NicholasCage Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It really seems like Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen's Green Hornet is cursed, doesn't it? We've all followed the ups and downs of the production and just when it seemed like we were out of the woods, now we're short one villain. Earlier reports had Nicolas Cage making an appearance as an unnamed villain in the action comedy, but according to The Hollywood Reporter's Heatvision blog, Cage has officially left the production. I can only assume that Cage left hornet to work on the recently announced Drive Angry and the Hungry Rabbit Jumps.

Not much was known about what Goldberg and Rogen had planned for their Hornet's baddie, and over the years The Green Hornet has fought everyone from bootleggers to the Axis of Evil and communists. But in some of the earlier incarnations of the Hornet, his major villains were Mr. X, a shadowy crime figure, and Oliver Perry, a sleazy P.I. who was constantly threatening to 'unmask' our hero. No one knew for sure who Cage was going to play, and frankly I think he could have pulled off either role, but it's not like he's the only actor who could. Luckily for Columbia, Gondry had yet to shoot any footage with Cage, so when they find his replacement, they can start from scratch.

That said, I thought it would be fun to engage in a little casting wish-fulfillment and I've got five actors who I think can pick up where Cage left off. Now, some of the actors might not be who you would expect to show up in a Seth Rogen movie, but hey, this is my fantasy casting pool, so why not aim for the top?

After the jump: my picks for a brand new bad guy...

Well, you know what they say: If you want something done right, you're going to have to do it yourself. The Yahoo! Business section is now reporting that rapper Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson has purchased his very own production company (with the unappealing name of Cheetah Vision) and that he already has his first project picked out. Jackson announced that he's selected the script The Dance as his first film under his Cheetah banner, and that he'll star alongside Nicolas Cage in the action-drama.

Jackson will play a boxer who is sent to state prison (well, what else could we expect? 50 Cent as a sensitive tax attorney?) and Cage will play the founder of a boxing program within the prison. According to Jackson, The Dance "was previously passed around a little bit but both me and Nicolas Cage had an interest in the film so it will still happen."

Now that Jackson has his very own shingle, he has plans for all kinds of films in the near future. He says, "They are all different types of movies that I bought the rights to, and we're developing projects. You will see different things from me in the future." Jackson has slowly been working his way onto the big screen over the last couple of years, but as we all know, it didn't work out as planned. That said, he still has a few more chances to make a name for himself as an actor when he stars in Streets of Blood with Val Kilmer and 13 with Mickey Rourke.

Sound off below on whether you think Jackson has what it takes to make it to the Oscar podium, or is he better off staying in the recording studio?

It's funny that the main reason that I recognize the name Teresa Palmer (Bedtime Stories), is as the girl who seemed to lose out on her fair share of high profile roles in 2008. But, it would appear that persistence really does pay off, because The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Palmer just signed on to star alongside Nicholas Cage and Jay Baruchel in Jerry Bruckheimer's take on The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

It has been almost a year since Bruckheimer first announced that he would be working on a live action version of Goethe's classic poem (but to be fair, most of us are probably more familiar with the Fantasia version). Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure: Book of Secrets) will direct the story of an apprentice (Baruchel) left in charge of his master's (Cage) magical workshop in modern day New York City. When the plucky apprentice decides to get a magical broomstick to do his work for him, things begin to quickly spiral out of control. Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal (Star Trek V) wrote the first draft of the script, which has since been rewritten by Matt Lopez (Bedtime Stories).

So where might Palmer fit into all of this? (because if you are familiar with the story , then you probably don't remember a cute blond anywhere) Well, where else could a pretty young actress fit into a Bruckheimer movie? Why the love interest of course! Although, thankfully she will be Baruchel's love interest, because I think I have had enough of Cage in May-December pairings for now.

We seem to be moving into the season of the Nicolas Cage. The actor has a slew of projects cooking up, and has just added another to the mix. The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's going to work with helmer Dominic Sena (Gone in Sixty Seconds) again on a new film called Season of the Witch. But this isn't a tale of pointy hats and black cats. Cage will be a "14th century knight transporting a girl suspected of being the witch behind the Black Plague" to some monks that can exorcise her demons. So basically, he's going to be all armor-clad in an on-the-ground version of Con Air. The new bad lieutenant in the 14th century! Can you dig it?

Meanwhile, Variety reports that ex O.C. star Rachel Bilson has signed on for a stalkeriffic-sounding indie romance called Waiting for Forever. The film will focus on "a young man who's happy without a job and decides to spend the rest of his life with his love -- a 25-year-old TV actress living in Hollywood." Will he be creepy like the dudes in I Think We're Alone Now, or be cute, get the girl, and give stalkers everywhere the false hope and courage that it's okay to fulfill their stalker tendencies?

Finally, after jumping from the world of Harry Potter to Appaloosa, Timothy Spall is taking on some horror. The Hollywood Reporter posts that he, along with Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle, will star in a new horror flick called The Wake Wood. Instead of crazy killers, this flick will be about some "grieving parents who are given the opportunity to spend three more days with their only daughter after she is killed by a savage dog." I guess the horror comes in with the attack and trying to spend time with a girl who is ripped apart and, perhaps, rotting?

Above: Nicolas Cage on the set of Kick-Ass

It's not like Mark Millar is the most reserved guy when it comes to his enthusiasm for his work, but even for him, this might be a little much. Over at Millar World (a fan forum), the man himself weighed in with an update on Matthew Vaughn's version of his comic series, Kick-Ass, and says, "I hereby declare Kick-Ass as the greatest movie of 2009." Pretty bold words for a movie that stars Nicolas Cage, don't you think? (you can read the full details over at the Millar forums.)

Aaron Johnson stars as the titular 'Kick-Ass' (better known as Dave Lizewski), an otherwise ordinary New York City high school student whose interest in comic books inspires him to become a real-life superhero. Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moretz also star as a father and daughter crime-fighting team known as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl.

Millar went on to give major props to the film's crew and cast, saying, "I lucked out with Wanted and Timur and James and Angelina. But nothing-- I mean nothing-- can prepare you for Nic and Chloe as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. As I said to Nic after the first scene was shot on Saturday morning, this is a movie about comic-book guys MADE by comic-book guys.." Luckily for fans of the original series, it looks like the non-stop carnage that made the series so popular is remaining intact -- regardless of what Cage may have to say to the contrary.

I guess the actual release date didn't occur to Millar when he made his 2009 declaration, because Kick-Ass will arrive in theaters on January 1, 2010.

[Photo via Bad and Ugly]

Movie tickets were a tough sell for labor day weekend, as Babylon A.D and Traitor were the only two of last week's four new releases to finish in the top five. Disaster Movie took seventh place and College took fifteenth, allowing Tropic Thunder to hold the number one spot for a third week. Here's the top five:

1. Tropic Thunder: $11.5 million
2. Babylon A.D.: $9.4 million
3. The Dark Knight: $8.6 million
4. The House Bunny: $8.3 million
5. Traitor: $7.8 million

The summer movie season is over and Hollywood is pausing to breath before moving on. We've only got one wide release this weekend.

Bangkok Dangerous:
What's It All About: Directors Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang remake their own 1999 Thai film. Nicolas Cage stars as a hitman who travels to Bangkok for four assassinations.
Why It Might Do Well: If you're jonesing for a new release, this is the only act in town.
Why It Might Not Do Well: One might assume that dumping a movie on the weekend after Labor Day represents a vote of no confidence from the studio.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $14 million.

Believe me, I struggled long and hard to come up with a catchy title like 'From Mars to Metro City' or something like that, but hey, sometimes a pun just isn't going to happen and it's best to move on. Variety reports that Kristen Bell has signed to voice the female lead in the feature film adaptation of Astro Boy. If you know your Astro Boy, you probably don't remember many female leads in the story, but hey, count your blessings if this is the only change in store for the classic manga tale.

Astro Boy was written by Timothy Harris, and is the story of a boy robot who is abandoned by his creator and left to fend for himself in the wilds of Metro City. The robotic Pinocchio tale had it all, absent father figures, betrayal, and robot gladiators, you know, just your usual kid's story. Bell will be joining Nicholas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Nathan Lane, and Bill Nighy in Imagi Studios 3-D update of the classic manga.

So while she may not be Harley Quinn (but I guess it doesn't hurt to fantasize), Bell has three other projects in various stages of production. Unfortunately, they seem to be the usual run of the mill romantic comedies that all young actresses seem to have to make at some point in their career. Bell will also be making a reappearance on TV's Heroes this season as the electrifying baddie, Elle Bishop. But none of these projects will get Bell fans hyped like the rumored Veronica Mars flick -- no matter how misguided that idea might be.

Astro Boy is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2009.


[Thanks: Coming Soon]

If you have a really good memory, you might remember a little project called Scared Straight. Back in September of 2006, word hit that Rob Cohen, the director of flicks like XXX and The Fast and the Furious, had signed on to direct the film, which was getting a rewrite from Ron Brinkerhoff. Almost two years later, the film is still in the works, it looks like it hasn't gotten any more rewrites, and Cohen is now only attached as a producer.

That leaves Nicolas Cage and John Carpenter to slip right in. The Hollywood Reporter posts the two are in final negotiations for Cage to star and Carpenter to direct the prison thriller, which is now looking to head into production this October. It focuses on a troubled kid (and if nothing has changed, a governor's son) who gets nabbed by "the Scared Straight crime-prevention program, which imprisons delinquent teens for a short period in the hopes of deterring them from a life of crime. While the teen is there, a riot breaks out and prisoners take him hostage." Well, if anything scares the rabble rouser straight, that should. Cage will play a lifer in the prison who helps him out.

I haven't been too keen on Cage's roles lately, but this could potentially take the man back to Con Air days with a hint of Escape from New York, and that's enough for me.

It was just last year that Christopher brought us the news that Roman Polanski had selected Richard Harris' novel, The Ghost, as his next big film project. So even though it took some time to get name actors to sign on the dotted line, the wait is over now that MTV reports that Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage will star in the political drama.

Ghost is the story of a writer hired to complete an autobiography of a soon-to-be ex-Prime Minister (with Brosnan playing the PM, and Cage as the writer). Through the course of the interviews, the ghostwriter uncovers some troubling secrets from the Minister's past that put our writer friend in some high-stakes danger. Rumor has it the original idea for the book was loosely based on former PM Tony Blair, but I would assume that any similarities were kept well in the realm of fiction.

Considering the amount of flack Nicolas Cage received over his last time-bending flick, I am a little surprised that he decided to come back for Alex Proyas', Knowing. Coming Soon is now hosting some on-set photos from the sci-fi thriller starring Cage and Rose Byrne. Sources managed to snap the pics on location in Geelong, Australia, and while there are no shots of Cage or Byrne, at least we get to see some stuff blowing up.

Knowing centers on a time capsule buried in 1958 that was chock full of doom and gloom prophecies. When the capsule is dug up 50 year later, it lands in the hands of a young boy and his professor father (Cage) who becomes obsessed with decoding the messages and preventing all-out destruction.

The production has had a long history in Hollywood, ever since the film was first set up over at Columbia. There have been a few directors attached over the years, notably Richard Kelly and Rod Lurie. Proyas came on board in 2005, and after a few rewrites, the film went into production in 2007. As if a long and troubled production history wasn't enough of an obstacle, it is no secret that Cage's 'shine' has been slowly diminishing over the years (thank you very much, Ghost Rider), so Knowing could be a hard sell to audiences who might still be ticked over shelling out their hard-earned dollars for Next.

Knowing is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2009.