CAGE MATCH: The Week in Nic Cage

Hey guys. You look terrific. Welcome to another week of Cage news and junk. The past week we’ve seen the release of a new Cage movie on DVD and more info on Ghost Rider 2. There’s also a new interview and some more random Cageness for your enjoyment. Damn, you really do look terrific.

Like I mentioned last week, Trapped in Paradise is available on Netflix Watch Instantly. I did go back and revisit it after about 15 years. I liked it way more than I thought I would. The story itself is a by-the-numbers love/holiday/crime movie, but Cage’s performance as the moralistic, criminally romantic Bill Firpo is terrific. It teeters on the edge of bored Nic Cage and the insane genius we all love. His moments of rage in the film are hilarious and I’ve thrown in a few funny screenshots I took while watching it. So check that movie out if you haven’t already. Also, it made me warm and fuzzy for the holidays. Okay on with the show!

Sorcerer’s Apprentice Out!!! Nic Cage Is Bored

Yesterday the Sorcerer’s Apprentice came out on Blu-Ray and DVD (if you’re poor). I picked it up from a Redbox last night and was pretty excited to watch it. I don’t know why. From the trailers and clips I had seen I knew it wasn’t going to be the insane genius Nic Cage but the bored, reading his lines to get a paycheck Nic Cage.

After about 15 minutes I thought the movie was at its conclusion. Seriously there are so many magic battles in the first act that everything has the vibe of a final battle. That’s not a good thing because when the smoke cleared, I didn’t give a shit anymore.

One good thing did come out of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Cage fucking with people during interviews for the film. Ahem:

How did it feel to play a sorcerer?

Cage: This is the role I’ve been waiting to do my whole life. When I was a kid, I used to love pretending to be a superhero. I was always playing around and shooting energy out of my hands. In that respect, I’ve been rehearsing for this role for years because Balthazar certainly shoots plasma out of his hands in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”

…ok with me.

A Slew of New Set Pics From Ghostrider 2

Romanian website Libertatea has a bunch of new pics from the set of Ghostrider 2: Spirit of Vengeance, which I believe has finished shooting. I’m really excited about this one not only because Cage gets to resurrect a role that he had to tone down in the first film but also because of the directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. This duo has created some of the most original, insane, and visually bananas movies to come out in a long time (Crank 1 and 2, Gamer).

But what does Cage think of working with Neveldine and Taylor? And what do you suppose his reaction is to the Nic Cage Losing His Shit viral video? Well…

Collider and Cinematical interview Cage; Talks About Neveldine/Taylor and Cage Rage

The lucky bastards over at Collider talked to Cage about his new film Season of the Witch. That isn’t being released until January, but they were nice enough to print a bit of the interview in which Cage talks about Ghostrider directors Neveldine and Taylor.

Shifting gears for a minute as we run out of time, and since I believe you’re filming it right now, how is ‘Ghost Rider’ coming along?

‘Ghost Rider’ is coming along incredibly well. I am so excited about working with Neveldine and Taylor. Mark Neveldine is combination stuntman, camera operator, director– I’ve never seen anyone do things with a camera that he does. He’s got rollerblades he’s on, he’s hanging from wires– he’s completely original.

Cinematical asked him how he perceives his ironic, online, pop culture persona:

I think it’s exciting. I want people to discover my movies and however they chose to receive it is their business. I can’t help but be a little flattered by it and thankful for it.

And as everyone knows Cage is a huge comic book nerd (he freaking named his son Kal-El), the interviewer couldn’t help but to ask what Cage would like to see in the new Superman movie:

I would like…yeah…that’s a good question. I will probably hesitate on answering that one because I know when that hits the web it will be everywhere. I’ll talk with you about that one off the record some time.

Sofia Coppolla Finds Inspiration in Cage’s Need for Speed

Movieline asked Cage’s cousin, the acclaimed director Sofia Coppolla, about who has inspired some of her fictional characters. For her new film Somewhere, she drew some inspiration for the lead character (played by Stephen Dorff) from Cage’s affinity for sports cars.

“I think I thought about the sports car from my cousin Nicolas because he always has these amazing cars and I thought about how you can’t really drive them in LA. You have to go out to a track to drive them. So that was where the opening came from.”

Not really much to say about this. I will say, however, that I in my opinion Lost in Translation is incredibly overrated and I left the theater during Marie Antoinette to go play the Star Wars Arcade Game in the lobby. So yeah, I’m not a big fan of her Sofia’s work.

Later, you dashing bastards.