There was a time when the name Nicolas Cage conjured notions of respectability and Oscar wins. How the mighty have fallen. He’s now a byword for bad big-budget films like the remake of The Wicker Man or the confusing Season of the Witch. But there might be some sun among the clouds of Nicolas Cage’s career.
The Playlist reports that William Friedkin has potentially been attached to Cage’s latest thriller I Am Wrath. The film purports to be the tale of a man whose wife is murdered, driving him to seek vengeance against corrupt cops and nasty killers. Pretty much par for the course for a Nicolas Cage vehicle.
The film comes hot on the heels of Cage vehicles Trespass, Justice, Stolen and other single-word titles that conjure images of a good guy forced to go bad to get, y’know, justice and stuff.
The attachment of Friedkin to what might be a by-the-book thriller is a welcome one. After all, Friedkin is the director of The French Connection and The Exorcist, both solid classics. He seems to have developed a Cage-like career in recent years however, with the underwhelming The Hunted and Rules of Engagement high up in his filmography. On the plus side, Friedkin recently helmed the thriller Killer Joe with Matthew McConaughey, a film that has received more praise than scorn.
The deal has not closed with Friedkin yet, but his attachment provides some hope for the future of Nicolas Cage. It would be nice to see the actor rise to pre-tax problem levels again. We tend to forget that this was a man who won an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas.
I Am Wrath is being produced by Emmett/Furla Productions, 50 Cent’s shingle, which means we can expect to see the rapper in a (hopefully) small part.
Lionsgate hopes to release I Am Wrath in late 2013.