Given the wild ride that is The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, fans can't help but wonder what the meta-movie --starring icon Nicolas Cage as a stylized version of himself-- was like behind-the-scenes. Was Nic Cage as absurd on the set as he seems in his memes? How did they film the scenes where he talks to his younger self? And who's idea was it for Nick Cage to make out with himself?
Using focused interviews with Hollywood legend Nicolas Cage, his co-star Pedro Pascal, and filmmakers Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, fans have the chance to see inside the magic of this massive undertaking. Going behind the scenes of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent proves to be as surreal and compelling as the movie itself.
Nicky Is Based On The Nicolas Cage Terry Wogan Interview
In 1990, few could prepare for the karate-chopping, high-kicking, wild-haired Nicolas Cage that secret-agent-rolled out onto the set of Terry Wogan. No sooner had Cage, clad in black jeans and a black leather jacket, wearing a shirt promoting his movie Wild At Heart, made his bombastic entrance than he was hurling cash into the audience, setting the tone for what would be one of the most singular media appearances of his career.
While Cage has mellowed considerably in his demeanor since then, he did go back and rewatch the Wogan interview to inform his portrayal of "Nicky," a younger version of himself who appears every so often in order to remind him that "he's Nicolas F**king Cage." It's a testament to Cage's commitment as an actor that he studied his past behavior in order to replicate it over three decades later.
Nicolas Cage Almost Had The Con-Air Hair
Before Cage and director Tom Gormican settled on Nicky resembling Cage from the 1990 Terry Wogan interview, the character was almost going to look like Cameron Poe from one of Nicolas Cage's most iconic characters. In an article for Yahoo! Finance, Cage protested the idea, saying, "Look, that's a character, I want this to be a version of me."
While seeing Nicky have the same flowing locks Cage sported in Con-Air would be amusing, ultimately Cage made the right call; it would be more appropriate for the devil on his shoulder to be a younger version of himself, spurring on his impulsivity, banking on the fact that he would be scared into self-destructive behavior rather than face his career imploding.
The Latest De-Aging Technology Was Used On Nick Cage's Face
In order to successfully portray a younger version of himself, Nicolas Cage had to not only alter his body language and energy but be transformed using the latest in de-aging technology, recently used in movies like The Irishman to de-age Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. The same article for Yahoo! Finance outlined the process.
CoSA, a visual effects company that worked on Gotham, collaborated with Bill Corso, the makeup artist behind A Series of Unfortunate Events to bring Nicky to life. Unlike previous attempts, there weren't any tracking dots, just a computer algorithm placed over Cage's face while he performed as Nicky in costume, smoothing out wrinkles and distributing the appropriate shadows.
It Was Nicolas Cage's Idea To Make Out With Himself
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent has a lot of humorous scenes, but one of the most unexpectedly hilarious happens when present-day Nick Cage makes out with his younger self in the middle of a restaurant. This moment was apparently the actor's own idea.
According to the LA Times, Cage felt it was symbolic of the ethos of the movie. “I’m actually making a movie about two versions of myself, what am I doing?" he asked himself. "It’s like making out with yourself in the weirdest way. So we might as well do that symbolically and have them kiss each other.” Where the filmmakers see a movie paying homage to his career, Cage sees a study in delusions of grandeur and has to comment on it.
Nicolas Cage Was Almost Played By Daniel-Day Lewis Or Christian Bale
Though die-hard fans would argue that there's no one better to play Nicolas Cage than Nicolas Cage, Kevin Etten, writer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent mentioned to Screen Rant that Daniel-Day Lewis and Christian Bale were both considered for the role.
Casting either of the two well-respected actors would have given them a chance to embark on the sort of absurd comedy that rarely features in their filmographies, but it would have been a very different movie, one that Daniel-Day Lewis might not have come out of retirement to make.
Pedro Pascal Really Is A Nic Cage Superfan
Pedro Pascal plays Nicolas Cage superfan Javi, a multi-millionaire who pays Cage a hefty amount to attend his 40th birthday party, and it turns out the part was not difficult to convincingly play; Pascal has grown up watching Cage movies since the late '80s, and has seen specific favorites dozens of times.
Speaking with Pascal's best quotes in the movie.
Nicolas Cage Was Terrified Of Playing Himself
Having been acting professionally since he was 15 years old, Nicolas Cage likes to think he's done a little bit in every genre at this point, but The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent both surprised him and terrified him (which is why he turned the project down several times).
In a behind-the-scenes interview by Mayhem Mendes, Cage explains just how scary it was to be approached by Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten about playing himself, often having anxiety about the fact that it was a part so close to home, without any fictional character to hide behind. It's hard to imagine a seasoned veteran of the film industry rattled, but it just proves there are always new challenges to face and even for the pros.
The Director Wanted To Cover Five Different Nic Cage Genres
After over four decades in the film industry, Nicolas Cage movies have covered just about every genre there possibly is, and director Tom Gormican wanted to pay homage to Cage's filmography in the movie. Speaking in a t interview for Variety, he suggests that Cage is "the only actor [capable of] five different genres."
Beginning with the tropes of an independent drama, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent flows into a buddy cop movie, then a mystery thriller, an action blockbuster, and finally a family film. Cage has made dozens of movies in each category alone, making him a uniquely suited actor not only to play himself convincingly but give a strong performance in each genre.
Nicolas Cage Ad-Libbed The Belt Buckle Scene
In the final scenes of the movie, when Nic Cage and his family are home in LA, Cage starts talking about the giant tarantula belt buckle he's wearing, and the giant bee belt buckle his stylist almost made him wear (which gets a great reference to The Wicker Man). While Cage has a lot of great lines in the movie, this was just Nick Cage being Nicolas Cage.
Speaking with Salon, director Tom Gormican and writer Kevin Etten mentioned how as Cage got more comfortable, he started ad-libbing material, including the belt buckle scene. He was simply explaining to other of the cast about his oversized belt buckle, and the filmmakers decided to put it in the movie.
Nicolas Cage Found The Balance Between Realism & Expressionism
Despite trusting his "instincts as a shamanic thespian," the filmmakers wanted Cage to go for a "natural performance and to keep it as grounded as possible because the story is shifting tone so many times." In the same interview with Salon, they go on to say that he innately knew where the balance between the two styles of acting was.
Because both the character and the actor Nick Cage deals with financial, career, and familial problems (all things the filmmakers said made the real Cage uncomfortable to discuss), the movie would live or die depending on how truthful Cage's performance was. It also made the moments when he leaned into his love of German Expressionism more impactful.
