After a number of years away from being in the front of high-profile movies in favor of voice roles and independent films, Nicholas Cage is headed back to the big screen in a big way next month to play himself. The actor will embody an exaggerated version of the legend that is Nic Cage for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. As it turns out, it was not an easy sell.
The movie follows a fictionalized version of Nic Cage who is strapped for cash and on the verge of quitting the business. But when he gets invited to a superfan’s birthday for $1 million, played by The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal, he jumps at the opportunity. Cage recently shared what got him on board for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent:
Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten wrote the script for The Unbearable Weight and sent the actor a letter about the concept and why they wanted to pay homage to the actor with the movie rather than make fun of him. As Cage told The Hollywood Reporter, when he read the script he could see the real “interest” in his career. The actor continued:
Wait, what? Nicolas Cage shared that one cool moment in the script that hooked him was actually cut from the film. It sounds really artsy, especially for big fans of the actor, but according to Cage, Lionsgate thought the scene was “too far out” for moviegoers. Hopefully we can look forward to the vignette sequence in the bonus features. Check out the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent:
Previously, Nicolas Cage shared that he wouldn’t be watching the movie starring himself about him, but he’s since admitted that he’s seen it twice since he is a producer on the project. He also has said that the idea of being in the movie was “absolutely terrifying” to him, which actually became a reason he decided to do it to challenge himself.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is set to premiere at SXSW on Friday, March 12, ahead of the movie heading to theaters on April 22. You can check out what other upcoming 2022 movies are headed our way here on CinemaBlend.