Nicolas Cage To Play Nicolas Cage In A New Movie

Nicolas Cage, the Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in Leaving Las Vegas and the National Treasure series, is in discussions to play himself in an upcoming movie.

That's right, Cage is reportedly finalizing a deal to play himself in a movie called The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which is a darn good movie title if you ask me. The meta-movie has the very best description. From The Hollywood Reporter:

The character is desperate to get a role in a new Tarantino movie while also dealing with a strained relationship with his teenage daughter. He also occasionally talks to an egotistical 1990s version of himself who rides him for making too many crappy movies and for not being a star anymore.

Amazingly, it continues:

The Cage character is also under a mountain of debt and finds himself forced to make an appearance at the birthday party of a Mexican billionaire who happens to be a fan of Cage’s work and secretly hopes to show him a script on which he’s been working.

Believe it or not, it gets even better. THR says Cage bonds with this man, but he later learns that he's actually a drug cartel boss who kidnapped the daughter of a Mexican president candidate who is working for the US government on intelligence-gathering. "The situation spirals even more dramatically when the Mexican brings over Cage's daughter and his ex-wife for a reconciliation, and when their lives are on the line, Cage takes on the role of a lifetime," reads a line from the description.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will also contain references to famous Cage movies like Leaving Las Vegas (for which he won an Oscar), as well as Face-Off and Gone in 60 Seconds.

Film company Lionsgate reportedly outbid companies like Paramount and HBO Max for the film. Tom Gormican (Ghosted, That Awkward Moment) is reportedly set to direct off a script from Kevin Etten (Scrubs, Workaholics).

Cage is going to be paid big-time for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, it seems, as THR says the actor should earn a payday in the range of what he was making for the National Treasure series and Con Air.