Nicolas Cage too good for The Green Hornet?

You probably already know this but Nicolas Cage dropped out of The Green Hornet over a week ago. He was promptly replaced by someone who can actually act Christoph Waltz. Can't say I was remotely disappointed by this news. There hadn't been an exact reason as to why Cage left, but he did finally discuss the reason for his departure with the Canadian Press (via FirstShowing) while promoting Bad Lieutenant at the Toronto International Film Festival:

Cage says he "wasn't interested in just being just a straight-up bad guy who was killing people willy-nilly."

He says Rogen and Gondry "had a different take on the character" and there wasn't enough time to develop the script.

"I had to have some humanity and to try to give it something where you could understand why the character was the way he was but I don't think there was enough time to develop it."

Forgive me while I lol. The guy with Ghost Rider 2 in development and two National Treasure movies in his filmography is concerned about the trappings of two-dimensional characters? When did Cage's desire for a character with some "humanity" suddenly start? I should probably give the guy a break. This is the best news about The Green Hornet I've heard in a long time.

The word from Venice: Bad Lieutenant might not be that bad

Anyone who knows me is aware of my loathing of Nicolas Cage and his films. He's annoying and his films usually suck. But the trailer for Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans revealed that this would be one of the few movies that didn't have Cage racing through fire, manically trying to save the world from certain doom. Which is a good thing.

Variety's Todd McCarthy shows that maybe my instincts were right and the film does not entirely suck:

From the moment it was announced, there was something a tad loony about the idea of remaking -- or revisiting or reinventing or whatever they want to call it -- Abel Ferrara's 1992 "Bad Lieutenant," with Werner Herzog, no less, directing. Well, lo and behold, there's also something rather loony about the finished film itself. But there's also a sort of deadpan zaniness, stemming from a steadfast conviction in its own absurdity, that gives "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" a strange distinction all its own. Not at all an art film, the picture lacks sufficient action to sate the appetites of sensation seekers, but star Nicolas Cage's name means enough to offer some short-run B.O. traction and good home-viewing market returns.

...New Orleans is a bright, if blighted, city, and Herzog approaches it, as well as the depredations of the title character, with a straight face and unblinking lens, the better to catch a glimpse of the links connecting Katrina, the corruption of authority as seen through the outrageous behavior of the lieutenant, and the money, which lands mostly in the wrong places.

The film is offbeat, silly, disarming and loopy all at the same time, and viewers will decide to ride with that or just give up on it, according to mood and disposition.

Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant remake trailer

I think the trailer made its way online a while back, but Film Junk just posted it. I have never seen Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant, but apparently this remake starring Nicolas Cage looks nothing like Ferrara's 1992 version. Which might seem bizarre, but since Werner Herzog hasn't actually seen the original we'll have to let that slide. Why in the name of hell is this even considered a remake then? The words "Bad Lieutenant" are in the title so therefore, it's a remake? Nicolas Cage movies have a way of fucking baffling me.

Cage plays a drug addicted cop, and even though I've taken a few shots at Cage's ludicrous career, this looks interesting. At least he isn't trying to save the world and it reminds me of his oddball performance in Matchstick Men, which I liked.

Speaking about Cage’s performance, he [Herzog] is quoted as saying, “You will see something extraordinary when you see him on screen. It’s the best he’s ever done.” So there. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is expected to be released sometime in late 2009. [Film Junk]

Cannes selection speculation

Awards Daily points us to the list of films that are expected to screen in Cannes, which begins May 13. The official selections will be announced on April 23. Ryan, at AD makes a nice little list for us, so I'll post the ones that interest me. You can head on over to AD for the rest.

Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, about 1969 music fest, with Emile Hirsch

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, the Nazi-hunter saga with Brad Pitt

Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro, an Argentine family drama with Vincent Gallo

Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant remake with Nicolas Cage

Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, horror-thriller with Alison Lohman

Pete Docter’s Up, the 3D Pixar adventure with Ed Asner

Jane Campion’s Bright Star, a John Keats bio with Ben Wishaw

Lars von Trier’s Antichrist, horror in the woods with Willem Dafoe & Charlotte Gainsbourg

Ken Loach’s Looking for Eric, about a troubled teen soccer fan

Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank, teen troubles with Michael Fassbender

Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces, a noirish melodrama with Penelope Cruz

Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is rumored to be part of the lineup.

The Playlist notes the films that won't be shown at the festival: Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control (opens May 1), The Coen Brother's A Serious Man, Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful, and Steven Soderbergh's The Informant.

Where there's smoke, there's Nicolas Cage

My mother and I have been playing a game with Nicolas Cage movies since 1998. We try to spot a scene with Nicolas Cage running from fire. At least, that's what we used to do. Over the years we have tried to spot where Nicolas Cage either runs from or through fire, creates a fire, or is actually made of fire. I know it sounds absurd, but in most of his films there are scenes that could literally not exist without the fire. I think the game sums up his middling entire career. There are major spoilers in this post. If there is a Nicolas Cage film that you haven't seen don't bother to see it do not read any further. Anyway, here's proof with clips and photos:

Exhibit A:
This one is on the flimsiest of grounds here, but for the game we decided that smoke actually counts. So here's Nicolas Cage from Lord of War:



Exhibit B:
Nicolas Cage actually running from fire in Con Air:



Exhibit C:
Nicolas Cage tries to escape a burning streetcar in this clip from The Rock:

Exhibit D:
Nicolas Cage standing in front of the smoldering remnants of a crashed plane in the upcoming film Knowing:



Exhibit E:
This one is particularly hilarious because in The Wicker Man Nic Cage is actually burned to death inside the wicker man (I don't think death by burning is funny, just the events in this particular movie). So, we have him actually engulfed in flames, but here's the lead up to his horrific end:



Exhibit F:
Even the studios have caught on. It's gotten harder and harder to find a poster or trailer without flames involved somehow:

Exhibit G:
This one is my favorite because its so blatantly obvious. Nicolas Cage plays Johnny Blaze, a character who is literally on fire in Ghost Rider:

I'm not exactly sure what this all means to be honest. My mother for some reason, thinks he's doing this intentionally, but I don't think Nicolas Cage actually means for us to make a mockery of his film career. His films are just unintentionally funny and so patently absurd that playing the Nicolas Cage fire game is the only way we can cope with mostly rubbish films that the man makes.