Nicolas Cage is undoubtably a brilliant talent – hell, he has a bloody Oscar! However, lately his flashes of brilliance are just that…flashes. I love his outlandish work (like most) in FACE/OFF, CON AIR and KICK-ASS (and not forgetting that performance in LEAVING LAS VEGAS). But nowadays almost everything he does feels so ‘run-of-the-mill’ (JUSTICE, TRESPASS, NEXT) or just plain dire (GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, THE WICKER MAN, BANGKOK DANGEROUS ). I hold out hope for the upcoming serial-killer biopic FROZEN GROUND; the trailer shows Cage back to his best. You then you look at the trailer for STOLEN and you think, bad Cage is back.
However, another promising project on the horizon will see Cage star in JOE, directed by David Gordon Green. Adapted from the novel written by Larry Brown, the semi-biographical focus will be on the title character, as he mentors a boy from a notorious family and attempts to guide him away from following in their criminal path.
Gordon Green is perhaps more familiar for comedies PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, THE SITTER and YOUR HIGHNESS, but has made some terrific slow-burning independent dramas in SNOW ANGELS, ALL THE REAL GIRLS and UNDERTOW. The writer/director is about to shoot a remake of giallo classic SUSPIRIA and is expected to begin production on JOE early next year.
Source: THR
