After several decades of putting on some of film's most unforgettable performances, Nicolas Cage is set to take on his most enigmatic role yet...Nicolas Cage. In director Tom Gormican's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Cage plays himself, down on his luck and accepting $1 million to attend the birthday party of a billionaire fan (Pedro Pascal), who just also happens to be a ruthless drug lord. Everything, as you would expect, very quickly spirals out of control. Although Unbearable Weight doesn't premiere until April 2022, there aren't many moments where I'm not thinking about it. So when I recently sat down with Cage to discuss his gonzo post-apocalyptic Samurai-Western with filmmaker Sion Sono, Prisoners of the Ghostland, I also asked how he jumped from a wildly eclectic string of films—which also includes Willy's Wonderland and Pig—into playing himself. The answer, apparently, was playing a version of himself that he never, ever wants to see on screen.
Here's exactly what Nicolas Cage told me when asked how he approached the role of "Nicolas Cage":
“That is a really great question and I’m still trying to answer it. One of my answers is that I’m never going to see that movie. I’m told it’s a good movie. My manager, Mike Nilon, who is also a producer on it, looked at it. He was very happy. I’m told the audience loved the movie. But it’s just too much of a whacked-out trip for me to go to a movie theater and watch me play Tom Gormican’s highly-neurotic, anxiety-ridden version of me. Because he kept pushing me in that direction. I said 'Tom, that’s not really me. I’m really [made of] quiet, meditative, thoughtful moments. I’m not this neurotic, high-strung, anxiety-ridden guy all the time.' But he said, 'well, neurotic Cage is the best Cage.' I said, 'okay, okay. Let’s go, man. I’ll do what you want.' I won’t see it. But I do hope you enjoy it."
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent also stars Tiffany Hadish, Sharon Horgan, and Neil Patrick Harris. The script was co-written by Gormican and Kevin Etten (Workaholics).
Be on the lookout for the rest of our interview with Cage next week, where we dive deeper into Sono's film. Prisoners of the Ghostland is available in theaters, on digital, and On Demand September 17th.
Here is the official synopsis for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent:
Nicolas Cage stars as... Nicolas Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nicolas Cage.