracula, himself? That would be really hard to process. But that’s exactly the fate that befalls poor Renfield in our latest cinematic Dracula retelling. This campy Dracula movie, aptly, titled Renfield, shifts the focus from dark lord to servant and puts Renfield, Dracula’s henchman, in the spotlight. But, of course, when Nicolas Cage is Dracula, the spotlight must be shared. Take a look at Renfield‘s first trailer below.

A release for Renfield, shared along with the trailer, offers more about this dark comedy. Its synopsis notes:

In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men franchise) stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Oscar^® winner Nicolas Cage).  Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness.  If only he can figure out how to end his codependency. 

Frankly, setting the Renfield trailer largely in the context of a support group is bloody genius. We love how Renfield’s problems are everyone’s problems, but on a much different scale. Vampires and henchmen, they’re just like us.

And, of course, we have to mention how incredible Nicolas Cage looks as Dracula in Renfield. He has transformed into just the kind of operatic vampire lord we hoped to see. This Dracula adaptation is shaping up to be like no other. But we feel it really captures the true campy, dramatic spirit of the vampire and his friends. All while hitting all the classic beats of the story in a whole new way. If the trailer for Renfield is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to.

Renfield releases in theaters on April 14.

The post Hilarious RENFIELD Trailer Reminds Us Dracula Is Just Another Bad Boss appeared first on Nerdist.

Dracula is returning to the big screen once again. But this time, the focus won’t be on the Count. It’ll be on his loyal henchman, Renfield, in a film of the same name. The character is a key figure in Bram Stoker’s original novel. But yes, the Lord of the Vampires will appear. And according to The Hollywood Reporter playing the part will be none other than Nicolas Cage. This will not be the first time the actor, known for his eccentric roles, has played a bloodsucker. He played a vampire (sort of?) in the 1988 cult comedy, Vampire’s Kiss. We can only imagine the wild energy Nicolas Cage will bring to Dracula, one of the most iconic roles of all time. The title teaser for Renfield certainly sets the mood we were hoping to see.

As for the title role, according to Deadline, the latest actor to take on the role is Mad Max: Fury Road star Nicholas Hoult, in the upcoming film. The Tomorrow War director Chris McKay is at the helm. It’s based on an original story from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Plot details are scarce at the moment. All we know is that it appears to be taking place in the present-day, and not in Victorian England. This is the latest classic Universal Monster the studio is trying to give new life to. Their successful remake of The Invisible Man was the first in what they hope is a new cycle of monster movies.

In the original 1897 novel, Renfield was a patient of the asylum adjacent to Dracula’s new home. He became the Count’s loyal servant and ate insects to feed his blood lust, as Dracula had not made him a full vampire yet. In certain retellings of the story, he was the original real estate agent who negotiated Dracula’s purchase of the sprawling English estate. Film adaptations often conflate the character with that of Jonathan Harker.

The character of R.M. Renfield was brought to life on screen by many memorable actors before, going back nearly a century to Nosferatu. In the 1931 version of Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, Renfield was portrayed by Dwight Frye. His disturbing laugh still creeps us out to this day. Other memorable Renfields include Tom Waits in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, who played the character in a truly unhinged way. Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer got in on the Renfield tropes. When Dracula swooped into Sunnydale, he turned the character of Xander Harris into a Renfield type.

Here’s hoping Hoult brings the same wild energy as all those other great portrayals. We can’t wait to see his Renfield and Nicolas Cage’s Dracula together in a scene. And now we know how long we’ll have to wait. Renfield will release in theaters on April 14, 2023.

Originally published on February 28, 2022.

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We all could use a little more Nicolas Cage in our lives. If this year’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent wasn’t enough Nic for you, and your old DVDs of Raising Arizona and Wild at Heart just don’t fill that Cage-sized hole in your heart, then we’ve got the solution. Thanks to Boing Boing, we’ve learned that you can now buy a blanket that features the face of Nicolas Cage. But as if stretched over thousands of square inches of material. This is either the greatest blanket ever made, or the most disturbing. Well, maybe it’s a little bit of both. You can see images of this incredible creation right here:

The stretched-out Nicolas Cage face sure gives us Brazil vibes. (We mean the Terry Gilliam movie, not the country). And also that one bad guy with the stretchy face from Star Trek: Insurrection. If this particular blanket creeps you out though, would you believe there are other Nic Cage blankets out there? Yes, you can buy one that has the Ghost Rider and Face Off star with his shirt unbuttoned, serving us some “sexy Cage.” And there’s even another one with multiple Nic Cage faces. Some look like Nic Cage as the Hulk, or an Egyptian Pharoah. And there’s even one with Nic Cage as a cheeseburger. Because sure, why not?

The Nic Cage face blanket features a premium microfiber selection. This soft blanket uses 100% Anti-pilling fleece, so all layers can last for long use and provides fade resistance much better. The manufacturer describes it as “super soft, skin-friendly, and fuzzy.” Basically, words that spring to mind when we think of Nic Cage. It’s also suitable for all seasons. It comes in three sizes as well, including 40×50 Inch, 50×60 Inch, and 60×80 Inch. You can buy yours now from Amazon for a mere $27.99.

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Cosplay is truly easier to participate than ever before. And now there’s the ultimate easy way out: hyper-realistic masks of movie characters. As Adam Savage found out, just add an appropriate t-shirt and you’re done. Like something right out of Face/Off, you too can wear Nicolas Cage’s face. If you can afford the $1,999 price tag, that is.  

There are only 30 of these masks of Cage’s character Red Miller from the ultraviolent movie Mandy. An artist who goes by Rubber Larry makes them and Legion M, which also produced the movie, sells them. Apparently stunt people in movies sometimes use latex masks like these. Rubber Larry’s Instagram feed is truly wild, with pictures of celebrities next to the masks. Kevin Smith poses with his while Kit Harrington looks aghast while holding the head of Jon Snow.

As Adam Savage tries on the Nicolas Cage mask, he can’t help but giggle. He also admits to posing his face underneath the mask even though that’s obviously not necessary. It’s very relatable. Savage often wears intricate cosplay that makes him unrecognizable so he can go incognito on convention floors. This will be the easiest option yet. As he manages to say without sounding super creepy:  “I just need to find an axe in whatever city I’m in and wander around.” 

As for how practical the mask is, Legion M’s description states: “In keeping with the realism of the eyes, holes for adequate vision are drilled in the pupils, however we do not recommend driving, operating machinery or chainsaws while wearing mask.” 

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.

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An art show called Uncaged: The Unbearable Weight of Genius Cat Art is coming to CatCon October 1-2, 2022. The convention, held this year in Pasadena, brings together cat culture and pop culture—a space Nicolas Cage also inhabits as a prolific movie star and self-described cat person. This year’s art show used that crossover as a theme and will feature seven original pieces of art inspired by Cage’s friendship with his cat Merlin, a fluffy black Maine Coon. Yes, a Nicolas Cage cat art show is real.

The four pieces of art previewed here represent a diversity of styles that will make up the Cat Art Show. There’s everything from wallpaper we expect to see in the next Wes Anderson movie to oil paintings that would be at home over any hearth. Plus, the show has an off-putting addition to the vintage Dick and Jane-style alphabet. Though maybe that one should be a 26-piece set and round out the full Nicolas Cage cat art collection.

Cage’s affection for Merlin (and vice versa) came to light on the press tour for his recent film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. “Nicolas Cage is an artist’s dream subject—he’s cult, he’s camp, and he DGAF,” says curator and founder Susan Michals. “Cats have many of the same characteristics—so why not combine the two and celebrate it on canvas?” 

Tickets are on sale for the convention billed as Comic-Con for cat people. The art will be for sale, with 10% of the proceeds going to cat-related charities. Other than the art show, the show will have vendors and meet and greets with internet famous cats and their owners. You can even adopt a kitty at the con!

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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We’re about to get the most Nicolas Cage film in the history of Nicolas Cage films. In The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent the Hollywood star plays none other than himself—or at least a fictionalized version of him. And with the role of his lifetime on the horizon, one of the most singular performers in Tinseltown history is reminding us why we love him so much. He’s been answering fans questions across the internet, and each response has been a gift. So it would be nice if we gave something back to him. Specifically the one thing he most wants. Cage would really like his stolen comic books back.

The former Ghost Rider, almost Superman, and current Spider-Man Noir is (no surprise) a big comics fans. So big that he once owned an incredible collection of valuable issues. That included a copy of one of the most expensive in the world, Action Comics #1, which marked the debut of Krypton’s most famous son. But, alas, a heartless monster stole Cage’s comics, which he says would now be worth tens of millions of dollars. (And it definitely would be, considering the record-setting prices rare comics are garnering in 2022.)

So when a fan asked the National Treasure star which item he would most like to actually steal, he said he didn’t want to steal anything. He just wants his own comic books back. And no matter how rich or famous he might be, we can all relate with that.

In the video Lionsgate provided a fake phone number for anyone with information about the missing collection. But why a fake number? Let’s do this, people! If you know anything about the theft please contact the authorities. Cage is already burdened with an unbearable weight of massive talent. He shouldn’t also be burdened with the knowledge someone has his comic books.

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Plenty of actors are legends in their own time. Some remain Hollywood icons forever. And only a select few, those whose careers transcend eras, reside in Tinsel Town’s Pantheon. But there’s only one Nicolas Cage. The Oscar-winner has done just about everything you can in cinema. Partly because he’s seemingly been in just about every movie ever made. But his singular pop culture status has just as much to do with his off-screen antics as his acting. There’s almost no Nic Cage story we wouldn’t believe. He literally fought aliens on the Moon? Sure, who else would we send? But obviously not every tall tale about him is true. And he finally revealed which of those mythic stories have any merit. Nicolas Cage joined GQ‘s “Actually Me” web series to answer fans online questions.

Despite social media being “antithetical” to his beliefs (smart man!), Nicolas Cage sat down to respond to online inquiries, hypotheticals, and stories about him. Well, so long as he could remain humble. Which is why he refused to even say the name of the Nic Cage subreddit.

But there was still plenty of fascinating fodder for his fans. Including the time he had to give a T. rex skull, one he bought legally, back to the Mongolian government even though he didn’t get his money back. He also talked about the very wise, Academy Award-winning reason he passed on starring in Dumb and Dumber alongside Jim Carrey. And he even said “there might still be a chance” for him to play Superman someday. (Though it might be tough to live up to the experience of being Into the Spider-Verse‘s Spider-Man Noir.)

He also touched on why he’s not playing Joe Exotic, the reason he named his son Kal-El, and the authenticity of his abs in Ghost Rider. (Totally real!) Plus, whether he ever turns down roles. (He totally does!) And why he initially suggested someone else play him in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

However, the most telling story is one that is totally true, but not nearly as ridiculous as you might imagine. In an attempt to physically feel the pain of his character in Birdy, Cage really did pull out two teeth without anesthesia. Not because he is a “method lunatic,” though. They had to come out anyway and the timing was perfect. Just like the one-and-only Nicolas Cage.

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Steal the Declaration of Independence—check. Kidnap the President of the United States—check. Uncover countless historical artifacts and treasures while restoring the family name and legacy—double-check. So, what’s Ben Gates going to do next? Over the last few years, there’s been a lot of chatter of a third National treasure movie. Jerry Bruckheimer indicated, in an interview with Collider, that National Treasure 3 was a go. And this is in addition to the upcoming Disney+ series. It even secured Bad Boys for Life writer Chris Bremner to pen the next installment.

It goes without saying that the excitement for National Treasure 3 hinges on the return of Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates: historian, cryptologist, and treasure protector. And, of course, Justin Bartha and Diane Kruger as his trusted associates, Riley Poole and Dr. Abigail Chase. But unfortunately, at least for now, the film is looking pretty unlikely. In a profile for GQ‘s April 2022 issue, Cage spoke pretty frankly about what happened to the budding franchise.

Specifically, the Pig actor noted that was clear that it was all due to his string of flops in the late 2000s, which followed Cage through the 2010s and stemmed the flow of discussions about the franchise continuing. And now, the actor doesn’t sound like he wants to get involved with Disney any time soon. He said, “They’re like an ocean liner. Once they go in a certain direction, you’ve got to get a million tugboats to try to swivel it back around.”

So at this point, it doesn’t seem like National Treasure 3 is in the cards. And Cage’s sentiments certainly make sense. But should he ever change his mind, we know fans would celebrate Ben Gate’s return.

If National Treasure 3 Happened, What Story Could It Tell?

In National Treasure, Ben Gates found the Templar Treasure, following clues hidden by the Freeman Founding Fathers in the nation’s most revered artifacts. And he does this all to prove a generations-old family lore to be true. In the 2007 sequel, he absolved his ancestor from accusations of participating in the Lincoln assassination plot and discovered more treasure—with a minor Presidential kidnapping and rendezvous with a secret president book, for good measure. The National Treasure franchise lives and dies by its use of real historical moments and figures, sprinkling in a bit of secret society action and a healthy dose of conspiracy theory. Should another National Treasure film finally emerge, Disney still has a rich and messy US history to delve into. Here are just a few adventures National Treasure 3 could send its treasure protectors on.

Roanoke Colony

The British successfully established a presence in the New World in 1607 with the Jamestown colony. But the Virginia colony was hardly the first attempt at a settlement across the Atlantic. Sir Walter Raleigh twice attempted to establish a colony on Roanoke Island—in 1585 and 1587—the latter of which famously vanished by 1590, with the fates of over 100 settlers unknown.

Colonists investigated the disappearance on and off for a hundred years after the discovery of the abandoned site. And it has remained of interest to researchers for centuries. We still don’t formally know if Roanoke colonists successfully relocated to Croatoan Island (Hatteras Island), assimilated into a nearly Native American tribe, or were massacred. But if anyone can discover what became of the settlers—and its ties to a fictional conspiracy—it’s Ben Gates.

Skull and Bones Society

The most famous of the college secret societies in the US, this Yale group has produced generations of politicians (including several presidents), leading scientists, bankers, and lawyers. Of course, a famed secret society known for producing US leaders is ripe for conspiracy theories, most notably that it is part of the Illuminati. (And not the Marvel kind.) Ben Gates famously holds degrees from Georgetown and MIT, so he’s not a Bonesman. However, the Gates’ ties to America run deep. So it wouldn’t be too big of a stretch to assume at least one of his ancestors was a Bonesman and left a cache of secret letters at his disposal. 

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush kicked off in 1848 after carpenter James Marshall discovered gold flakes while building a sawmill for John Sutter in the own of Coloma. Around the same time, California (and most of the southwest) became US territory. Within a year of the Sutter Mill discovery, word spread and thousands of people flocked west, vying for their own shot at finding wealth.

The Gold Rush was a complicated and messy time in US history. The general lawlessness of the territory brought death, destruction, and racism. Not to mention the mass murder and displacement of the indigenous population. It’s an era of US history most Americans know a little bit about. But it is vast enough for Ben Gates and company to explore, bringing just a touch of fiction.

Thomas Beale Papers

An alleged missing treasure whose origins trace back to a mysterious 1885 pamphlet already feels ripped from the Disney franchise. However, it is a very real legend. One that goes as such: In the early 1820s, an explorer named Thomas Beale and a group of companions stumbled across a trove of treasures in New Mexico, and transported and buried it in Bedford County, Virginia. To protect the treasure, he drew up three ciphers: one containing the treasure’s location; a second containing an itemized list of the treasure; and a third with the names of the men claiming the treasure’s ownership and their next of kin. Beale allegedly entrusted innkeeper Robert Morriss with the ciphers.

Decades later, Morriss unsuccessfully attempted to break the codes. Unsuccessful, he ultimately passed it along to a friend. The three ciphers were published as part of the pamphlet and to this day, only the cipher containing the treasure’s contents is solved. The missing treasure’s validity is widely disputed, with many cryptographers and linguists casting doubt on the pamphlet and ciphers being anything other than a work of fiction.

Twin Sisters Cannons

The cannons haven’t been formally spotted since the 1930s, but they are deeply ingrained in Texas history. In the midst of the Texas Revolution, citizens of Cincinnati gifted the Texan fighters a pair of cannons. The Twin Sisters were used in the Battle of San Jacinto, of which they helped secure a Texas victory. The post-war fate of the cannons remains unknown. Some believe the sisters were used in battle during the Civil War but Confederate soldiers buried them to avoid them falling into the hands of the Union Army. Others believe the cannons were simply lost after the war. Despite numerous searches in the 150-plus years since their disappearance, the Twin Sisters remain lost. 

As such, the fate of the missing 19th-century cannons is right up National Treasure‘s alley. While we can’t imagine the pair of cannons being the final treasure, their discovery would be in line with helping Ben and company solve an even greater mystery.

The Alamo

I mean, who could ever forget. But according to legend, the San Antonio mission wasn’t just the site of the pivotal Texas Revolution battle, in which nearly all of the Texan forces were killed—including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. To some, it’s also home to lost treasure. Prior to joining up with Texan forces, Bowie led two expeditions in the search for the Los Almagres (or San Baba) mine. While it’s believed Bowie was unsuccessful in both expeditions, legend has it that he did find the treasure. And that he hid it deep within the confines of the Alamo. Despite many efforts, nobody has ever found a single trace of the treasure. However, it would make for a fitting twist for the already-mythicized battle site and its famed defenders.

Founding Fathers (Again)

As countless biographies and even a beloved musical has taught us, the Founding Fathers were an often shifty, scheming lot. National Treasure already established that the masonic Founding Fathers secretly had their hand in a lot of history. Far beyond their non-conspiratorial feats. It would be an exciting return to form to revisit this era, if only as a jumping-off point for another great mystery. Because let’s face it, after watching National Treasure, it’s impossible to not think about what else the founders were secretly up to as they shaped the United States.

Originally published on January 24, 2020.

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With Matt Reeves’ The Batman blowing up the box office, thoughts have already turned to the inevitable sequel. And of course, folks are already pondering which villains may appear next. Will we see Two-Face? Poison Ivy? Maybe the Court of Owls? Well, we know of one comic book fan who has an idea for a deep-cut rogue he’d like to see in the sequel. And, he’d really love to play him too. The character in question is Egghead. And the fan who wants to play him? None other than Nicolas Cage.

While interviewed at SXSW,  Cage dropped a little bit of information about just how much he wants to play an “absolutely terrifying” version of the classic Batman rogue. You can see Cage talk about his Egghead and Batman aspirations down below:

Now, a lot of you might be wondering “who the heck is Egghead?” And that’s because he was one of several villains created for the Batman ’66 television show. But Hollywood legend Vincent Price played Egghead, which made him a little more special than the rest of the “Made for TV” baddies on the series. More memorable than Bookworm or Louie the Lilac, in any case.

In the Batman series, Egghead believed himself the smartest man in the world, as he assumed his larger “egg-shaped” cranium held a bigger brain. So, naturally, he became a master criminal who used egg-shaped weapons and made egg-related puns. As one does. We’re not sure what a terrifying version of Batman‘s Egghead looks like, but we trust Nicolas Cage could deliver that. He says he has a concept ready to go, after all.

Nicolas Cage is a huge comics fan, with a legendary comic book collection. But after being Ghost Rider (and nearly being Superman) he’s never appeared in a live-action DC property. We suppose Big Daddy, his pseudo-Batman character in Kick-Ass, almost counts as a DC character. While we’re not sure Matt Reeves has a “grounded” take on old Egghead, we hope he at least hears Nicolas Cage’s Batman pitch. Egghead never received a Harley Quinn-like transition from TV to comics, but maybe an unhinged Cage performance could change that. And if it doesn’t happen, there’s always a LEGO Batman sequel, right?

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There’s nobody like Nicolas Cage. His IMDb page is all over the place, as the Oscar winner has done just about everything. And we mean that literally. At one point during his career it seemed as though he was trying to be in every movie. But now he’s ready for the role of a lifetime, with a part only he can play. Because in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Nic Cage is….Nick Cage. And the film’s new red band trailer shows he’s going to need all of his movie-making skills to survive an encounter with his most loyal—and his most deadly—fan. Don’t worry about this being too intense, though. A movie about Nicolas Cage playing Nicolas Cage looks as fun as you’d hope based on this trailer.

This Nicolas Cage trailer is great and makes us want to inject the entire film right into our eyeballs. Especially since he’ll star opposite Pedro Pascal (not playing himself) who’s great in everything he’s in. The film’s official synopsis is just as wonderful as this trailer, too. From Lionsgate:

Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage. 

All of those seemingly inexplicable movies Nicolas Cage made over the years? In reality they were all intense method training for this film. Only a singular performer like him could have that kind of foresight. And you can’t convince us otherwise.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, directed by Tom Gormican, also stars Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Lily Sheen, and Neil Patrick Harris. It comes to theaters April 22.

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Nicolas Cage really wanted in on The Godfather trilogy. So much so that he personally lobbied his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola, to play Vincent Corleone in The Godfather: Part III. But alas it was not meant to be. During The Hollywood Reporter‘s actor roundtable, the Pig star shared the “embarrassing” story of the time he tried very, very hard to convince his uncle to cast him in the project. (We first came across this at Entertainment Weekly.)

Cage revealed that he knew his uncle was eyeing Andy Garcia for the role. So he took matters into his own hand and valiantly made a case for himself.

“This is a very embarrassing answer to your question, OK, because it involves family. So Uncle [Francis Ford Coppola] was doing Godfather III, and I said, ‘I really think I ought to be in your movie, Uncle. I really think it’s a good idea if you would cast me. I think I could play this part,'” Cage shared. “He was going to cast Andy Garcia, and I said, ‘But I just see myself more as James Caan’s son, and he’s playing Sonny’s son. He’s not playing Michael’s son. He’s Sonny’s son. I just feel a little more James Caan.’ It just wasn’t going to happen. Nope, not going to happen. So that was a movie I didn’t get let in that I really wanted to be in.”

But while Cage didn’t appear in his uncle’s classic gangster trilogy, the thespian did appear in two Coppola films in the ’80s—Rumble Fish and Peggie Sue Got Married. Part III is certainly the most divisive of The Godfather films. However, Garcia did score an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Vincent. And just a few years later, Cage scored an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas. So it seems like in the long run things worked out pretty well for all involved… or not involved.

Sure, Nicolas Cage looks back on this Godfather III pitch with a grimace. But they say Hollywood’s about who you know, so you have to shoot your shot, right? Even if the answer’s a resounding “not this time, pal.”

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Sometimes, you reach such heights, that the only thing that can match you is yourself. And that is definitely the case with one Nicolas Cage. In his new movie, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Cage stars as himself… but with a “K.” The K, obviously, makes a big difference. And it’s a clever nod to editors everywhere. Joining Nick Cage in our first look at the movie is Pedro Pascal. Pedro Pascal will unfortunately not play Pedro PasKal, but the film looks like a lot of fun.

You only have to know one thing about this movie. And that thing? It’s “the most Nicolas Cage movie ever.” Which, I think, says it all. We know chaos awaits us.

The movie’s trailer gives us a taste of what’s to come. Nic Cage stars as “Nick Cage,” an actor who may or may not have left his prime behind. Although Cage has acclaim, superfans, and more. He’s not in a great place. But all that is about to change… or maybe it’s about to get worse. Either way, it feels like the movie has an epic bromance brewing. And hey, we’re hooked.

The official summary shares:

Nicolas Cage stars as… Nick Cage in the action-comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nicolas Cage.

Superfans, CIA agents, and the role of a lifetime. What more could anyone ask for really? And with “unbearable massive talent” like Nicolas Cage’s we know this one will not disappoint. We love how much Cage leans into the mysteriously wacky aura surrounding him. And honestly, not knowing whether he takes it entirely seriously or feels in on the joke… is most of the fun. Not to mention, Nic (not Nick) Cage is racking up the iconic roles. He will also soon play Dracula in the new movie Renfield. But honestly, Nick Cage seems more iconic to us. But, only narrowly.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent releases on April 22, 2022. Tom Gormican directed the film and wrote it alongside Kevin Etten. The film also stars Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Lily Sheen, and Neil Patrick Harris.

This one lands on our 2022 must-watch lists, no question. We can’t wait to see the trailer. If our eyes can handle all that talent weight, anyway.

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Look, it’s no easy task stealing the Declaration of Independence. But we know it can be done because Nic Cage did it. As told in the documentary National Treasure*. If you want to steal the United States Constitution though, you’re entering unchartered waters. And with Cage’s never-ending busy schedule there’s no guarantee he’ll be available to help. Fortunately you don’t need to burgle one to own a copy. A rare original first printing is going up for sale.

You will likely need to rob many, many banks to pay for it though.

Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s is putting a very elusive, very important item on the block. The auction house is selling one of just 11 surviving copies (out of only 500) of The Official Edition of the Constitution, the First Printing of the Final Text of the Constitution. It dates back to 1787 and the Constitutional Convention and Continental Congress. That’s the convention that led to the United States government we know til this day.

This copy is the only one that still remains in the hands of private collector. But owner Dorothy Tapper Goldman is putting the proceeds to good use. She will donate the entire sale to her foundation. And it’s a fitting one for the Constitution. Sotheby’s writes the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation “is dedicated to furthering the understanding of our democracy and how the acts of all citizens can make a difference.”

The auction (which we first heard about at Boing Boing) will take place in New York City this November. With an expected sale price of a measly $15-20 million dollars.

…Okay, we aren’t Danny Ocean and we don’t have George Clooney’s phone number. So the only way we’re taking this home is if we, in fact, steal it. Fortunately we know exactly who to call to do that.

*Oh, it’s not a documentary, you say? It’s a fictional movie? Well if you want to live in a world where Nicolas Cage didn’t actually steal the Declaration of Independence.

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One of the hardest-working actors in Hollywood is taking a little break. But just a small one, he promises. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nicolas Cage, Academy Award winner and B-movie icon, suggested after his next two films, he was taking a break. But make no mistake, he is certainly not hinting at retirement. In fact, retirement isn’t in the cards, as Nicolas Cage says he’ll never retire. (Much like treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates, I imagine.)

Netflix

While promoting his upcoming neo-noir Western, Prisoners of the Ghostland, Cage suggested he needed some time to recharge after finishing his latest slate of films. But the actor scoffed at the idea of retirement. Sure, Gene Hackman put away his SAG card after Welcome to Mooseport. And Daniel Day-Lewis can allegedly be found in County Wicklow, cobbling for the locals. (Well, maybe.) But worry not, Nic Cage is not joining his fellow Oscar-winners in the retirement villa. Instead, he expressed that retirement actually “can’t happen” and offered up some very poignant thoughts on what acting means to him.

“To do what I do in cinema has been like a guardian angel for me, and I need it. I’m healthier when I’m working,” Cage told EW. “I need a positive place to express my life experience, and filmmaking has given me that. So I’m never going to retire. Where are we now, 117 movies?”

He added that he doesn’t think clocking in at over 100 movies is particularly novel, sharing that among his arguments for those who say he works too much is citing the lengthy resumes of Golden Era actors. Well, before admitting that maybe this particular citation needs a fact check. He said, What’s funny is, my argument with people who go, ‘You work too much,’ was ‘I like working, and it’s healthy, I’m happy when I’m working, and by the way, guys like Cagney and Bogart, they were doing hundreds of movies.’ And then I went, ‘I’d better check that,’ and I went, ‘Oops.'”

NEON

A classic Nic Cage moment. But said with his level of confidence, we’d certainly have no choice but to believe him. Well, that and the idea of counting each of James Cagney’s movies and Humphrey Bogart’s credits seems like a needless task. The truth is, they worked a lot and did their thing, and so does he!  I mean, who else but Nicolas Cage could pull off Moonstruck, National Treasure, and Pig? His versatility and ability to get weird and dive into roles are truly admirable. So, we’re glad we get to keep enjoying Nic Cage movies for years to come. And if Nicolas Cage says he never wants to retire, we’re happy for him.

Take that well-deserved break, Mr. Cage. And we’ll be patiently awaiting your next 100 films!

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Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David Lynch, can only recall her father yelling at her on one occasion. She was a kid—maybe seven or eight—when he caught her thumbing through a copy of Helter Skelter, the notorious true crime account of the Manson murders. In a 2012 interview with Vice, Jennifer recounted her filmmaker father’s reaction to seeing her with the book. “He squatted down in front of me and I remember the sunlight surrounding his head,” she explained. “And he said, ‘There is darkness and then there is light. And then there is evil.’ And he grabbed the book out of my hands and pitched it across the yard and said, ‘This is evil!'”

Surely, the man behind films like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and the television phenomena Twin Peaks knows about evil. Lynch’s work is inexplicably dark, punctuated by dastardly acts of violence and horrific imagery. Think of the nightmarish “baby” of Eraserhead, its slimy, alien body recalling Francis Bacon’s Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. A portrait of fatherly fear made explicit. Or recall, if you will, Laura Palmer in Fire Walk with Me, the cinematic prequel to Twin Peaks. A woman maligned by expressionistic male violence. Which makes it all the more surprising he would guard his own child from the reality of the Manson murders, some of the grisliest crimes in American history.

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

But really, it makes a lot of sense. Because behind Lynch’s macabre and gothic façade is the tenderest of hearts. Twin Peaks isn’t about Laura Palmer’s murder, but her life—the series does well to observe her good nature: that, despite what would become of her, she was a volunteer and tutor and mentor and friend. Eraserhead and Blue Velvet and Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive aren’t really horror stories, either. Not at their core. They are fantasies and fairy tales, with ladies in the radiators and protectors in the woods and angels in the sky. And most of all, they’re love stories.

If there’s one film that encapsulates Lynch’s strengths—as not just a storyteller, but a gee-golly optimist—it’s Wild at Heart. The film, which celebrates an anniversary this August, is criminally under-seen. (Which is nobody’s fault: it’s unavailable to stream or rent, although it is available on Blu-ray thanks to Shout! Factory.) But it’s a foundational part of Lynch’s filmography. The film won the Palme d’Or in 1990 at Cannes, a controversial choice as it was famously booed after the premiere. It’s hard to judge that initial audience, however. Wild at Heart is a strange film. It’s one of Lynch’s most conventional features, as it follows a straightforward plot and doesn’t rely on his infamous dream-logic optics. But maybe that’s why it sits so awkwardly in his catalogue. Because folks aren’t sure what to make of a romance odyssey with this kind of gristle.

Wild at Heart stars Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as Sailor and Lula, a pair of star-crossed lovers with fiery spirits and roaring passion. Sailor’s a convict imprisoned for a self-defense murder. He reunites with girlfriend Lula upon his release, which infuriates her mother, Marietta (played by Dern’s real-life mother Diane Ladd). Marietta hires a hitman to off Sailor, but things get hairy when Sailor teams up with old buddy Bobby Peru (a truly deranged Willem Dafoe) for a robbery. Sailor can’t stay out of trouble and Lula can’t stop loving him despite it, and Wild at Heart is an odd ode to their unconventional romance.

It may be sweet, but make no mistake: the film is still punctuated with Lynch’s trademark (“Lynchian”) weirdness. Bobby Peru has a frightening look, familiar and distorted like a dripping face Dali portrait. Lynch regular Sherilyn Fenn turns up in a cameo as the victim of a car accident, whose appearance is a bloody interlude; the phantom notes of the lullaby that disorient before they ease. Marietta has a meltdown where she paints her face in crimson lipstick and theatrically vomits after a phone call with Harry Dean Stanton.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

But Wild at Heart also contains some of Lynch’s sweetest moments, many of them papered in references to The Wizard of Oz. That 1939 technicolor classic had a notable impact on Lynch’s career. In that film—based on the classic children’s novel by L. Frank Baum—a beautiful young woman named Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) is transported to a serene but haunted fantasy world after a tornado carries her Kansas farmhouse to the land of Oz. There, she encounters sentient scarecrows and flying monkeys and witches both good and evil. The movie features ghoulish imagery: Margaret Hamilton’s cackling, green-faced Wicked Witch of the West; the demonic tornado filling the frame with its sepia terror; the projection of a wizard head floating maniacally over angry flames. It’s as surrealistic as Bacon and Magritte and Miró.

And yet, The Wizard of Oz is a film about hope, dreams, imagination. Concepts instrumental to Lynch’s own storytelling. Through the vulgar irregularities is a hardened truth: that goodness perseveres. In Wild at Heart, a soured Sailor gets a visit from a pink witch in a bubble, played by Laura Palmer actress Sheryl Lee. This allusion to Billie Burke’s Glinda the Good Witch from Oz is beautifully luminescent. She also delivers a message: “If you’re truly wild at heart, you’ll fight for your dreams. Don’t turn away from love, Sailor. Don’t turn away from love.”

Lynch’s Wizard of Oz love shines in his other works. Twin Peaks contains a number of references. (“Judy” is a key character in that world, a nod to Judy Garland; one of Judy’s inquisitors is a character named Garland Briggs.) And Oz helped Lynch deviate from Wild at Heart’s source material, a novel by Barry Gifford. In the book, Sailor and Lula break up for good. In the film, Sailor professes his undying love to Lula—and their young child—by singing Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” as the credits roll. It’s brash and hopeful and unabashedly romantic.

It’s an ending of a piece with Lynch’s other works, lest you forget. To the good persevering at the end of Blue Velvet. And to Laura’s ascendance in Fire Walk with Me. Or to the peaceful tragedy in the closing moments of Mulholland Drive. And even to the story of Lynch’s daughter Jennifer, who couldn’t read Helter Skelter but who found her own weird way forward. She’s now as a successful director in her own right, helming episodes of American Horror Story and Ratched and the new Gossip Girl. Her father steered her away from pure evil so she could find her own way to decode it.

Netflix

David Lynch once said, “Negativity is the enemy of creativity.” Wild at Heart is the distillation of this idea. Cracked and downtrodden and ready to submit to evil, Sailor summoned a bubblegum vision from deep within and chose love instead. Shouldn’t we aspire?

The post How WILD AT HEART Brought Surrealism Over the Rainbow appeared first on Nerdist.

Nicolas Cage has embarked on a quest or two in his day. He’s fought tooth and nail for money, freedom, sobriety, historical documents, and even his own face. But Cage’s latest endeavor seems to be the mission he was born to undertake. The movie in question is Pig. And the thing he’s out to save: a pig. A pig he loves so, so much. Take a look at the trailer, which, I’ll remind you, is about Nicolas Cage trying to save a pig.

See, someone has stolen his (Nicolas Cage’s, to be clear) pig, and Cage is out to rescue said pig. Cage plays a truffle farmer who has all but shut himself off from society. Resigned to the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, Cage’s character’s only source of contact or comfort is his foraging friend. So when she’s pig-napped, Cage relinquishes his long-preserved solitude and heads back into society. He will not allow his pig to go un-rescued, or the perpetrator to go unpunished.

We get the hint from the trailer that Cage is playing no everyday hermit. His voiceover recounts a storied, successful career of cooking—presumably mushroom-based meals—one that has left him jaded and misanthropic. Furthermore, Alex Wolff’s encouragement for Cage to tell a curious waiter “who you are” suggests he’s a figure of repute.

Neon

All kidding aside, this debut feature from Michael Sarnoski looks like an exciting and emotionally charged feature. If you’re the kind of person who bawled all the way through Okja, this might be a heavy-hitter for you. (I say this as the kind of person who bawled all the way through Okja. Every time I watched. And sometimes when I just think about it. I really need to see a therapist about Okja.)

Pig will release in theaters July 16.

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I love how much the internet has embraced Nicolas Cage over the past few years. He has always made choices in whatever film he’s in, but a lot of the movies he’s made since around 2010 have been little seen low-budget nothings. But since 2018’s Mandy, Cage has transformed into one of the main faces in effed-up, gonzo indie horror. Last year’s Color Out of Space gave him another notch in that belt, and this year, the Sundance selection Prisoners of the Ghostland seemed poised to give him yet another. And while it is very weird, and he is very Nicolas Cage in it, it fails to live up to much of its own potential.

This was one of the movies I was most excited to see at Sundance 2021. The first English language film from Japanese pulp director Sion Sono, Prisoners of the Ghostland is perfect on paper. A mix of Western, samurai epic, post-apocalyptic thriller, and dark horror movie; all of that sounds great, and Nic Cage is the perfect choice to star. The problem is, nothing much actually happens. Or at least, the narrative doesn’t make it explicit what is or is not happening. And for an apparent action movie, there’s not all that much action. (With one major exception, which I’ll get to.)

XYZ Films

The story, as such, is very Escape from New York. Cage’s Hero (the closest he gets to a name) is a bank robber who, along with his violent cohort Psycho (Nick Cassavetes), botched a robbery so badly that it left multiple innocents dead. Years later, Hero is in a jail cell in Samurai Town—which looks like a fake Wild West theme part with Japanese stuff overlaid. The guy who runs Samurai Town is the Governor (Bill Moseley), the white-clad cowboy with a harem of “granddaughters,” (gross). One of his granddaughters, Bernice (Sofia Boutella), has run off into the Ghostland, and the Governor puts Hero into a bomb-rigged leather jumpsuit and tells him he has three days to find Bernice and another two to bring her back. Or boom.

The set-up is great. Standard action-sci-fi stuff. But once Hero goes off into the Ghostland—which I guess is a stretch of desert where actual ghosts block the way?!?—things go off the rails in a not-good way. There is a Mad Max-esque group of ragtag survivors way out in the Ghostland; they live around the remnants of a giant clock which they try to stop from ticking and scrounge for resources. But they can’t go back to Samurai Town because, again, the ghosts.

We get the basic notion: Hero has to find Bernice and bring her back or boom. But there’s so little actual plot or action that takes place once he reaches the Ghostland that it feels completely empty. The Ghostlanders call him Hero; why? He doesn’t seem like the best guy and doesn’t do anything to make them call him that. Bernice is afraid of him, until suddenly she isn’t. He apparently has some kind of vision quest but we don’t really know what that is. The long and short of it is the Governor is a bad dude and so they want to go back to Samurai Town to free Bernice’s fellow granddaughters once the old man turns off Hero’s bomb suit.

It looks cool, the concept is neat; there just isn’t much there there. Cage does get to have some choice Cage moments; he says the lines “Hi-f***in’-ya” and later angrily shouts the word “Testicle!” for a reason I won’t explain. But he’s really a blank slate, even for him.

The one bright spot in the movie is the appearance of cult Japanese action star Tak Sakaguchi. That’s right; Crazy Samurai Musashi himself. He plays Yasujiro, the Governor’s samurai enforcer. We find out in an all-too-brief scene that Yasujiro is only working for the Governor to save his sister, whom the Governor has enslaved. He has no lines but he has three absolutely fantastic one-on-a-bunch swordplay sequences and even squares off against Cage by the end. Easily the most interesting character, and the only one who gets to do action on a regular basis.

It’s not that there’s zero fun or enjoyment in Prisoners of the Ghostland. There are some cool moments, and Cage is Cage no matter what. Moseley gets to do his Southern-fried villain routine and there are some funny and weird side characters. But truly, this should have been so much better and I can’t fully put my finger on why it isn’t. Like the Ghostland itself, there’s just a lot more nothing than I expected.

A weak 3/5

For more of our reviews from Sundance 2021, CLICK HERE.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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The Sundance Film Festival has been the first big fest of the calendar year since 1978. It exhibits some of the freshest and most exciting movies you’re likely to see. Many will end up with awards consideration come the end of the year. Sundance was one of the only film festivals to take place in the traditional form in 2020. But as we’re still in the thick of it, the premier American gathering of cinema has had to go virtual for 2021. The good news is it’s still happening. Better news: the lineup this year has plenty for the genre film enthusiast to enjoy.

Here’s what we’re most excited to check out in our home theaters from Sundance 2021!

Censor

Sundance

A film censor who takes great pride in her work of saving the mass viewing audiences from gory depravity finds herself with unsettling visions from her past when she watches a movie from deep in the archives. Sundance calls it a “faithful, creative ode to 1980s aesthetics and a twisted, bloody love letter to the video nasties of the era.” It’s the directorial debut from Prano Bailey-Bond and it stars Niamh Algar.

Premiere screening: January 28 at 10 PM MST

Cryptozoo

Sundance

Animation for grown-ups, especially on the feature scale, has always been a favorite of mine; Cryptozoo looks like it’ll strike the perfect balance of whimsy and weirdness. Using mythical creatures, the movie looks to explore the ethics of keeping animals in captivity when the human world continues to encroach upon their habitat. Plus it’s got unicorns.

Premiere screening: January 29 at 1 PM MST

In the Earth

Sundance

The newest film from Ben Wheatley (Kill List, A Field in England), In the Earth takes place during a deadly virus outbreak. Wild, right? Getting back to his folk horror roots and utilizing synth, “this stripped-down approach unfolds into a psychedelic kaleidoscope of changing colors, shapes, and sounds that turns the world inside out.” Sounds perfect to us.

Premiere screening: January 29 at 7 PM MST

Knocking

Sundance

This psychological horror film sounds very relatable. A woman named Molly moves into a new apartment and keeps hearing a knocking she can’t explain. Nobody else in the building seems to know what she’s talking about. She’s just had a traumatic event in her life, and it’s a horrible heatwave, so it could just be all in her head. But what if it isn’t? From Sundance:

Knocking is a sharp indictment of the gaslight culture and social stigma that work against those experiencing mental illness. Director Frida Kempff’s stunning visuals induce a dissonant sensation of physical disembodiment and feverish claustrophobia that mimics Molly’s deteriorating mental state.

Premiere screening: January 29 at 10 PM MST

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

Sundance

This is a documentary based on the book of the same name about the making of Sesame Street. I don’t think we need to explain any further why we’re excited to watch this one.

Premiere screening: January 30 at 10 AM at MST

Passing

Sundance

The directorial debut of actor Rebecca Hall, Passing takes place in the 1920s. Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga play two Black women who can “pass” for white choosing to live on opposite sides of the color line.  Sundance calls it an “elegant psychological thriller about obsession, repression, and the lies people tell themselves and others to protect their carefully constructed realities.”

Premiere screening: January 30 at 4 PM MST

Eight for Silver

Sundance

A brutal land baron in the late 19th century slaughters a Roma clan and unwittingly unleashes a curse upon his family. A creepy, misty take on the werewolf lore, Eight for Silver punctuates its slow burns with bursts of violence and body horror. I mean…can that get any better? We’ll see!

Premiere screening: January 30 at 7 PM MST

A Glitch in the Matrix

Sundance

The latest from documentarian Rodney Ascher (Room 237, The Nightmare), A Glitch in the Matrix takes a look at people who believe they really are living in a computer simulation, and the possibility that that could actually be true. I’m expecting galaxy brain ideas aplenty presented as though entirely credible; the Rodney Ascher staple.

Premiere screening: January 30 at 10 PM MST

All Light, Everywhere

Sundance

I’m just gonna let the Sundance folks explain this one, because it sounds like something to elicit a Keanu-esque “Whoa.”

The “observer effect” is a term used in physics to describe the process in which the act of observation disturbs the system that’s being observed. Humans are such observers—and we have our inherent limitations, biases, and blind spots that skew how we perceive and interpret. In his remarkable, kaleidoscopic essay film, Theo Anthony investigates the correlation between how we see things and the tools and practices involved in the act of seeing.

Premiere screening: January 31 at 1 PM MST

The Blazing World

Sundance

A woman who has spent her life reliving the memory of her sister drowning when they were kids spends much of her time inside her scary and fantastical imagination. Pushed to the brink of self-harm, the woman has to confront her inner demons in a frightening and strange journey into her own mind. This sounds like a Sundance horror movie to a tee.

Premiere screening: January 31 at 4 PM MST

Prisoners of the Ghostland

Sundance

And finally, we have a movie that sounds absolutely chaotic. Nicolas Cage (off to a great start) stars as a bank robber who gets sprung from jail by the powerful Governor (Bill Moseley). He must go on a mission to rescue the Governor’s missing granddaughter (Sofia Boutella); it gets weird and violent from there. A mix of samurai, Western, and post-apocalyptic films, this effort from Sion Sono (Suicide Club, Tokyo Vampire Hotel) will be a delirious and frenetic journey into madness. Our favorite kind.

Premiere screening: January 31 at 7 PM MST

And these are but some of the dozens more films screening during the virtual Sundance Film Festival. I didn’t even mention shorts and discussions panels. For more information, check out their site, and be on the lookout for reviews all weekend long.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

The post What We’re Looking Forward to at Sundance 2021 appeared first on Nerdist.

One of the great advantages of a crowded streaming market is that no idea is too wild. All of these many platforms need original content. And they don’t have to appease the FCC. So the possibilities for what you can create are more wide open than ever. If you can dream it, you can film it. Even if it was a fever dream, which might have been the inspiration for a new Netflix series. It stars one of Hollywood’s most unique stars covering a taboo topic that is ripe for both fun and genuine explorations. And you better f***ing believe we’re tuning in for the Nicolas Cage-hosted History of Swear Words.

From the official Netflix synopsis:

“An education in expletives: the history lesson you didn’t know you needed. History of Swear Words, hosted by Nicolas Cage, is a loud and proudly profane series that explores the origins, pop culture—usage, science and cultural impact of curse words. Through interviews with experts in etymology, pop culture, historians and entertainers, the six-episode series dives into the origins of ‘F**k,’ ‘Sh*t,’ ‘B*tch,’ ‘D**k,’ ‘Pu**y,’ and ‘Damn.'”

That trailer is enough. We don’t need to know anything else about this show. Honestly, the title alone would have sufficed. But the rest of the series sounds pretty great too.

Produced by Funny Or Die and B17 Entertainment, the show will also feature appearances from comedians and performers like Joel Kim Booster, DeRay Davis, Open Mike Eagle, Nikki Glaser, Patti Harrison, London Hughes, Jim Jefferies, Zainab Johnson, Nick Offerman, Sarah Silverman, Baron Vaughn, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

But the show will also offer up plenty of experts to give the history of each word. You know, to keep this s**t classy. That will include Benjamin Bergen (PhD, Cognitive Scientist, Author of What The F), Anne Charity Hudley (PhD, Linguist and Educator), Mireille Miller-Young (PhD, Professor of Feminist Studies), Elvis Mitchell (Film Critic/Host of The Treatment on KCRW), Melissa Mohr (PhD, Author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing), and Kory Stamper (Lexicographer, Author of Word By Word).

Netflix

Each of the season’s (hopefully the first of many) episodes will run for roughly 20 minutes. And Nic Cage will be there to lead all of them. Like the best fever dream ever come to life. What a glorious f***ing time in television’s history. Nicolas Cage’s History Of Swear Words premieres January 5, 2021.

Originally published on December 22, 2020.

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After the success of his Kickboxer reinvention, Logothetis was considering what to do next when a friend suggested he try out “sci-fi martial arts.” The recommendation stuck. “I thought to myself, ‘Well, that’s kind of cool,'” he shared. “Because you know martial arts films often really have a very similar plot. It’s about the bully that everybody has always had to deal with. Somebody kicking sand in your face or the boss who’s kicking them around.”

In that formula Logothetis saw the potential to do something different, something crazy, and something that would become Jiu Jitsu. “It’s the kind of enemy who can’t ever be killed and then he has to go up against these exceptional martial artists that have been specifically trained to fight him to the death,” he explained. “Then I wanted to build some folklore around that. So I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if there were these hieroglyphics on a temple somewhere in Myanmar, and every six years when a comet passes through our solar system this portal opens and out comes this alien that’s supposed to fight these jiu-jitsu masters.'”

Logothetis was right… it is cool!

The Avenue

Jiu Jitsu embraces Hollywood’s superhero trend but fills it with the kind of action stars (and action) the MCU can only dream of. Real martial artists make up the real team, including Tony Jaa, JuJu Chan, Marrese Crump, Alain Moussi, and Frank Grillo. It’s very much the reason the film packs such a punch—pun completely intended. And it’s why you can’t look away from the action. “You need a core of authentic martial artists,” Logothetis said. “You watch and think, ‘Oh my god, these people are actually doing all this stuff and performing all this themselves. They are real life superheroes! Maybe I could do that if I worked with the right teacher and put in the time.'”

Logothetis continued. “That’s really at the core of martial arts films, because otherwise something that I get lost in is that even though you have wonderful actors in the science fiction films that we love and adore, you know they’re actors and not stunt people. You know that they’re not pulling off the stuff that you’re seeing. But with me, I hold the camera, I pull it back, and I let you watch these artists do some pretty amazing things with live action.”

The Avenue

Jiu Jitsu has another strength: just how unencumbered it is by the rules of “real life” or “real fighting.” The film’s outrageous sci-fi setup gave the director freedom to go for it. “I didn’t want to be stuck in kung fu. I didn’t want to be stuck in Muay Thai. The team that I put together are all authentic martial artists, including Nic Cage, who’s a wonderful actor and embraces genre and really sells the story. You have to have that in martial arts. You see the expertise and the athleticism. And here that isn’t barred by any specific martial art.”

Putting together such an impressive team of famed martial artists alongside one of the industry’s most beloved eccentrics was a feat. Logothetis’ love of classic team movies shaped his vision. “It’s always challenging to convince people to step into a new Expendables. A modern day Dirty Dozen… I grew up on those team-oriented stories. That’s my favorite genre. Like Akira Kurosawa’s impeccable film, The Seven Samurai. Each of those people had their own personality, they brought their own thing. But at the core, everybody had loyalty, authenticity, friendship, and a code. The fact that you were willing to lay your life down to defend your brothers and sisters. And I think that’s a wonderful value that comes with martial arts.”

The Avenue

The biggest draw for viewers who might not always check out the latest martial arts movies is Nic Cage who plays the movie’s wise and slightly unstable elder. “I was blessed to get Nic,” Logothetis told us. “He really takes chances but he’s a consummate artist. When he came on board he totally embraced this character and really came up with some wonderful qualities that added to the world. Without that you couldn’t sell that story. He’s the storyteller, the one who makes you buy in. He’s our Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Jiu Jitsu feels like the beginning of a new martial arts franchise. And Logothetis confirmed that he is working on a sequel. “Believe me, I’ve got some really cool stuff,” he laughed. “I want to assemble an even bigger team. I’d like to bring in Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Donnie Yen, and we have to bring back Tony [Jaa]!”

Jiu Jitsu hits select theaters, digital, and on demand November 20th.

Featured Image: The Avenue

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Nic Cage has been in a lot of truly great movies. Adaptation, Raising Arizona, Valley Girl, Mandy, Vampire’s Kiss, Face/Off, Into the Spider-Verse—in short, Cage’s catalog is filled with gems. But this list isn’t about them. It’s not even about the weirder but more critically acclaimed features that he’s lent his talents to, like the recent Richard Stanley horror,Color Out of Space. This list is dedicated to his bevy of under-seen (mostly direct-to-VOD) films that entertain despite, or perhaps because of, how nuts they are. There’s plenty of crime, serial killers, and even tigers to contend with here, and among the lot a couple of legitimately good B-movies. Basically, it’s a smorgasbord of Cage to keep you going.

Trespass (2011)

Millennium Entertainment

Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage in a home invasion thriller directed by Joel Schumacher?! You might be wondering why you haven’t heard of this flick. Well, that’s because Trespass had a limited release and was steeped in production issues including Cage wanting to swap roles at the last minute. But if you’re a fan of claustrophobic little chillers about how pressure makes relationships crumble then you might find something to enjoy in this often nasty and surprisingly strange film. Ben Mendehlson also makes an impression and Kidman is very good.

Where to watch: Tubi, Vudu, Roku Channel, and Hoopla

The Frozen Ground (2013)

Lionsgate

John Cusack is probably the only other contemporary actor with as many direct-to-video releases as Cage has. Here, the two team up for a serial killer story based on the real life spate of murders by Robert Hansen. Against all odds, the film did get a theatrical release (though a very small one). Cage plays a state trooper hunting down Cusack’s depraved murderer, and Vanessa Hudgens teams up with Cage to catch the killer. This film features a peak Nic Cage performance and has a lot to offer for fans of cat and mouse thrillers.

Where to watch: Hulu, Prime Video, and Epix

Pay the Ghost (2015)

RLJ Entertainment

Horror is a genre in which Cage excels and this weird supernatural chiller combines his modern penchant for movies about loved ones being kidnapped with some spooky ghosts. After their son goes missing on Halloween, Cage and his wife (Sarah Wayne Callies) begin to see their boy in unexpected places, sending them on a dark spiritual quest to another world.

Where to watch: Tubi and Hoopla

Vengeance: A Love Story (2017)

FilmRise

Revenge flicks make up a large percentage of Cage’s video-on-demand catalog, but this is a standout. After a woman testifies against the attackers who raped her in front of her daughter, the rapists are freed due to their high-powered lawyer. The rest of this film consists of Cage’s disillusioned cop killing the rapists one by one. It’s brutal, simple, and pretty cathartic, but somehow manages to avoid the easily exploitative nature of the setup. Notably, this is also the sixth movie in which Cage plays a character called John or Johnny!

Where to watch: Showtime and Hoopla

Arsenal (2017)

Lionsgate Premiere

This movie gets a 10/10 for Cage wearing a crazy wig. Another of his revenge movies, this represents the later era of his VOD career, which features plenty of mafia vengeance plotlines. Here, Cage reprises the role of Eddie King from 1993’s Deadfall. Eddie is a sleazy mob boss who has to face down against JP, played by Entourage‘s Adrian Grenier, after he kidnaps his brother. John Cusack also pops up here but it’s really all about Cage, his wild performance, and of course that wig.

Where to watch: Tubi

Mom and Dad (2018)

Momentum Pictures

Probably the best known film on our list, this mini-horror hit co-stars Cage and Selma Blair as the titular caregivers who are struck by a strange global hysteria that makes all parents want to kill their kids. A darkly funny twist on the zombie/virus thriller, Mom and Dad was a festival hit when it launched in 2017 and features a now classic over-the-top Cage performance!

Where to watch: Hulu

Looking Glass (2018)

Momentum Pictures

If you’ve seen the 2007 Luke Wilson horror flick Vacancy, then you may notice some similarities in Looking Glass. But if you want to watch a less silly version starring Nic Cage in an unusually subdued and understated performance alongside Robin Tunney, then Looking Glass may be up your alley. The twist here is that Cage and Tunney decide to buy a motel only to find out that it holds deep and dark secrets. Surreal and bleak, this is a slow burn B-movie that doesn’t quite commit to its horror potential but still delivers some atmosphere and solid performances.

Where to watch: Starz

Primal (2019)

Lionsgate

We saved the weirdest (in concept, at least) for last. Cage stars here as a big game hunter on a ship headed to the U.S. after a big hunt in Brazil. He should be living it up after capturing a rare white jaguar, but instead he’s facing down a dangerous killer and plenty of vicious animals on board. Yep, a murderer has escaped on the ship and freed the killer creatures! And guess who has to take them down? Nic Cage!

Where to watch: Prime Video

Header Image: Millennium Entertainment, Lionsgate, FilmRise, RLJ Entertainment, Momentum Pictures

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It’s been more than a decade since Benjamin Franklin Gates and company found Cíbola. Suffice to say, fans (me, loudly) are clamoring for another adventure. But while rumblings of a third installment in the history-buff adventure franchise set my heart aflutter back in January, Jerry Bruckheimer is here to spread the good news. In a recent interview with Collider, the producer revealed there are two National Treasure projects currently in the works.

The first is, of course, confirmation of the much-awaited National Treasure 3 film, scripted by Bad Boys for Life writer Chris Bremmer. But the second is a series for Disney+, which would feature a younger cast. Bruckheimer told Collider, “We’re certainly working on one for streaming and we’re working on one for the big screen. Hopefully, they’ll both come together and we’ll bring you another National Treasure, but they’re both very active….The one for Disney+ is a much younger cast. It’s the same concept but a young cast. The one for theatrical would be the same cast.”

Disney

He added, “The film version is being written right now. The television version is in process. We have a pilot script done and an outline of the future episodes.”

It seems both projects are still too early in development to reveal any major details. But his comments on National Treasure 3 suggests the entire original cast will be back. So right off the bat we know National Treasure 3 will see Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, and a currently-unknown villain trapped in a newly-discovered treasure room somewhere underneath continental U.S. (At least, as National Treasure‘s history would suggest.)

Disney

Meanwhile, it’ll definitely be interesting to see what the Disney+ TV series looks like. As Bruckheimer didn’t reveal anything specific about the series, other than its younger cast, the possibilities are endless. Will the series go a young Indiana Jones route? Or follow in the footsteps of Cartoon Network’s Unnatural History? One major question is the series’ association with the film franchise. It’s hard to imagine a version entirely devoid of Ben, Riley, and Abigail—especially given the winning combination of the franchise’s innate goofiness and Cage’s own eccentricities.

Regardless, we’re excited to see how the series shapes up. It’s an exciting way to learn about history—if through a more conspiratorial lens—and one the next generation will be lucky to have.

Header Image: Disney

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Netflix

According to Deadline, “The project hails from American Vandal showrunner Dan Lagana, Paul Young (Key & Peele), Imagine Television Studios and CBS TV Studios. The eight-episode limited series will go to market in the next few days.” Many fans of the documentary fancast the cast of real life characters. But no one could have imagined casting someone as perfect as Nic Cage. Interestingly the series will not be based on the documentary that made this story international news, but on an article by Leif Reigstad. “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild” originally ran in Texas Monthly.

It’s not a surprise that the TV adaptation isn’t based directly on the controversial Netflix series. Though Tiger King was a ratings smash, it was far from the first exploration of Joe Exotic. Tiger King also misgendered the one empathetic member of the cast. The series also garnered critique for crafting a mythic figure out of Joe Exotic. First of all, he was an animal abuser. And the doc also features him getting straight young men hooked on meth so they’ll marry him. Basically it’s the sort of story that will be easy to get wrong and harder to get right.

Daniel Grodnik Productions

Luckily, American Vandal is a brilliant calling card. The true crime mockumentary took a premise that should have been ridiculous and made it heartfelt. The second season is still one of the most thoughtful meditations on young people and the internet. That’s extremely wild when you also realize it’s about a bunch of people shitting themselves. So, even though this could be a hot mess, it could be surprisingly great. Especially with Cage attached. Now we just need to see who they’ll cast as Carole Baskin…

Featured Image: Daniel Grodnik Productions

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For as influential and popular as 20th century horror author H.P. Lovecraft was, there are surprisingly few major film adaptations. Even fewer of them properly capture the mix of hopelessness and awe that the author instilled. Even the most beloved Lovecraft movies—those from director Stuart Gordon—tend to leave out the true cosmic horror of the oeuvre. Filmmaker Richard Stanley looks to change that with a trilogy of Lovecraft movies from SpectreVision. The first of these, Color Out of Space, hits theaters Friday.

We spoke to Stanley about adapting (and contending with) Lovecraft in 2020 and infusing the bleakness of “The Colour Out of Space” with humor, heart, and heaps of Nicolas Cage.

“The challenge of Color Out of Space is to try to hint at something which is beyond the spectrum of human perception,” Stanley explained. “Which I think comes with the title, so one is automatically flung into a situation of trying to create onscreen, both with the light and sound, a sense that the audience is being pushed to their very limits. And I think since Lovecraft’s time, we understand that process a lot better than we might have done say in 1926.”

“I like to think the film is structured in the same way as a decent drug trip,” Stanley continued. “You’ve got for the first 30 minutes or so; the audience are kind of looking at each other going, ‘Okay, well, nothing is happening. What’s going on? Is this working?’ Then very slowly, little things start to manifest and go a little bit wrong and little gaps widen in reality.”

“On one hand, it’s a faithful adaptation of Lovecraft,” Stanley explained, “but it’s also a battle or an argument I’ve been having of Lovecraft. I’m not as much of a materialist atheist as Lovecraft is. I still have some faith in love and in the human condition. So I did want to introduce those themes and ideas into its universe. And one way I did that was by connecting all of the characters in my mind to different family members.”

For the filmmaker, the essential “Lovecraft moment” in any story is a character traveling into the void and horror alone. Nothing can protect them (or us) from the terrible things lurking things, but they’re going to try. “For me, in Color Out of Space,” Stanley told us, “[I tried to include those] moments. Like when Nic’s character, Nathan, has to go to the barn to deal with the mutant alpacas. You’ve got a character who is fundamentally flawed and too weak to deal with the situation. He has no choice but to propel himself forward into the dark and face whatever is waiting for him. And I think pushing the characters to the very brink of oblivion that gives me the strongest Lovecraftian frisson, or chill, when I’m trying to get at it.”

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Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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You never really know what you’ll see whilst driving on a dark, country road. The eyes can play tricks on you, and you run the risk of some wild animal surprising you. But you more or less know what kind of creatures you might see. Probably a pet, possibly a deer or elk or something. Maybe even a coyote! They’re everywhere. Or of course, if you drive anywhere near the Blasted Heath, you might see things you’d rather not. Things perverted, not of this Earth. Yes, naturally, I’m talking about Richard Stanley’s Lovecraft adaptation, Color Out of Space.

The above clip depicts one of the first victims of the titular Color. It warps a poor cat into a snarling, hideous beast. It sure interrupts a nice evening of driving and singing opera loudly. The cat is definitely not the worst of it. Spoilers, I guess.

Color Out of Space is a must for fans of Lovecraft, and of crazy Nic Cage performances. Stanley and his co-writer Scarlett Amaris do an admirable job of bringing Lovecraft to life faithfully while injecting new elements and humor. The story, as with many of Lovecraft’s, is unerringly somber, but Stanley recognizes the need for levity to lull the audience into safety before the true horrors kick off. They place the events firmly within Lovecraft Country; the farm is outside of Arkham, MA and the a character wears a Miskatonic University t-shirt. Throwaway mentions of other Lovecraft locations such as Kingsport and Innsmouth also crop up to the delight of horror readers everywhere.

This movie is the first in a trilogy of Lovecraft movies from Richard Stanley. Recently, the filmmaker spoke to Nerdist about the second of these, an adaptation of The Dunwich Horror. Like Color, it will deal with humanity’s fight against unfeeling cosmic forces. “Lovecraft himself says that he strives in every story to create an atmosphere of cosmicism; of humanity’s frightful position in the universe,” Stanley explained. “I think the essential Lovecraftian moment for me is going alone into that horror. Going into the void and having nothing to reassure you or to protect you from it.”

Color Out of Space hits cinemas on Friday, January 24. It’s a dazzling and upsetting movie with one of the most Nicolas Cagey Nicolas Cage performances we’ve seen in awhile. It’s worth it just for that. And the devil cat, of course.

Featured Image: SpectreVision

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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To kick off a festival, especially a genre festival, you need to bring out the big guns. In the cult world, you don’t get much bigger than Richard Stanley, the South African filmmaker who brought us early ’90s favorites Hardware and Dust Devil. But more infamous than the movies he finished is the now-legendary story of Stanley’s firing from the ill-fated The Island of Dr. Moreau. He went into recluse status thereafter, but a 2014 documentary of the ordeal brought him back to prominence. For Beyond Fest 2019’s opening film, we got the treat of seeing Stanley’s return to form, Color Out of Space. And what an experience it was.

For as popular and influential a writer as H.P. Lovecraft is, there remains a bit of a dearth of good film adaptations of his work. Once you’ve seen Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dagon, and a couple other stragglers, you’re at a bit of a loss for decently budgeted, faithful takes on the cosmic horror pioneer. The 1927 story The Colour Out of Space has already seen a few notable adaptations as far back as the 1960s, but Stanley has several things going for him here. He’s got the support of his producers at horror studio SpectreVision; the movie has a rich visual palate absolutely necessary for the story at hand. And Stanley has a great cast, top-lined by none other than Nicolas Cage himself.

SpectreVision

The plot is relatively simple. The Gardner family have recently moved into an old farmhouse in the middle of the woods, an hour away from any kind of civilization. It’s the patriarch Nathan’s (Cage) father’s old house, and Nathan has decided to raise alpacas, which provide some of the silliest moments in the movie. Nathan’s wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) is a day-trader who works via FaceTime on her computer. She’s got cancer and they’ve ostensibly moved to the country to make her more comfortable. Their eldest son Benny (Brendan Meyer) is a pothead who spends a lot of time with the weird squatter Ezra (Tommy Chong); daughter Lavinia (Madeleine Arthur) is a young Stevie Nicks, performing witchy rituals and reading from Lovecraft’s ubiquitous Necronomicon (in paperback no less!); their youngest son Jack (Julian Hilliard) is a tiny little boy.

Two things shake up their quiet, if fractious life. The first is the appearance of a hydrologist (Elliot Knight) who is checking on the area’s suspicious aquifer and water table. He and Lavinia make eyes at each other, but that’s not that hard for the Gardners to handle. What they can’t quite deal with is the second shake-up: a glowing meteorite that crashes into their front lawn. It affects each of them differently, with Nathan complaining of a hideous odor while Jack and Lavinia hear high-pitched noises. The meteorite begins to seep into the Earth, causing colorful plant and animal life to grow. It gets inside the water, warping and shaping everyone in increasingly macabre and grotesque ways.

SpectreVision

Stanley and his co-writer Scarlett Amaris do an admirable job of bringing Lovecraft to life faithfully while injecting new elements and humor. The story, as with many of Lovecraft’s, is unerringly somber, but Stanley recognizes the need for levity to lull the audience into safety before the true horrors kick off. They place the events firmly within Lovecraft Country; the farm is outside of Arkham, MA and the hydrologist wears a Miskatonic University t-shirt. Throwaway mentions of other Lovecraft locations such as Kingsport and Innsmouth also crop up to the delight of horror readers everywhere.

Steadily, the family begins to erode following the meteorite. Benny gets lost and can’t seem to perform any household duties correctly; Jack spends hours staring at the family’s well and talking to “the man” who lives in it; Nathan and Theresa seem to take on other, nastier personalities when addressing their children. Only Lavinia seems to have the wherewithal to help, but with phones, internet, and cars no longer working, and her sudden bouts of nausea, she’s working at quite a disadvantage. And that’s bad, because things get gross.

SpectreVision

I suppose we need to talk about the Nicolas Cageness of it all. The actor, known for his unique and frenetic reads on material, gives a capital-P Performance in this movie. Stanley equated it a bit to Cage’s memetastic work in Vampire’s Kiss, and he’s not far off. The more the titular color out of space infects him, the more he goes off the wall, using a very weird vocal affectation during particular moments of cruelty. He explodes in full Nic Cage Rage a couple of times and it’s hypnotic. Cage’s performance in last year’s Mandy was a revelation; this is more of a return to what you know. But he goes all the way for it, and you can’t help but admire the commitment.

For as fine as the cast is, and as well realized the strange and disgusting visuals are, it feels a touch like re-litigation after 2018’s Annihilation. At the time, I couldn’t help but compare Alex Garland’s take on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel to Lovecraft’s short story. An area overtaken with a strange, alien something that has a color we can’t quite decipher and it changes all the plant and animal life around it. To me, that movie plays up the gut-punch of cosmic dread surrounding those revelations in such a profound and disturbing way, which Color Out of Space, despite being the more faithful literal adaptation, just doesn’t quite get at.

In fairness, I also don’t think it’s trying to plumb the depths of mind-bending, universe-altering horror. Stanley, perhaps rightly, decides to focus much more on the family breakdown and some truly horrendous things that happen to and around them rather than what any of it means in the grand universal scheme. And the final act of Color Out of Space does do a damn good job of making it seem like the end is nigh, at least on the micro.

SpectreVision

Despite my obsession with Annihilation, which is not this movie’s fault, I still think Color Out of Space stands head and shoulders above 90% of all Lovecraft movies. It’s a smart, surprisingly funny version of the story with clear passion from everyone involved. I’d love to see Stanley make more Lovecraft movies because it’s clear he gets the author’s intention. And it’s just great to see Richard Stanley still has it and I hope this leads to many more movies through his distinctive, spacey filter.

3.5 out of 5

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Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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The ’90s were replete with gloriously over-the-top action movies. We can blame Die Hard and Lethal Weapon in the late ’80s for giving way to a barrage of even more bombastic cinematic shoot-em-ups. And it was into this world that Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo broke into Hollywood. After his 1992 movie Hard Boiled (still a classic of the cop genre), Woo came to America for the Van Damme actioner Hard Target and the military thriller Broken Arrow. But it wasn’t until 1997 that Woo hit pay dirt with the most ’90s action movie ever. Face/Off. So of course they’re remaking it.

As reported by Deadline in late 2019, Paramount will remake Face/Off with an Oren Uziel script. Uziel wrote 22 Jump Street, The Cloverfield Paradox and Sonic the Hedgehog. New reports in February 2021, also from Deadline, state that Adam Wingard will direct the new film. Wingard has thus far helmed thrillers like The Guest, You’re Next, and the 2016 Blair Witch sequel. His next film, Godzilla Vs. Kong, comes out in March 2021.

This is certainly an odd choice for remakes. And, yes, Deadline and Paramount are saying “reboot” but you can’t reboot a single movie. There isn’t a franchise in need of rejuvenation. At any rate, Face/Off is such a product of the time and its creators, it seems impossible to recapture. To say nothing of the premise–in which a special agent and his master criminal arch nemesis swap literal faces–Face/Off needs the massive personas of Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. They were enormous do-whatever-they-want movie stars and they both chewed the eff out of the scenery, playing their original characters and then each other.

Paramount Remaking FACE/OFF with Adam Wingard as Director

And a premise like that needed John Woo! Woo is a master of orchestrating action set pieces. He turned an otherwise absurd movie into the flawed classic it is today. Think about the trademarks that only Woo could bring in: shooting two guns whilst flying through the air; copious slow-motion doves; a final battle on speed boats. That’s all Woo, baby! But, in an age where remakes are their money and so are the worms, everything not already a remake has the potential to be one.

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This article was originally posted on September 9, 2019 and updated on February 11, 2021.

Kyle Anderson is the Editor at Large for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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Many years ago, The Ringer‘s founder Bill Simmons coined the term “the Tyson Zone.” It’s a status reserved for a certain type of infamous celebrity about whom people will believe literally any story, no matter how crazy it may sound. To give you an idea of what it takes to be inducted into this group, Simmons almost renamed it “the Charlie Sheen Zone.” Now, whether or not you think Nicolas Cage qualifies for “the Tyson Zone” is up for debate, but at the very least he clearly deserves his own sub-division of it: one reserved for actors who can give a totally insane performance without anyone being surprised by it. For example, this 60-second cameo he played in a lost direct-to-video movie from the ’80s. The scene is crazy and confusing, involve a fake nose, a dumb wig, and the strangest voice ever. And it’s literally his entire performance.

there is a direct to video movie from the late ’80s that Nicolas Cage randomly appears in. this is the entirety of his performance. pic.twitter.com/j0YcJSJ8Oy

— A Cruel Angel’s Beavis (@alex_navarro) July 24, 2019

Is that absolutely crazy? Yes. Definitely. Are we surprised that was Nic Cage? Not even a little bit.

Shared by Alex Navarro on Twitter, this is the entirety of Cage’s performance in the straight-to-VHS 1989 film Never on Tuesday, starring Peter Berg and Claudia Christian. Here’s the movie’s official synopsis, via IMDb.

“After their cars collide on a desert highway in the middle of nowhere, two friends and a woman they both like must wait for someone to pass by and help them. Unfortunately, those who do stop turn out to be criminals, eccentrics or wackos.”

This whole thing can’t get weirder, right? It can! Never on Tuesday also features cameos from Cary Elwes, Gilbert Gottfried, Emilio Estevez, and Judd Nelson. They aren’t even the best “eccentrics” and “wackos” though? There’s also a cameo from, of course, Charlie Sheen.

Apparently only Mike Tyson wasn’t available. What a shame. This movie was definitely in his zone.

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If you saw Nicolas Cage in the movie Mandy from last year, you’re aware of just how much rage and desperation the often ineffable actor can put into an intense role. Now imagine that same ferocity coupled with the godfather of cosmic horror and you have an idea of what we might be getting in the new film Color out of Space. The news was announced via press release on Wednesday and what’s even more interesting is the movie will be produced by Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision, which also made Mandy, and will be directed and co-written by infamous filmmaker Richard Stanley.

Color out of Space is an adaptation of the 1927 H.P. Lovecraft short story “The Colour Out of Space” about a meteorite crashing on a farm in rural New England and the strange, unknowable, shapeless thing that comes out of it, slowly mutating and killing all life around it while manipulating space-time in the process. It’s one of Lovecraft’s best loved stories, and certainly one of his most beloved science fiction stories, though of course there’s a hefty helping of existential dread. The short story has been adapted a few times over the years, first as the Boris Karloff film Die, Monster, Die! in 1965, then as a Wil Wheaton movie called The Curse in 1987. Several low-budget projects have been made of the story, including the 2010 German film Die Farbe.

It’ll be interesting to have a movie based on the story come out so soon after Annihilation. Though that film is based on the novel by Jeff VanDerMeer, it strays considerably in execution and writer-director Alex Garland incorporates several plot elements from “Colour,” making it, in our opinion, one of the best Lovecraftian movies ever made.

Stanley, for his part, is one of the more notorious filmmakers of the past 30 years. After getting much acclaim for his indie sci-fi/horror films Hardware (1990) and Dust Devil (1992), he was the original director for the 1996 movie The Island of Dr. Moreau, though he was replaced by veteran John Frankenheimer after several weeks. The strange and complicated story of that movie’s plagued production is the subject of the excellent 2014 documentary Lost Soul.

SpectreVision partner Daniel Noah commented “Lovecraft is the dark father of modern horror, and we have been searching for an adaptation that captures the true scope of his cosmic dread for years. Richard Stanley – a wizard in his own right – will at long last bring Lovecraft’s humbling power to the screen unfiltered.”

Major films directly based on Lovecraft stories have been few and far between in recent years, though several filmmakers (like John Carpenter and Guillermo del Toro) have cited the writer as a major influence and used his themes in their films. Del Toro also, infamously, nearly got a big-budget adaptation of Lovecraft’s novella At The Mountains of Madness off the ground but stopped after Ridley Scott’s Prometheus touched on similar themes. Maybe, if Stanley’s film coming on the heels of Annihilation does well, we might finally see higher profile Lovecraft movies.

Images: SpectreVision, Paramount, H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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Over his career, Nicolas Cage has been almost undefinable. He’s both a revered Oscar winner and a firm regular in the “what the f*** is this?” category of Netflix. From Vampire’s Kiss to Mandy, he’s crafted a career full of cult classics whilst also starring in huge blockbusters like Con Air and Face/Off. In the brilliant  Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he offers up a spellbinding voice acting performance as Spidey Noir, the perfect cumulation of his strange and wonderful transformation into this generation’s Adam West.Cage’s metamorphosis into a contemporary camp comics icon shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as the actor is a huge comic book fan. He’s often spoken about how his professional moniker derives from one of his favorite Marvel characters, Luke Cage: Hero For Hire. He named his son after Krypton’s most famous export, Kal-El. And he’s one of the few people on Earth in the last 50 years who’s owned a copy Action Comics #1, which introduced Superman and is the most expensive single issue of all time.His career has reflected those loves, notably in the form of his brush with playing his own son’s namesake in Tim Burton’s never finished Superman Returns (he did finally take on the role in 2018’s brilliant Teen Titans Go to the Movies). The first official super-mantle he ever took on was Ghost Rider, which leaned into his potential for strangeness with quirks he added to the hell-bound hero, like his penchant for eating jelly beans out of a martini glass. In the sequel to the Fox film, he literally peed fire whilst his skull flamed. It was a very Nic Cage kind of superhero movie.Kick-Ass saw Cage embrace and foreshadow his future with an interpretation of the vigilante Big Daddy, which could only be described as the bastard lovechild of Adam West and William Shatner. It elevated the rote role into something strange and enticing, showcasing Cage’s willingness to craft characters and experiment with them. It would be something that would define the later part of his career as he lost his fortune and began to take on more and more roles in attempt to keep the wolves at bay. But this only made his catalogue more experimental.Embracing the weirdness and the fact he was a household name due to his massive blockbuster career and Hollywood lineage (he’s the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, and the cousin of Sofia and Roman and of Jason Schwartzman), Cage created a space for himself as a sort of weird and experimental uncle, just like West before him. In later years, West took on multiple meta roles that played into his camp legacy, and with his unique line delivery and ever kookier appearances, Cage was doing a great job at following in his footprints. Cage’s choices have also consistently made him one of the most exciting and incendiary actors in Hollywood, and you just need to watch this year’s surreal, brutal, and brilliant Mandy to see why.

And then we get to Spider-Verse. The vibrant, refreshing film is incredible on many levels, and Cage’s performance is just one of them. But his take on Spider-Man Noir is the perfect cumulation of the last decade plus of Cage’s career and his ever growing homage to Adam West. Spider-Noir is a caricature of what we expect from the grim and gritty genre, his hyperbolic phrases channeling a more surreal Humphrey Bogart as he describes how he allows matches to burn all the way down to his fingers just so he can feel something. It’s a humorous performance that leans into Cage’s over-the-top persona, but it’s balanced with a sweetness and sincerity that’s all of its own.

The film highlights one of Cage’s strengths: no matter how much he embraces his iconic cult camp side he can still deliver a solid, meaningful performance. Only a handful of actors have been able to embrace their own ridiculousness whilst still exploring themselves and experimenting with new projects. And 2018 has been a year that has undoubtedly solidified Nic Cage as one of those icons.

Images: Sony, Marvel

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