Nicolas Cage in 'Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' and 5 Other Strange Celebrity Films That Were Obviously Written with Them in Mind
Nicolas Cage recently sat for an interview for Variety where he, cast members Pedro Pascal, Lily Mo Sheen, Jacob Scipio, and Alessandra Mastronardi, along with co-writer Kevin Etten and writer-director Tom Gormican spoke about what it was like to work on Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the bizzare new action comedy where Cage plays a heightened version of himself who is threatened by Pascal's mega-Cage fan character, named Javi.
Interesting tidbits include the revelation that the scene where a younger Cage aggresively kisses an older Cage was an idea that came from the actor himself.
Cage described his experience working on a film where he plays himself as being akin to "making out with myself" and felt that he really just had to go all in with that part.
Gormican also spoke about how Cage has "transcended the idea of being an actor" and that he's a "cultural figure in our minds," which is why he felt that such a story could only be told with Cage as the central focus.
While writing a role where only one actor on Earth could play him could be seen as a huge financial risk - especially if Cage had turned down the role - Gormican and Etten felt passionately about the story, and their attention to detail regarding Cage's interests is what ultimately pushed the actor to sign on.
All this is to say that Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a wild ride created by a bunch of Cage fans for the iconic actor - but cool as that is, it's not really the first time Hollywood has done this.
Did you know there are plenty of other strange celebrity vehicle films that play off the star's fame? These are the roles that were written with specific celebrities in mind that celebrate the personas we have come to love.
5 Strange Celebrity Vehicles That Were Obviously Written with Them in Mind
1. Being John Malkovich
Being John Malkovich is a 1999 fantasy comedy film, where actor John Malkovich plays a satirical version of himself. John Cusack also stars in the film, as a puppeteer who discovers a door in his office that takes him inside Malkovich's brain.
After 15 minutes, whoever enters Malkovich's brain is ejected onto the New Jersey turnpike.
Despite the oddly specific concept, the film apparently did not have anything to do with Malkovich at first. However, after writer Charlie Kaufman and then director Spike Jonze had trouble pitching the film to production companies, more ideas were added to the original concept.
Once he cast Malkovich and the actor signed on, the rest was history.
2. Zombieland
In 2009's Zombieland, a group of strangers - comprised of Jesse Eisenberg's Columbus, Woody Harrelson's Tallahassee, Emma Stone's Wichita, and Abigail Breslin's Little Rock - travels across Southwestern United States to find safety from zombies.
Along the way, they break into Bill Murray's mansion, where they discover the actor impersonating a zombie so that he can safely traverse the streets.
This delightful incident of Bill Murray playing zombified Bill Murray was apparently not in the original plan for Zombieland. In fact, the original celebrity was going to be Patrick Swayze.
However, a week before filming, the actor who was supposed to play the part dropped out, which left Harrelson a quick replacement. Potentially due to the last minute casting, the majority of Murray's scene ended up being improvised.
3. Saigo no Yakusoku (or "The Last Promise")
I know this is a TV movie, but bear with me here.
Arashi : legendary five-piece J-Pop boy band
In fact, when the band announced going on indefinite hiatus at the end of 2020 that would coincide with their 20 years active in the industry, not only did Japan's top government officials make official statements mourning the loss of the band, but the media was projecting a GDP loss of 100 billion yen yearly - now that's a lot!
Wow the total prediction loss of Arashi's hiatus is 100 billion yen annually.
— Q 🍉 (@cherryshoko0125) January 28, 2019
Lrt pic.twitter.com/HTHlZiLzA2
With that in mind, let's back up to Arashi's 10th anniversary, back in 2010.
As a way to thank their fans for their 10 years of support, the members filmed Saigo no Yakusoku, which centers around a building hijacking. Ohno, Sakurai, Aiba, and Matsumoto all play different characters, trapped in the building by domestic terrorists, while Ninomiya plays a security center employee who sees and controls everything using the cameras above.
Arashi released "Sora Takaku" as the theme song to the film.
While the characters in Saigo no Yakusoku aren't named after the Arashi members, the way the roles have been molded to fit the members' personas feels very intentional. Matsumoto's hotheaded, yet somehow very sexy delivery guy and Sakurai's bespectacled, intellectual insurance salesman feel particularly pointed. At one point, a sixth member of their high school friend group is revealed, and his face is a composite of five members.
Though the TV movie budget is obvious, and might be jarring for some viewers, Saigo no Yakusoku's sincerity, the boys' impressive acting chops, and the band's genuine brotherhood help make this entry a better watch than it had any right to be.
4. Attack On the Pin-Up Boys
If you're a fan of K-Pop, then you've probably heard of second generation boy band Super Junior. Created under SM Entertainment, the company of ultra-popular fourth generation acts, such as NCT and Aespa, Super Junior had 13 members at their peak.
However, did you know that the Super Junior members actually starred in a movie two years before their overwhelming breakout hit "Sorry, Sorry?"
That movie was 2007's Attack On the Pin-Up Boys, and is director Lee Kwon's feature directorial debut. "Attack On the Pin-Up Boys" stars the members of Super Junior - with the exception of Kyuhyun, who was recovering from a car accident at the time - and centers around a series of attacks on flower boy at South Korean high schools.
Some of the boys play the flower boys, while others investigate the attacks.
SuJu fans can tell that each role was written with each member's persona in mind and the band, sings and performs the theme song "Wonder Boy" in the film's finale.
The film is a wild ride that pokes fun at K-Pop and K-Drama tropes; not to mention, it's amusing how the filmmakers were able to come up with roles for the twelve members who were able to participate in filming.
5. Space Jam
If we're looking for sports stars starring as themselves in movies, then either of the Space Jam films qualify! Both the 1996 original and the 2021 standalone sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy star basketball stars as fictional versions of themselves, with Michael Jordan leading the former, while LeBron James leads the latter. Both films also feature a combination of live action and animated Looney Tunes characters.
In the original Space Jam, Bugs Bunny enlists the help of a retired Michael Jordan after the rabbit challenges a team of malicious space aliens who want to make the Looney Tunes into their slaves. At the end of this nostalgic, feel-good movie, Jordan is convinced to return to basketball.
Conversely, the sequel sees LeBron James enlisting the help of the Looney Tunes to win a basketball game to get his son back from a malicious A.I. While technology and filmmaking have changed in the 25 years between the two, it's interesting to see how popular culture has also changed alongside.
And that's our list! For more entertainment news and commentary, check out Enstarz! We bring you the latest on your favorite celebrities, TV shows, and films.
