The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an action-comedy thriller film with Nicolas Cage playing a fictionalised version of himself!
Directed by Tom Gormican from a screenplay co-written with Kevin Etten (creators of Ghosted TV series). Produced by Kristin Burr, Nicolas Cage, Michael Nilon and Kevin Turen.
The movie stars Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan and Eli Jane.
Plot:
Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, Nic Cage (Nicolas 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, channelling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones…
Reviews:
“You have to give Cage credit for going all in on this and, in the process, actually following up a real triumph in Pig, now with another movie that likely will land with audiences. It is definitely out there, and certainly outwears its welcome at times with just too much frenetic energy, but there are a number of LOL moments to keep it all humming. Pascal is a good partner…” Deadline
“Important events frequently occur offscreen and several characters’ arcs are never really concluded. The action portion of the film also really lags behind the comedy. A couple of mostly inert car chases is all that the modestly budgeted feature can muster and they mostly just serve to slow the jokes down. Still, it’s hard not to be won over by Massive Talent’s pure love for its central massive talent.” Den of Geek
“Stuffing the script with self-referential dialogue about the compromises filmmakers must make to reach an audience is clever, but not enough to make the forthcoming action-flick beats less generic. “Nicolas Cage” is being forced to live out a plot we’d expect from a Nicolas Cage movie, with car chases and heavily-armed standoffs and macho monologues.” The Hollywood Reporter
“Cage fans are of course going to love this, but even those who don’t know or care much about him will probably still have a great time. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent has great jokes, great lead characters, fun action (including a few really impressive car stunts), and a lot of solid writing that ties many different threads together nicely.” Loud and Clear
“Even amidst all this meta-commentary on contemporary filmmaking, the mechanics of Hollywood, and the emotional heft of fandom, Cage the man always knows what is expected of Cage the myth. In The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent he finds the perfect synthesis of the two, and in turn delivers one of the most complex, yet crowd-pleasing performances of his career.” RogerEbert.com
“Beyond Cage’s obvious shouldering of a unique kind of project, the success of the film really hinges on the writing, and this script really delivers exactly what it needs to when it needs to do it. He’s relatable, recognizable, but just outsized enough to be the Cage we want him to be. They play into the myth but never forget that behind that myth is a man with a very rocky past.” Screen Anarchy
“Two hours of Javi and Nic talking about German expressionist filmmaking and swapping story notes, while nirvana for some folks, wouldn’t look as good in trailers as Nicolas Cage screaming with a gun in his hand. It can’t help but feel like a compromise. Still, this is a hard film to dislike.” 7/10 /Film
“The capacity crowd at the film’s SXSW Film Festival premiere was boisterous throughout its first act, but the enthusiasm began to wane as the movie progressed, either because the fan service gets in the way of storytelling, or perhaps because Gormican and Etten simply haven’t thought this all the way through.” The Wrap
Release:
In the USA, Lionsgate will release The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent theatrically on April 22nd 2022. The film was originally intended for an early 2021 release but this was put back due to the global health crisis.
Publicity:
During an episode of Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, Nicolas Cage explained his aversion to being referred to as an “actor”.
“I really don’t like the word ‘actor.’ For me, it always implies, ‘Oh, he’s a great actor, therefore he’s a great liar,’” Cage explained. “With the risk of sounding like a pretentious a-hole, I like the word ‘thespian’ because to me thespian means you’re going into your heart, or you’re going into your imagination, or your memories or your dreams, and you’re bringing something back to communicate with the audience.”
“What early shamans would do is go into flights of imagination to find answers to help their village,” he continued. “I like looking at it like that, with the risk of sounding completely absurd and ridiculous. I like the idea of it being something a little more organic and less artificial.”
Cast and characters:
Nicolas Cage … Nic Cage
Pedro Pascal … Javi Gutierrez
Neil Patrick Harris
Tiffany Haddish … Vivan
Sharon Horgan
Eli Jane … Chateau Marmont Waitress
Jacob Scipio
Alessandra Mastronardi
Joanna Bobin … Cheryl
Paco León
Lily Mo Sheen … Addy
Caroline Boulton … News Anchor
Anna MacDonald … Movie Actress Daughter
Nick Wittman … Nicky
Harry Taurasi
Björn Freiberg … Waiter
Mario Perez … Guard
Ricard Balada … Fernando
András Korcsmáros
Christine Grace Szarko … Reporter
Trailer 1:
‘Global movie’ trailer:
Red band trailer:
