There have been other examples of meta movies that blur reality and fiction. You know, it’s constantly, “We love Nic…” or “We hate Nic…” This film was an opportunity for a performance art piece, where he could take the reins of that narrative and manipulate it in any way that he wants, the same way he lives his life. And that was one of the pitches for doing this movie: Your identity is litigated in public. We’re all sort of protecting our identities. We’re fascinated and unsettled by that uninhibitedness in him. ![]() When I was young, I remember first becoming aware of Nicolas Cage when he ate a bug in the movie Vampire’s Kiss. He said, “I find that guy so obnoxious, but I’d love to get back into his skin and present him as a villain in the film.” When I met Nick and we talked about it, that was the basis for the character in the movie. Lionsgate, which premiered the film to raves at SXSW, will release it nationwide on April 22. Cage did read it, and even more surprisingly he liked it, and agreed to put his life and career inside this cinematic dunk tank for the world’s amusement. It’s also a surprisingly sweet portrait of an artist who simply yearns to matter. And what studio would bankroll something so absurd?Įxcept director and cowriter Tom Gormican managed to craft a narrative that takes the premise from meta-Hollywood satire to madcap-action extravaganza. It’s too weird to survive even the pitch: “Wouldn’t it be funny if…?” In this case, that sentence concludes with, “ Nicolas Cage plays a desperate, demented version of himself trying to survive after becoming embroiled with a bloodthirsty cartel.” Maybe that’s an SNL sketch, but there can’t possibly be a real story there right? And Cage would never read it-let alone star in it. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is one of those movies that can’t possibly exist.
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