The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is Nicolas Cage. Yes, the film features a phenomenal ensemble and an incredibly clever script, but without Cage, could it have worked?
Cage headlines the film as a fictional version of himself. Struggling with a significant amount of debt and stalling career, Nic finds himself in a position where he has no choice but to accept a $1 million offer to attend a superfan’s (Pedro Pascal) birthday party in Mallorca. He’s not thrilled about the situation but once there, Nic realizes that this superfan, Javi, is actually a kindred spirit with a deep passion for film and storytelling. However, things take an unexpected turn when Nic comes to learn that his new friend is a dangerous criminal being investigated by the CIA.
With The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent playing in theaters nationwide, I got the chance to have a quick chat with writer Kevin Etten and writer-director Tom Gormican. The pair took a bold swing and opted to pen the screenplay without knowing if Cage would even consider doing the film. Given that, I absolutely had to ask if they had a backup plan. If Cage passed, was there a plan B to salvage the project? Etten began:
“I think there were moments when once we had written it and we were trying to get the project going, there were times when I think, personally, selfishly because I wanted to make money and sell this script somewhere, we’d go, ‘Um, maybe this actor or that actor.' But end of the day, no. Nobody else could have done it.”
Clearly they didn’t hit this point, but what if Cage had passed and they had to fill the role of Nicolas Cage with another actor? Could anyone out there have done it? Gormican laughed and recall, “Nic has said, ‘I think if Gene Wilder were alive he would have been a great idea to play me.’ I don’t know who could do Nicolas Cage.’” Etten then suggested Christian Bale and Gormican confirmed, “Christian Bale or Daniel Day-Lewis in full prosthetics probably.”
But thankfully they never had to cross that bridge and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is exactly what it was meant to be, a highly entertaining and thoughtful buddy action comedy with Nic Cage himself playing Nic Cage. But even once those stars aligned, there was still a significant amount of pressure on Gormican. Massive Talent only marks his second time directing a feature film. Not only has it been a good while since 2014’s That Awkward Moment, but Massive Talent is also a significantly different piece with a slew of ambitious production challenges. What provided to be the key to Gormican successfully making the leap from That Awkward Moment to Massive Talent? He gives that credit to Etten:
“I think that the real thing that made this movie possible is my collaboration with Kevin, because that was a new thing that we developed on a television show. We were doing this thing where we were writing things and shooting them and editing them and putting them on the air so quickly, and we did it so many times together that it was really that collaboration and sort of honing the voice that we had on the page and then our collaboration on set and in the editing room. The lesson I think for us was, have someone else there that cares as much about the project as you do and it really helps you get through it."
Gormican and Etten didn’t just use that deep passion and strong collaboration to get through it; they wound up with a finished project that far exceeds expectations. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is the Nic Cage celebration and romp you’re likely hoping for, but it’s also a deeply thoughtful and charming film about one's love of cinema and the value of sharing that passion with others. Be sure to catch Massive Talent in theaters this weekend and if you’d like to hear more from Gormican and Etten on their experience making the movie, you can find our full chat in the video at the top of this article!