Cage Ep. 112 - Dream Scenario (2023)

[00:00:00] Huh?

[00:00:01] Huh?

[00:00:02] Here's Sam fucking Big Bump!

[00:00:04] The Beeb the fucking everything there is to learn about film. I feel like I've done everything. There's not something else for me to learn. And Nicholas Cage always a student of the craft. I always looking to learn more. And so he actually kind of said, if I could end it with dream scenario, if I could make this my last movie, I probably would because he thinks

[00:01:40] we would be going on a high note.

[00:01:41] But there are other movies that he has already filmed

[00:01:43] and I think he's going to maybe do a few more after that.

[00:01:46] And this could all be like,

[00:01:47] he might change his like, you know, I watched Brian Cranston stare at a suitcase for an hour. It's like, I would watch Nick Cage do that. That'd be great. 100%. No, I think he would kill it. And I think he's putting that out there now.

[00:03:00] And then, you know, I got to imagine there's some, you know, TV showrunners who would love

[00:03:04] to have a Nicolas Cage as the lead at their new show. And it was funny, he doesn't name check best of times, but he says, like, I filmed one pilot when I was 15, that went on anywhere. And I was like, I've seen it. We've seen it. So, yeah, I mean, that would be an interesting turn for Cage. And it makes sense, you know, it kind of beat me fuel, you know, like he's done it. He got out of whatever, you know, IRS, the whole he was in and doesn't need to be in

[00:04:25] every job offer.

[00:04:26] It doesn't need to say yes to everything anywhere. at Uprox interview with McRine. Yeah, so we will see what happens with that. But we're gonna pivot much like Nicholas Cage at Pivoting from Film to TV. We're gonna pivot from talking about Cage for a second to talking about Ari Aster. Who Nicholas Cage, I think I wanna say 2018, 2019, like maybe after Midsummer came out. I think in an interview, he said something like, I would really like to work with Ari Aster.

[00:05:40] Like he was very adamant.

[00:05:41] Like he, this is somebody I would really like to work with.

[00:05:43] I think he'd be a really fun, like interesting director

[00:05:45] to, you know, be a part of a movie that kind of helps continue to make A24 synonymous with quality indie films that were hits critically and financially alongside other movies like Moonlight, which won Best Picture a few years earlier, and Lady Bird. Aster followed it up with another surprise horror hit for A24, Midsummer, just a year

[00:07:02] later, that was in 2019.

[00:07:03] And that same year, he and producer Lars Knudsen not in recognition. I have not seen it, but it just came up on some podcast in the last two or three weeks, and I have no idea what I got. I'll be racking my brain this whole episode being like, what the fuck was the context for that story coming up? Right. But yes, maybe that director just put out,

[00:08:21] it has a new, or I don't know, actually no,

[00:08:24] because it's this movie.

[00:08:25] It's this movie.

[00:08:26] It's this movie.

[00:08:27] It's a weird talk.

[00:08:28] Some other connection to it. We have got to talk about dream scenario. Why does the zebra look the way it does? So embarrassing. Hey, focus. It says how it went. No, it's different now.

[00:09:40] Paul, you've been on my mind recently.

[00:09:42] You should keep popping up in my dreams.

[00:09:44] You don't do anything, you know? You think other people are seeing your naked? It'd be sounds like. I hope I'm behaving through your dreams. Oh no, you're not. Someone's finally cool, huh? I didn't say that. Did you hear that, Jan?

[00:11:00] She's seeing him a cool dad.

[00:11:01] All the help?

[00:11:02] All the help.

[00:11:06] Really feel like you're playing with fire here. Julianne Nicholson, who of course we know, as Detective Megan Wheeler, Jeff Goldblum's partner on Law and Order, Criminal Intent. You know, I forgot that's what she was from, and I was just like, why do I have such a weird affection for this lady? I don't understand. They couldn't replace why I was like, hell yeah, I'm right or die for this actor, and I don't know.

[00:12:20] And I guess it was that.

[00:12:21] That's the reason,

[00:12:22] Law and Order, Criminal Intent,

[00:12:23] we watched two episodes of the Goldblum plot.

[00:12:24] Yes.

[00:12:25] I think she was also in mayor of East, Eastwick,

[00:12:28] Easton, or whatever the dean of the college, Dylan Baker from films like Trick or Tree and Happiness, and of course, Spider-Man 2. He plays Richard, a friend of Nicholas Cage's. Noah Centino from the To All the Boys I've Loved Before movies plays Dylan and Amber Midthunder from Prey,

[00:13:40] plays Haley, I believe there are two of the dream fluencers

[00:13:43] who appear near the end of the movie.

[00:13:44] Mm-hmm, yes.

[00:13:46] And then Nicholas Braun from Succession which hit number three at the box office, which I just talked about on Mike McEvitt movies, Rules, People's You Watch It. Animal, an action thriller from India, it took lead number seven spot. The Shift, which I made fun of last week on the show. And it's in the top 10. It's in the top 10, it's number eight. So shows what I know. And John Wu's new film Silent Night at number nine

[00:15:02] in the top 10 there.

[00:15:03] The rest of the top 10 consists of The Hunger Games,

[00:15:05] The Ballad of Song? Going into it, I wasn't, you know, I knew the Ariaster producer connection and stuff. I wasn't aware that he was like so, so closely almost an Ariaster film. It does make sense now that you've told me that after seeing it. Yeah. And yeah, all throughout though, it has that otherworldly weird, you know, reality, but just a little bit creepier thing going on

[00:16:22] that are in a lot of the Ariaster film,

[00:16:23] well, all three of the Ariaster films.

[00:16:26] So I was ready for this couple look, they were pretty young, like in their 20s, sitting in front of me in a couple seats over so like I could see them just stone face, just not a single, the whole time. And I was just like, it made it even funnier to me. Like every scene that was funny

[00:17:40] because I just like look over at them and just nothing.

[00:17:43] And it's just like this is incredible.

[00:17:46] If you can't crack a smile at this movie's expertly that or performance like that. I wish, you know, I wish he, you know, he's just said like, I want to retire from film eventually, you know, soon. Yeah, but I wish one of those was going to be a actual Ari Aster directed movie. I doubt it will be, but. You never know, I know Ari Aster is working on his next projects. And I don't think, I'm not sure there's a name out there,

[00:19:00] but I know I think Emma Stone was just attached to it.

[00:19:03] Oh, cool.

[00:19:03] Which is pretty cool.

[00:19:04] And I think Walking Phoenix is going to be in it again.

[00:19:06] Like he's re- big ensemble with like a lot of people filling up the town kind of thing. And so Emma Stone, I believe is playing one member of that couple, Joaquin Phoenix, I think, is a town's person. And I guess Pedro Pascal has also been offered to be in. And I'm not sure if he's actually in it or not, but yeah, wild stuff. So who knows, Nicholas Cage could easily slide into. Oh, I'm sorry, that's just edit.

[00:20:21] But I do think it's interesting.

[00:20:22] You kind of mentioned this as like a sort of like,

[00:20:24] return to form for Nicholas Cage.

[00:20:26] Cause I feel like we've been saying that

[00:20:27] for like a lot of movies in the last couple of years. of this character and honestly, the movie this reminded me the most of in Nicholas Cage's entire filmography, which you know, how many of the citizens of the Cage roles we've seen so far. The movie, this reminded me the most of was Gore Vrbinski's The Weatherman. That is exactly the movie I was gonna say too, yes. 100%. Yeah. Which that movie, I think we're both big fans of. That movie really good. It's really good. It's really, really good.

[00:21:40] It's really liking it, yeah.

[00:21:41] And you know, that movie is just about Cage

[00:21:42] as this pathetic weatherman and his family hates him

[00:21:46] and everyone in town hates him

[00:21:47] because he's the weatherman. And then I think Don Cheadle is in it. It's like an angel or something. Yeah, it's always fun to try to like half recall Nicholas Cage movies we watched six years ago. But yeah, Don Cheadle is in it and like kind of changes his life so that he didn't break up with his college girlfriend or something,

[00:23:00] Taylor Yoni and it's right.

[00:23:01] He sees what he would be like as the family

[00:23:04] as like what they would be together

[00:23:05] if they had a family and all that kind of stuff, but like, I don't know if they would be the same kids because now they're getting together now instead of 12 years ago. Right. What a weird movie. Yeah, strange stuff. Strange things. Yeah, just the kind of characters that Cage used to play a lot more frequently than he does now where it is just sort of the every man, right? There is of course the con airs and the rock.

[00:24:22] And even though the Rocky is sort of like the nerdy

[00:24:25] every man guy version of the FBI agent,

[00:24:27] he is the Michael Bay version of this character. Dreamfluencers now exist and they can enter your dreams and sell you stuff. Which is genuinely one of the most horrifying things I've ever heard of. I know that was a concept in a future drama. I was familiar with that idea. It's been explored before, like Black Mirror and stuff, but I don't know.

[00:25:41] Hearing it here, it really did a good job of making me feel horrified by that idea.

[00:25:45] I love the way that that nightmarish and terrifying. But like all the shit that's going on the guy like being chased by the skinless man in cage is just like picking the mushrooms or whatever.

[00:27:01] And yes, although shit is so funny.

[00:27:04] Yeah, I think that's a very funny thing,

[00:27:05] especially at the beginning.

[00:27:07] So you have all these dreams and they're usually, interested in me because I am this person. Exactly. And then just starts to spiral from there. And I love that whole segment at Thoughts with Michael Sarah and all that stuff. So funny. That one shot of him sitting in the lobby is the screen is just flashing thoughts in the back. Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts. Yeah. So good. Yeah, and that whole thing in Kaperland, amazing.

[00:28:22] It's all so good.

[00:28:23] And the whole just vibe is just slightly weird like can't stand to be near him. Like they can't stand the side of him. They can't like- They can't be in the same room. Yeah, they can't be in the same room as him. And, you know, and this is of course incredibly frustrating for Nicholas Cage because he's not controlling this. He's not the one that's like trying to make that happen in people's dreams, but people believe that he is. And also like, you know, they're seeing these horrifying images in their heads.

[00:29:40] And then they're seeing this person in real life

[00:29:42] and they're like, I hate this guy.

[00:29:43] I can't be around him.

[00:29:45] And so the back half of this movie becomes like a sort in Cape Verland and Cape Verland says something like, it's like, okay, so we have some people here and I don't wanna say, you know, all right. But you know, anti-establishment, let's say. Yeah. Yeah. And they just name check all the people that are in that sphere. Yeah, okay, Cage is like, you know, I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna go on Jordan Peterson. I don't wanna do any of that stuff.

[00:31:00] I don't wanna like, you know, fight back against all that.

[00:31:02] And Sarah is like, uh-huh, I'm hearing you.

[00:31:06] This is gonna go against everything you just said,

[00:31:07] but I can get you on target Carlson tomorrow. I mean, there's another great setup and payoff too, where Tim Meadows as the Dean, after everyone is canceled, or he's beginning to be canceled and stuff. He's like, well, I have to discuss HR, to discuss with HR, and we have to acknowledge these students and cage cuts them off, and it's like, do not say lived experience. And then in the apology video,

[00:32:20] he's like, I've had the lived experience of being attacked.

[00:32:23] Like, it's so good.

[00:32:26] This movie is really right? I think there was a, it went talking about Renfield, somebody mentioned that like, yeah, I drew like people were expecting like, oh, I drew influence from Nosferatu or whatever. And he was like, yeah, I played him as a cross between my father and Mrs. Robinson from the graduate.

[00:33:40] And so, okay, yeah, there's just weird interesting stuff that he's an evolutionary biologist in the movie, this professor. And somebody asked him a question and he's like, yeah, we'll get, we'll touch on that when we get to a memetics at the end of the semester or something like that. Yeah, some kind of answer up on things. So it's like, oh, there is some awareness of like the way ideas spread through culture and just all that stuff. And yeah, it's this preconceived when, you know, like he's on the rise and, you know, he's not doing anything in dreams, but he's like, oh, he's just hanging out.'s your life like? And he's like, oh yeah, I've been a professor at my college since 1996. And she's like, oh, I was born in 1996.

[00:37:40] And he goes, absolutely, yeah. And it's so like I just stand there, huh? Like, and that's always the like response anytime someone tells them the dream. It's like your flow like the opening scene is like his daughter's dream. And she's like sitting at a table table, like something crashes through the table and it breaks and he's like standing by the pool. And then she starts floating away

[00:39:00] and he's just standing there.

[00:39:01] And when she's describing the dream to him,

[00:39:03] he's like, but you know,

[00:39:04] that's not how I would react in that situation, right?

[00:39:06] Yeah. I think Chris Borlley, again, I haven't seen sick of myself, but it's also a movie about a guy going viral, like going viral and dealing with internet fame. So I think Christopher Borlley is just a very online guy. I think he's a very terminally online person. Must be, yeah. Yeah, and then after that, he goes back to his hotel room, he's crying, he's like, you know, the whole thing, he feels terrible about the whole situation. And then the next scene, I think, is somebody's dream

[00:40:21] where Nick Liskade's coming to kill them.

[00:40:22] I think it's his daughter's dream, actually.

[00:40:24] Yeah, yeah, if he like bursts in the door

[00:40:26] and is running at her like, you know, at first it doesn't make sense or it doesn't seem like it is, or that Cage has any effects necessarily in the dreams, but obviously he does. As soon as his life goes wrong, basically, the dreams turn violent and destructive and then he's just spirals and stuff. It's just very funny. You know, a lot of the scenes, like there's

[00:41:41] a scene when he's at the diner and the guy like spits in his food to get him to leave.

[00:41:44] Yeah. And he like stands up and throws the like practicing when he's waiting for her at the restaurant and he's like shakes his head.

[00:43:00] He's like, it's been too long, right?

[00:43:01] He like shakes his head and like lowers it kind of thing.

[00:43:04] Doesn't like weird bow.

[00:43:05] And then he does that when she shows up,

[00:43:06] but then he does that a couple times throughout the movie, when they realize they're dreaming about the same person. And it's just like the sound drops out when she's looking at the picture and like kids. So funny. So, so good. Actually, a movie that I wouldn't want to reference just quickly, you know, in sort of in fitting into the cage filmography, I'm gonna say knowing is a movie where Nicholas Cage also plays a teacher. True.

[00:44:20] You know, and I think in that movie,

[00:44:23] I want to say he's like a cool teacher.

[00:44:25] I don't know.

[00:44:26] Do you, well, you remember he like throws the sun He's just contemplating his entire life and how stupid it is. And there's a lot of that vibe in this movie. And you have a scenes and dreams scenario you wanna give Shoutout to you Mike. Anything that stood out to you? Shoutout to Timero, just like. You know, I'm always delighted to see Timero's in anything, always great. Also, Shoutout to Michael Serra,

[00:45:41] who is I think really, really funny in this.

[00:45:42] He's so good in this.

[00:45:43] I'm like, let's start over.

[00:45:45] Yes.

[00:45:46] Just stares at the window, I've seen it. Yeah, that was one of those early Netflix, like what was the one with Elizabeth Moss and Mark II Plus? Mark II Plus? No, it's Mark II Plus. Okay. Where they're like,

[00:47:00] Oh, the one I love, the one I love.

[00:47:01] Yes, like that era of like Netflix,

[00:47:04] weird original movies and stuff.

[00:47:06] And you're like, what is this?

[00:47:07] And everybody's like, I like that you're in this, I haven't seen it yet, I hope it's good. Sophia Lillis, is that who you're talking about? I think it is Sophia Lillis, yeah. She's the other kind of main character in it. But yeah, so I always love seeing Michael Sarah and yeah, he always, yeah, remember when he was in Twin Peaks?

[00:48:21] Everyone, I was just gonna bring that up.

[00:48:23] He did, Michael Sarah did totally off topic from the podcast,

[00:48:26] but he did one of those, I'm doing, do you want to be in the D2 in Peaks thing? And it's just like that one scene. And he's like, it's just you, Marimah and Brande. He's like, what? And yeah, so that's how he's in that one scene, just the wildest thing ever. Yeah, and he's so good. And he's so funny in that episode of Twin Peaks. It's fantastic.

[00:49:41] But yeah, but I think that's, you know,

[00:49:42] when Michael Seder kind of was a movie star,

[00:49:44] he kind of embodied that sort of like,

[00:49:46] you know, kind of that, I forgot what the name of that Daniel Kalia episode is, but like when he just surrounded by Ado, when he closes his eyes, it's just like a fog horn, like alarm going off. Like, please open your eyes. Please open your eyes. Please open your eyes. Just like, holy shit. Yeah. That is, that's the logical conclusion of capitalism is that there is no safe space for advertising. Yeah.

[00:51:00] And so to have people just enter your dreams and to make a men's scream influencers is

[00:51:04] even worse because I hate them.

[00:51:06] So funny. for a while and like watching YouTube videos on how to do it and all this stuff. Yeah, exactly. And so you're kind of watching him being like, oh, is he just trying to like recapture his fame and like trying to enter people's dreams again, but like not be killing them or whatever. Like that's kind of what I thought I was doing. But actually, in fact, he was just trying to enter his wife's dream, Julian Nicholson's dream. And so earlier in the movie,

[00:52:20] when she describes what like she would want

[00:52:23] Nicholas Cage to be doing in her dream,

[00:52:25] she describes his old Halloween costume, cage from, you know, you're looking at him from the back and so he just has these giant shoulders. It's like, what is this? And then of course, yeah, he steps through the steps into the light and he's got the David Byrne big suit on. Yep. Just like, yeah, it's let's go. And then he saves her. It's like a really like beautiful heartfelt moment, you know, he's they like a slow dance

[00:53:40] or whatever.

[00:53:42] And then he just says, like, I wish this was real and then he just fades, floats away

[00:53:45] into the sky like his daughter in the beginning of the movie.

[00:53:47] Yes. of space. Yes, correct. And Pig was actually neon. Neon, they're pretty close. Yeah, I mean, yeah. But so that's exciting. It's just cool to have these kind of like weird art house, but also at the same time, wide popular release. It's just the caliber movies. Yeah, it's great. I mean, I wish they had done a little bit better. Like I said, it opened at 12 at the box office

[00:55:01] when it opened wide, you know,

[00:55:03] behind like Silent Night, which I assume no one was seeing.

[00:55:05] Yeah, true. They enjoyed their retirement plan. They should watch Dreamscenario. I think it'd be too weird for them. Fair enough. I did mention this. So I watched Dreamscenario just with the co-worker, we were playing at the Roxy at the end of the tournament house in Little Montana where I also work. And so I wasn't able to see it over the weekend. I ended up coming in early on Monday and just watching it on my own before the theater opened up.

[00:56:20] And so I watched it with the co-worker.

[00:56:21] We both really enjoyed it.

[00:56:22] Had a great time.

[00:56:23] And then later on that night, I was working.

[00:56:25] Dreamscenario has been doing pretty solid.

[00:56:27] Like as we've had it,

[00:56:28] like I sold out the night before Yeah, yeah, I think there was a family, like a husband and wife and a son, but like an adult son or whatever. Yeah, in my theater also. And definitely one of them got up and like walked out. Not like, really. I think they were like, well, what would you do, you know, like it was like, one of those kind of things, they weren't like in a huff, but I was like, oh, awkward. Yeah.

[00:57:40] Fair enough.

[00:57:41] My story, I mean, I have a few of those stories

[00:57:42] about just watching stuff at home,

[00:57:43] my mom bursting through the door.

[00:57:45] Oh, it's every time.

[00:57:46] But my favorite one of those is when I was watching like cool crime stuff. And now it's the one porn thing in the loading screen. And now you're here. And what the hell? Exactly. Yeah. But yeah, so dream scenario. Any final thoughts on this move, Mike, before I start wrapping this up? It rocks. I'm excited that, you know, it'll be entered in the late stage cage stuff. Hopefully the other movies that he's contractually obligated is too complete close to this.

[00:59:00] It didn't seem like it from the interview considering

[00:59:02] he said if I could have ended now I would.

[00:59:04] I mean, I think there's going to be at least one that I

[00:59:06] think there will be some good stuff.

[00:59:08] I'm sure there will be. and people should check it out. Me and Mike both really liked it. Got some letter box reviews here for you, Mike. Oh. What do the people have to say? It's waiting for you to say your line. Sorry. Yes, sorry. It's time for some letter box reviews for dream scenario. Got a four star review here from Tyler. Proof that you can't spell FART without art. Hashtag deep.

[01:00:20] Yeah, exactly.

[01:00:22] A four star review here from Jared Gilman,

[01:00:24] aka the kid from Moonrise Kingdom.

[01:00:27] My apologies to the guy that moved over something he's talked about a lot with his own reputation as an actor. And in terms of the bizarre, astral projection sequences and minute awkward character situations conceived of to put him through this is constantly very funny. It's hard to pull off an ending that is both an obvious joke and kind of moving simultaneously. Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think

[01:01:45] discussing his character in meme language is like that he gets milkshake ducked and all that stuff is. Yeah, great idea.

[01:01:46] Perfect.

[01:01:47] Yes. Here's a four and a one more of you here, Mike. It's a five star review from Nolan. I don't get what all the fuss is about. I already dream about Nicholas Cage. Vising. Yeah, so say we all. And there you go. That is dream scenario. Both really liked it. And that can wrap things up for this week's episode of the podcast.

[01:03:00] Mike D, where can we find you online this week?

[01:03:02] You can find me at MD Film Blog on Twitter and Letterbox and Blue Sky.

[01:04:02] and our logo was designed by Jacob Honeycutt or at Jacob Honey on Twitter.

[01:04:04] And that is it, we're off till January.

[01:04:07] That's it baby.

[01:04:08] Take a rest.

[01:04:09] We're off until January, unless it turns out

[01:04:12] Nicholas Cage is in Aquaman or something.

[01:04:15] It happened with the Flash.

[01:04:16] It could happen with Aquaman, you know?

[01:04:18] That's true, that's a good point.

[01:04:19] It'd be really funny if he was in Aquaman

[01:04:20] but not playing his Superman character,

[01:04:22] like a different thing.

[01:04:23] The dust, totally unrelated thing to the Flash.

[01:04:26] Yes.

[01:04:27] I mean, according to Cage, you know, like to save the stunt casting for the last five minutes or of the first episode or something like that. Our experience with Michelle Yeo was that many shows that featured her in the cast or in the recurring cast would save her for the last 30 seconds of the first episode. And it's like, oh, we gotta watch the next one to see what she's actually doing on this show.

[01:05:40] Exactly.

[01:05:40] So, you know, Tom will tell.

[01:05:41] But we'll see.

[01:05:42] Yes, Tom will tell, but yeah,

[01:05:43] Brother's Son is gonna be coming up next month

[01:05:45] and then next month we're also gonna be start talking about I have never seen a single episode of CSI. I think I've seen bits of CSI Miami, just because I remember my parents watching it, so I'm gonna just be a thing. So I am now realizing that CSI takes place in Las Vegas. That's why I was, but I think there is a separate CSI Vegas thing. Yes, there is, which I think is a, it's like a reboot of the original show though.

[01:07:01] I think it's a relaunch of the original one.

[01:07:04] Okay, good news.

[01:07:05] William Peterson is only on seasons one through nine.

[01:07:08] So it wouldn't be that bad. David Caruso and William Peterson as my picks for the polls. It's all CSI or nothing. Just you're gonna like make sure that we talk about CSI and some capacity. And I can do David Caruso cause he was two seasons ago, which I guess is this season one. He was in, what's that one? He was in Kiss of Death. Yes, Kiss of Death. Yeah, which I liked. I thought Kiss of Death again.

[01:08:20] I would watch Kiss of Death again.

[01:08:21] It was pretty good.

[01:08:21] That was fun, I think.

[01:08:23] Yeah.

[01:08:24] I don't remember.

[01:08:25] But yeah, well, we will see what happens.