Nicholas Cage to star in The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent.
For many years now he has been plying his trade in the shadows. A gun for hire to any and every straight-to-digital/DVD production that was willing to pay this months rent, but now he’s back. A first step towards redemption, or simply one last Don Quixote of La Mancha style charge at the windmills of Hollywood? Only time will tell.
In his first major studio (Lionsgate) production since 2011’s Ghost Rider, Nicholas Cage will play… Nicholas Cage in The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent. With a plot so deliciously intricate that it simply has to work.
Nicholas Cage plays Nicholas Cage. No really. The actor will play a “version” of himself. He is separated from his wife, has a strained relationship with his teenage daughter and is desperate to land a role in the new Quentin Tarantino movie. The film is also said to feature this version of Cage talking to an egotistical 1990s version of himself whom he derides for making too many crappy movies and for not being a star anymore.
Is this working for you? Well there’s more.
Cage, who is in a mountain of debt is then asked to appear at the birthday party of a Mexican billionaire who is (naturally) a massive fan of the actor’s films. The billionaire has a secret plan with his birthday party rouse, as he hopes to use the occasion to give a script he’s written to the actor in the hope that he will then star in the project.
So far, so weirdly good. But wait, there’s more!
The C.I.A. then approach Cage (as they would) and inform him that the billionaire is actually a drug cartel kingpin who has kidnapped the daughter of a Mexican presidential nominee. Cage is then recruited by the US to use his newfound bond with the billionaire to go deep under cover and expose the operation. This plan becomes even more difficult when the billionaire flies down Cages daughter and estranged wife in the hopes of them seeking a reconciliation. Cage is now not only at odds with maintaining his new secret agent role to save his life, but also that of his family’s.
The film is co-written and will be directed by Tom Gormican, who is said to have written to the actor informing him that the movie was not making fun of him. Gormican stated that he intends the film to be a celluloid love letter to Cage’s career.
Cage (unsurprisingly) is said to love the idea, which is also said to feature many references to his previous body of work including Leaving Las Vegas and Gone in Sixty Seconds.
A release date has yet to be confirmed.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter.