Nicolas Cage says Elon Musk thwarted his Las Vegas movie studio plans
Nicolas Cage just took a look at “The Unbearable Weight” of Public Funding.
The Oscar-winning actor and Las Vegas resident was revealed during “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” On April 20, he intended to build a movie studio in Vegas. Cage previously starred in Vegas-shot movies “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Honeymoon in Vegas,” before moving to Nevada for state tax breaks.
“There’s good mojo there for me,” Cage said of Vegas’ “small town, big city” vibe. But a quiet electric car killed Cage’s movie deal with the city.
“I tried to get a movie studio built there, and then Elon Musk came along,” Cage said, “and all the money I got for the movie studio – I got 80 million dollars – they put it in the Tesla co-op, which then ironically drained all the water from the city.
Cage joked, “Almost got it.”
The ‘Con Air’ star reflects on his decades-long career, especially since being convinced by writer-director Tom Gormican to star as a fictionalized version of himself for ‘The Unbearable Weight of ‘Massive Talent,’ which hits theaters on April 22. .
Cage told IndieWire he turned down the role three or four times before agreeing to play himself onscreen. “Then I got a letter from Tom, a smart letter, a well-written letter,” Cage explained. “He talked about some of the early work and his real enthusiasm as a movie buff, a movie buff with movies like ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ and ‘Face/Off’. He was someone who seemed to come from somewhere genuine as far as early work is concerned.
However, the actor-producer had an addition to the script that capitalized on his ‘Wicker Man’ ‘memification’ moment: “I hope these mashups like Cage Rage or ‘not the bees’ or whatever fun with inspires millennials or Gen Zers to go see the movies that got them there,” Cage continued. “I play with their creation, this Frankenstein monster of internet meme culture. They built it, so why not have fun with it?
The iconic actor concluded, “If I can get at least one or two scenes that linger in your imagination, I’ve done my job. That’s why I’m able to find things in films that maybe for other actors might be considered inappropriate for their career trajectory. It doesn’t bother me, because I like to work.
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