Nicolas Cage is a man that many people are familiar with. After all, this Academy Award-winning performer has appeared in a plethora of memorable films from over last few decades such as Con Air, Raising Arizona, Moonstruck, Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off, Adaptation, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse just to name a few.
However, Cage's latest film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, will see the actor take on a role unlike anything he's ever done before: himself. Directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the screenplay with frequent collaborator Kevin Etten, this satirical action-comedy sports an all-star supporting cast that features the likes of Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris, Ike Barinholtz, and Demi Moore.
We've created a handy guide that seeks to answer all the questions you may have about The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent including when the movie comes out, what it's about, and even what Nicolas Cage seems to think about the project as a whole.
Watch the Trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
The first teaser for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (as well as a NSFW version) was released on December 14, 2021. In either case, this first look highlights just a few of crazy high jinks that Cage will likely get into all while playing a fictionalized version of himself.
In honor of Global Movie Day, Lionsgate released a dubbed version of the teaser on February 12, 2022, in which all the scenes from that initial trailer are spoken in multiple languages from around the world including Korean, French, Polish, and so many more.
A full-length trailer was released on March 9, 2022, showcasing more of Nicolas Cage as, of course, Nick Cage while also revealing some more details about the film's plot. Much like the teaser, this longer preview comes complete with a red band version for anyone who wants to experience the footage in all its uncensored glory.
When Will The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Be Released?
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent first premiered at the 2022 South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival on March 12 to an overwhelmingly positive critical reception.
Conversely, the rest of the theater going public will be able to see the film just over a month later on April 22. The film will open on an already crowded weekend at the box office with the Dreamworks Animation talking animal caper The Bad Guys and Robert Egger's Viking revenge epic The Northman.
When Did The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Finish Filming?
Filming for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent primarily took place in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik and lasted for only fifteen days--from October 5, 2020, until October 20 of that same year.
In a SXSW interview with Heather Wixson of Daily Dead, Tom Gormican spoke about the difficulties of shipping all the necessary props to Croatia in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic:
"Just being able to license all of that stuff was really difficult. All the movie clips, memorabilia, all that stuff. We sourced it from wherever we could find any of it. We had the wax sculpture built, of course. But, just trying to get all of those different props during peak COVID, where you couldn't ship anything anywhere, it was just unbelievably hard to source a lot of that stuff. But we ended up getting it somehow."
What is The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent About?
Going simply by the trailers and marketing, The Massive Weight of Unbearable Talent looks to examine the existential despair of an actor as prolific as Cage through the lens of a darkly comedic, ball-to-the-wall action flick. Although movies about down-on-their-luck actors who are forced to confront their own legacies is nothing new, the fact that this one centers on Nicolas Cage of all people, playing himself, is what makes it so exciting.
Lionsgate also shared a lengthy plot synopsis of the film in case you want to learn more:
Nicolas Cage stars as... Nick 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.
What Does Nicolas Cage Think of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent?
Shocking enough, one person that will most likely not see the movie anytime soon is Cage himself. Back in September 2021, Collider's very own Vinnie Mancuso asked Cage about how he approached the role, to which he responded:
“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."
So even if Cage does deliver a career best performance in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, he probably won't see it anytime soon. Still, it's nice to know that Cage will always bring his A game to a role no matter what movie he's in. He even defended his straight-to-VOD features in an interview with Gentleman's Quarterly (GQ) from March 2022:
“When I was doing four movies a year, back to back to back, I still had to find something in them to be able to give it my all. They didn’t work, all of them. Some of them were terrific, like ‘Mandy,’ but some of them didn’t work. But I never phoned it in. So if there was a misconception, it was that. That I was just doing it and not caring. I was caring.
After all, elevating subpar material just goes to show that Cage is indeed a massively talented performer.