Movies - The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent : Discover the official interviews

By Mulder, 12 march 2022

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a 2022 American black comedy action film directed by Tom Gormican from a screenplay co-written with Kevin Etten. It stars Nicolas Cage as a fictionalized version of himself, along with a supporting cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish. The film premiered today at the South by Southwest film festival at the Paramount Theatre. It is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 22, 2022, by Lionsgate.

In The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, actor Nicolas Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself who he said bears little resemblance to his real offscreen personality. Nicolas Cage originally turned down the role three or four times but changed his mind after writer-director Tom Gormican wrote him a personal letter. On November 15, 2019, Lionsgate acquired the production rights. In August 2020, Pedro Pascal entered negotations to star. In September 2020, Sharon Horgan and Tiffany Haddish joined the cast, with Lily Sheen being added in October. In November 2020, Neil Patrick Harris joined the cast of the film. Principal photography began on October 5 in areas around Croatia, including the city of Dubrovnik. Mark Isham composed the musical score.

The real Nicolas Cage is nothing less than a screen legend whose landmark pictures include The Rock, Face/Off, Con Air, Moonstruck, Honeymoon in Vegas, and an Academy Award®-winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas. Now, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent builds upon that renowned work, while turning it upside-down, inside-out, and every which way.

“Nicolas Cage is unbelievably talented and can do any genre,” says Gormican. “You’ve seen him in romantic comedies like Moonstruck, comedies like The Family Man, avant-garde films like Mandy and Wild at Heart, and even big tentpole franchise movies like Con Air, Face/Off, and National Treasure. There are very few actors that can do every genre equally well, who can switch from comedy to drama – sometimes within the same project – and that’s fascinating to me.”

But why imagine an alternative existence for this Hollywood legend? “Nick has become something that transcends being an actor,” says Gormican. “He’s become a cultural figure. As culture gets stranger and stranger and fashion choices get more outlandish, you can trace like a direct line back to the patron saint of strangeness, Nicolas Cage. Just seeing his face makes people happy. That’s really interesting and made me want to dig in further and find out who he actually is.”

In the movie, “Nick Cage” is a fictionalized version of the star, imagined as a once-highly respected actor who has fallen on hard times and is craving a return to box-office glory and prestige. But his waning career is only one of his problems. The faux Cage’s megalomania has poisoned his relationships with his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and daughter Addy (Lily Sheen), though he can’t see it. And Nick is haunted by a shadow – “Nicky,” also played by Cage, is a figment of the actor’s considerable imagination who bellows for a single-minded focus on movie stardom. “Nicky has this lanky long hair, and he’s riding Nick about his career choices,” says Cage. “For me, Nicky steals the show.”

Gormican’s intriguing and off-kilter ideas drew Cage in. “I call Tom ‘The Mind,’” he says, “because the film really is his fantasy, culled from perceptions in the media and on the internet, as well as blips in my personal life that have gone public. It’s mixed with knowledge of interviews I’ve done and things that have always interested me and drew me down this path. Essentially, the film is an imagination based on Tom’s interpretation of what my life might be like.”

Cage was initially reluctant to participate. “I had no interest in playing myself in a movie,” he remembers. “But then I received a very nice letter from Tom, and I read his script. The first act really terrified me, and by the time I got to acts two and three, I thought, Tom is taking us on an adventure that is really quite exciting.”

The fictional Cage is feeling unfulfilled and rejected, but nothing could be further from the real Cage, not least because the actor recently received some of his best reviews (in a career of good reviews) for his performance in Pig. “This is Tom’s invented version of Nick Cage – a neurotic, high-anxiety version of Nick Cage,” he says. “This film is a real head trip for me.”

In Gormican & Kevin Etten’s screenplay, Nick becomes frustrated – and a little unhinged – when he loses out on a role that he was desperate to inhabit. Moreover, he’s financially strapped. Despite his better instincts, Nick reluctantly agrees to appear at the birthday party of a millionaire / Cage superfan, Javi, in picturesque Mallorca, Spain, for a cool payday of one million dollars.

Upon arriving in Mallorca and being greeted personally by Javi, Nick is completely checked out until he discovers that he and his host have much in common and begin to bond. “They’re both cinephiles, sharing a love of everything from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Paddington 2,” says Cage. “Javi even has an elaborate wax statue of Nick, which blows Nick’s mind.”

Pedro Pascal, who embodies Javi, says, “What brings Nick and Javi together is their love of storytelling. It’s the connecting fabric for them. Ultimately, this is a story about friendship and adventure, around a character we’ve all grown to love.” That’s not all they have in common. The wealthy man is just as neurotic as his guest of honor—and they both find themselves looking for inspiration from the actor’s famously bold, audacious characters. “I think Nick’s screen persona is everything that Javi doesn’t dare to be,” says Pascal. “Javi is fearful of many things, so he lives his life vicariously through Nick’s bold performances. Nick’s visit inspires Javi to take risks in his own life.”

As it turns out, Javi is already taking great risks – the character also turns out to be an international arms dealer and crime boss, a man that the CIA has been monitoring and trying to take out for years. As Nick gets close to Javi, the actor is made a key, if reluctant, player in a CIA operation orchestrated by agency operatives portrayed by Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz. To stay sane – and alive – Nick must inhabit some of his on-screen action-hero personas, especially when his wife Olivia and Addy become enmeshed in the escalating weirdness, adventure, and danger. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent opens, only in theaters, beginning April 22, 2022 (France, April 20, 2022)

Itw Tom Gormican

Itw Lily Sheen 

Itw Nicolas Cage

Itw Pedro Pascal

Itw Alessandra Mastronardi

Itw Jacob Scipio

Itw Kevin Etten 

Synopsis : 
Nicolas Cage is now an indebted actor waiting for the big role that will revive his career. To pay off some of his debts, his agent suggests he attend the birthday party of a dangerous billionaire who turns out to be his biggest fan. But the trip takes a completely different turn when the CIA contacts him, asking him to investigate the criminal activities of his host. Nicolas Cage will have to play the role of his life and prove that he is worthy of his own legend.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Directed by Tom Gormican
Written by Tom Gormican, Kevin Etten
Produced by Nicolas Cage, Mike Nilon, Kristin Burr, Kevin Turen
Starring  Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish
Cinematography : Nigel Bluck
Edited by Melissa Bretherton
Music by Mark Isham
Production companies : Saturn Films, Burr! Productions
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release dates : March 12, 2022 (SXSW), April 20,2022 (France), April 22, 2022 (United States)
Running time : 93 minutes

Photos : Copyright Lionsgate

(Source : press notes)