NICOLAS CAGE KNOWS WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS
BY ALEX SIMON PHOTOGRAPHY GREG GORMAN GROOMING ILONA HERMAN
LOCATION FOUR SEASONS LOS ANGELES AT BEVERLY HILLS
VENICE OCT 2005
Its an inevitable event in every
accomplished artists life: if you go
back on the timeline of their existence
and stop in adolescence, almost all of
our greatest actors, writers, filmmakers,
musicians, and painters went
through tumultuous, tortured teenage
years, often scorned, almost universally
ridiculed by their peers and elders alike for
the cardinal sin of being weird. Most people
run from their inner nerd as they grow
into adulthood, masking it behind toned
muscle, fine clothing, and the right haircut,
struggling to be that cool guy or gal who we
knew had all the answers and the clearest
skin back when such things started to be de
rigeur in our lives (and if you live in Southern
California, continue to be).
Nicolas Cage is that rare movie star who
not only never seemed to care if he was
cool, but was one of the few that seemed to
run from it, embracing his inner nerd and
quirky weirdness wholeheartedly. Yes, he cut
quite the impressive figure in the series of
box office smash action films he was in: buff
bod, cool wardrobe, good with a gun, and
almost inevitably got the hot chick in the
end, Bond style. However, unlike 007, who is
always seen in the final fade out with a dry
martini in one hand and a supermodel with a
PhD in astrophysics on the other, Nic Cage
would turn around wearing horn-rimmed
glasses and reading a mint condition issue
of Spiderman #2, with a grin that seemed to
say **** you, Johnny Cool, Im still a
geek! And herein lies the brilliance of one
of our greatest actors.
Cage was born Nicholas Kim Coppola on
January 7, 1964, in Long Beach, California,
the youngest of three sons born to August
Coppola, a professor of comparative literature,
and Joy Vogelsang, a classically trained
dancer and choreographer. Born into one of
Americas premiere artistic families, Nics
father is the eldest sibling of filmmaker Francis
Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire.
Their father, Carmine Coppola, was an
accomplished musician, composer and conductor,
who composed much of the music
for son Francis films, until his death in 1991.
Life was not easy for young Nic, who
sought refuge first in his imagination, and
then on the stage and in front of the camera.
After graduating high school early (he is not a
dropout as has been reported in the past),
Nic landed his first feature film role (as Nicolas
Coppola) in the classic Fast Times at
Ridgemont High (1982) in a part that was
mostly left on the cutting room floor. The following
year, Nic starred (as the newly-christened
Nicolas Cage) in the sleeper hit Valley
Girl, which made him one of his generations
most prolific and acclaimed actors. The
momentum hasnt stopped since, with Nic
having starred in over 50 features, producing
nine, and directing one (2002s Sonny). Nic
won the 1995 Best Actor Academy Award
(as well as a Golden Globe, and the L.A. and
NY Film Critics Awards) for his searing performance
in Mike Figgis Leaving Las Vegas.
Nic was nominated in the same category for
his brilliant turn as identical twin screenwriters
in Adaptation (2003). Whether hes playing
an inbred trailer park denizen who longs
to give his wife a child (Raising Arizona,
1987), an Elvis-obsessed hipster on the lam
with his true love (Wild at Heart, 1990), or an
ambulance driver teetering on the brink of
madness (Martin Scorseses Bringing Out
the Dead, 1999), Nic Cage is one of the cinemas
great chameleons: although he often
changes colors with the diverse parts he
plays, his quirky intensity and unpredictability
make him completely riveting to watch.
Even in some of his lesser films, Cage has
never given a lesser performance.
Nicolas Cage graces the screen in two
wildly diverse pictures this fall. Andrew Niccols
Lord of War features Nic as a charismatic
arms dealer who finds himself slowly
selling his soul, piece-by-piece, as his fortunes
increase. Gore Verbinskis The Weather
Man stars Nic as Dave Spritz, a Chicago
television weather man who finds life in the
shadow of his father (Michael Caine, always
a treat to watch), a Pulitzer Prize-winning
writer, has eclipsed him and his own identity.
Lord of War is in release currently, and The
Weather Man hits screens October 28.
Nic Cage sat down with Venice recently
to discuss film, philosophy, and the liberation
of embracing your inner nerd. Heres
what transpired:
Venice: You have two very different
films out right now. Lets talk about Lord
of War first. Andrew Niccol has always
been a very interesting filmmaker.
Nicolas Cage: Yeah, he does have an
opinion and unique ways of expressing it. I
think Lord of War is more of a departure for
him in terms of the far-out, science-fiction
that hes done in the past. This is more of a
cinema-verité style of film, which makes it a
little bit more uncomfortable, as well,
because its in your face. Its a glaring opinion,
with a trigger.
I liked its politics, too, and also the fact
that he never crossed the line and made
it a polemic.
Some people have accused him of that,
but it felt to me that it still seemed anchored
in storytelling and didnt become, in my
opinion, too preachy.
It also had a certain amount of ambiguity,
which allowed the viewer to draw
his/her own conclusions.
Thats the most important thing with any
form of expression, or art form: to allow
people to come up with their own interpretation
of the piece. All the greatest art, in my
opinion, has been enigmatic art forms. Stanley
Kubrick, to me, was a master of that. He
never tried to preach what he was trying to
do, and he would never give the interviews
telling exactly what it was, because if he
had, it would have robbed you of your own
personal connection with the piece. I have
tried to adopt that philosophy, but its very
hard for an actor to do it, somehow. The
more I say (about my work) the more it will
detract from your own appreciation of the
performance or the movie.
Do you find the experience of working
with a writer/director, like Andrew Niccol,
different from working with just a
straight director, like Gore Verbinski?
I think when youre working with a
writer/director, there can be a tendency to
be split-focused. Ironically, theyre more
interested in the camera than the actual
libretto, if you will. Sometimes, even with
Andrew, Id say, Lets go back to our blueprint
for a minute, back to the script, and
hed be on to other things having to do with
the camera or music, or something technical,
and Id have to steer him back to what
he wrote. Hed actually make jokes about it:
Let me ask the writer. Whoops! I am the
writer. [laughs]
The Weather Man was a movie that
grew on me as I watched it. I found it
alternately hilarious, touching, and really
frustrating. I also admired the fact that it
had the courage to be about characters
who arent what we usually think of as
being sympathetic.
56 venice october 2005
I was surrounded by that kind of frequency, of artistic energy, that was
always around my family. When Id visit my Uncle Francis, it was everywhere.
Its the kind of thing where, its madness. Theres a level of it
thats so eccentric and zany, that if youre not careful, it can catch like
wildfire and burn you down. But at the same time, thats the very stuff
that makes people charismatic and fascinating to watch. The trick is,
how do you keep a balance with it and not blow yourself out.
