Eager to put the calamity of Dying of the Light behind him, director Paul Schrader is gearing up for next foray into the crime genre with Dog Eat Dog, which has now cast Willem Dafoe to star opposite Nicolas Cage.
The casting nugget paves the way for a mini-reunion between the two actors, who last shared the screen for David Lynch’s Wild At Heart back in 1990. Adapting Eddie Bunker’s acclaimed novel of the same name, the feature charts the life and times of a trio of criminals who, after a planned kidnapping takes a turn for the worse, are forced to upend and go on the run to avoid the punishing hand of their former employers.
Out of the three nominal roles, it’s safe to assume that Cage and Dafoe will portray two of the ill-fated crooks, leaving studio Arclight Films in search of a third star to complete the cast list. Set across the criminal underbelly of Los Angeles, Dog Eat Dog lives up to its evocative title in the sense that, when the chips come down, each of the fugitives begin to question their trust for one another, and it’s no secret that each of them will avoid going back to prison at all costs.
When quizzed about Dog Eat Dog and, in particular, the fallout with Dying of the Light – both he and Cage parted ways after the studio took control – Schrader said that “we’re doing something bold here in Cleveland and I wanted to get away from the generic Nic Cage artwork of the past several years,” he says. I got burned last time. This time I’ve got final cut.”
No word yet on a release date for Dog Eat Dog right now, but we’ll keep you posted on its production timeline – and that all-important third cast member – as we learn more.