Summary
- Nicolas Cage initially found it frustrating that his career was reduced to internet memes, but eventually embraced his “meme-ification” and found it helpful in understanding his latest character in Dream Scenario.
- Cage reflects on the phenomenon of becoming famous for no reason, noting that anyone can achieve fame now through viral moments.
- Dream Scenario is receiving positive early reviews, with critics calling it a career-highlight for Cage, adding to his recent string of successful projects.
As well as being one of Hollywood’s best known stars, Nicolas Cage has spent years as the face of dozens of internet memes. From “Cage Rage” to “Blow the Screen”, Cage has become unavoidable in any internet search for the right meme, no matter what the subject. However, the actor himself originally found it frustrating to believe that his whole career was amounting to nothing more than some choice screen grabs and humorous tags.
Cage has shown off plenty of larger than life facial expressions in his movies, which have included Vampire’s Kiss, Face/Off, Con Air and many more, and they continue to be captured and repurposed by internet users in the form of both single image memes and GIFs. While speaking recently to The Guardian about his upcoming movie Dream Scenario, Cage addressed his status in the world of online memes. He said:
“I might have been the first actor who went through a kind of meme-ification. One person had cherrypicked from all these different movies where I was having meltdowns, but without any regard for how the character got to that place. I was frustrated because I didn’t know what people were taking from the movies other than that.”
However, Cage’s “meme-ification” is something that he came to realize was not necessarily a bad thing, and also played a part in helping him understand his latest character. He continued:
“I didn’t understand how to process what was happening. I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment. I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in Dream Scenario: he has no control over this inexplicable phenomenon.”
Is Dream Scenario Nicolas Cage’s Best Movie?
Dream Scenario
- Release Date
- November 10, 2023
- Director
- Kristoffer Borgli
- Cast
- Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Jessica Clement
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 1hr 40min
Having been on a stellar run in the last few years, Nicolas Cage is hoping for another hit with A24 movie Dream Scenario. The surreal comedy follows Cage’s character, Paul Matthews, who becomes an overnight celebrity after appearing in the dream of a stranger. The idea of becoming famous for no reason is something Cage touched on in his interview, noting:
“Everyone has the ability to become famous now. You’re the guy who tripped in the supermarket and someone filmed it. Or the woman on the plane who has a meltdown and now you’re the Airplane Meltdown Woman.”
However, having been at the high and low end of the scale over his career, Cage seems to have found himself in a very good place as he approaches his 60th birthday. After gaining very positive reviews for playing a heightened version of himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, becoming the highlight of Universal’s Renfield with his take on Dracula, and even getting to finally play Superman in a cameo in The Flash, Dream Scenario looks set to bring his impressive recent run to another peak.
Early reviews for the movie, which is released on November 10, have landed Dream Scenario a 92% Rotten Tomatoes approval score, and has seen some critics call the film a “career-highlight work” for the actor. With several new films also in the works, it seems that the Nicolas Cage bandwagon, memes and all, is set to roll on for some time to come. Check out the trailer for Dream Scenario below.
