Christian Bale was another potential backup plan in case the “Face/Off” star refuses to play himself.
Getting a Hollywood superstar into your movie is never an easy task, but it is doubly difficult when the role is written specifically for one actor. This was certainly the case withThe unbearable weight of talent“Which stars? Nicolas Cage Like a fictional version of himself.
The film was written by Tom Gormican and Kevin Eaten, who wrote the script before they met Nicolas Cage. In a new interview with The Hollywood ReporterThe two men shed light on the difficult process of procuring a script that only one actor can play.
“We were told that Nick has done these projects before and that he is not as excited about Nick as Nick,” Eaten said. “And we weren’t two people with a great deal of work that you could point to and be like, ‘No, trust us. “
Although Cage was reluctant to play himself, several studios were interested in the script. But while this scenario would be a dream come true for most screenwriters, the pair were acutely aware of how quickly it could all fall apart.
“The funny part about it is that we have a bunch of studios interested in the script,” Gornican recalls. “But there’s an asterisk on all that meaning if he doesn’t want to do that, your sale is gone. Like, by the way, we don’t want that damn thing if it’s not in it. There’s no other version of it. When he was reading the script he was such a kind of angst Double. It’s not like he didn’t, we’re going to show it to someone else. He’s gone.”
As they anxiously awaited Cage’s decision, Gormican and Iten began to think of contingency plans. One happened to lure one of the most reclusive actors ever out of retirement.
“There have been times when I think I… have been trying to speak for myself about other ideas,” Itten said. “The only good idea actually – I don’t know who it was – is to have Christian Bale or Daniel Day-Lewis Play Nick Cage.
The fact that the only backup plans included other actors playing Cage is a testament to his unique presence, as neither Gormican nor Etten feel that another actor’s public character can anchor the film.
“No one else really has the combination of super talent that he has and the goodwill of the people who want him to succeed,” Eten said.
The “Unbearable Weight of Huge Talent” is now being shown in theaters.
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