Nicolas Cage

SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES FOR THE RED SEA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

NICOLAS CAGE

Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage took part in an In Conversation event at the Red Sea Film Festival ahead of the MENA premiere of his latest film, horror comedy Dream Scenario, at a gala screening at Jeddah’s Ritz-Carlton Theatre on December 9.

During the conversation, in which he reflected on his 43-year career, Cage said that after starring in more than 100 films – including Leaving Las Vegas, for which he won as Oscar in 1996, Raising Arizona, Con Air and the recent Renfield – he is now considering making a move to TV.

“My son Kal urged me to watch Breaking Bad, and I could see why people are attached to it,” he revealed. “I think about myself as a student of performing arts, and I feel that it’s time now to try something different!” He was, however, quick to reassure the audience of die-hard fans that he would still be making films — in fact, he has several in the pipeline including a sequel to 2005’s The Lord Of War — and that his selection process for any new project “is going to be very severe.”

He described Dream Scenario as “a very personal and satisfying experience,” and one of his two favourites to make, alongside Michael Sarnoski’s award-winning 2021 drama Pig. Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, Dream Scenario stars Cage as Paul Matthews, an ordinary man whose life begins to unravel as he begins to appear in strangers’ dreams.

Cage said the film gave him an outlet to process his particular brand of fame, and the fact that he had become something of an internet meme. “I was shocked by what was happening on the internet, and the crazy things people are sharing from my films,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do with those feelings until Dream Scenario came to me. I suffered from memeification and my character suffers from the dreamification.”

Cage, who also received Red Sea’s Yusr honorary award at the festival’s closing ceremony on December 7 also expressed his hope to make a film in Saudi Arabia. “Every time we go to a location to make a movie, we get something from it. [Saudi Arabia] would bring great character.