Nic Cage Wants You to Know How the Industry Has Changed

Nicolas Cage is singular. There's no one who can do what he does. Last week, he treated us to an AMA that was so deep and sweet that it changed the way I thought about him. This week, he gave an interview with Rolling Stone that opened us up to his process of choosing movies and revealed a little more about the actor.

When it comes to the movies Cage has done recently, he knows many of you think he phoned it in. 

Cage had this to say about that assumption:

"The media sometimes talks about the video-on-demand work. The first thing I want to say about that is that, in my opinion, anyone that says 'straight to video' in this age is a dinosaur. It’s past tense. Everything is streaming now. It’s one of the best ways to get your movie out there now and have it re-played. It’s been terrific for me. But also, people thought I didn’t care. I did. I was caring. I think that I did some of the best work of my life in that so-called 'direct to video' period. Massive Talent was in that group. Mandy was in that group. Pig, Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans, Joe, Mom and Dad, Color Out of Space—they were all in that group. The Runner I thought was terrific. I’ll put any of those movies up [against] the first 30 years. If there is a misconception, it’s perhaps overlooking that there was a genuine commitment to performance."

This will all be addressed in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Cage's new feature film where he plays a fictional version of himself.

This is some honesty from a guy who is known for being super eccentric. I think Cage is the rare actor who has worked so much that, of course, he's going to make some weird choices and be in some bad movies. When you make dozens of projects, that will always be the case. But I think the idea that he was fully committed to these roles shows what a pro he is for the directors who hire him.

No one likes working with a diva, and while Cage has a point of view for every role, he commits himself fully to them. 

Cage takes his profession extremely seriously. He knows people "meme" him, and while that's flattering, he also knows there's a negative.

"It’s been both a positive and a negative. I think it’s a positive, since it’s made people look at these cherry-picked moments of so-called 'Cage Rage' and perhaps go back and look at the movies. I’d like to think that. But yes, on the negative, it’s that it’s out of context. There was a whole first act, or second act, or third act that led up to these expressions. All of it was by design. All of the moves that I had made were by design. Whether they are ridiculous or sublime, they are by design." 

The business of moviemaking has changed so much since Cage started. He has gone from film star to streaming icon to indie darling, and now, he's back to a major theatrical release. Cage knows this work is unusual, but he thinks movies are changing so much that it's hard to predict where his career will take him next. 

"Keith Phipps wrote this book [Age of Cage: Four Decades of Hollywood Through One Singular Career] and he said some pretty articulate, intelligent things about the transformations the filmmaking industry has gone through in the 40 years I’ve been doing this. It is a different environment now. The Marvel movie, which I don’t take umbrage with, is probably one of the only movies that people go to the cinema to see anymore. But at least they’re still going to the cinema, which is always exciting for filmmakers. To answer your questions more specifically, I think the likelihood of a Guarding Tess being in a multiplex is slim to none. But then again, we have streaming. I think you’d see it on streaming."

As the world changes, it's easy to see Cage actually staying the same. He's committed to furthering the craft of acting and to being in anything that will have him. I hope he keeps taking chances, making weird choices, and just working. 

Let me know what you think in the comments.