Nicolas Cage has revealed that Christopher Nolan stopped returning his calls after he turned down a role in the director’s 2002 thriller. Insomnia, and says the same thing has happened with several other great filmmakers over the years.
Speaking to The New York Times, the Oscar winner was candid about the professional consequences that can result from being turned down in Hollywood.
“Most of them are injured and don’t call you back. It’s happened to me a million times. It happened with Christopher Nolan, it happened with Woody Allen, it happened with Paul Thomas Anderson. They don’t call me back,” he said.
On the Paul Thomas Anderson side, Cage remembers seeing an early short film starring Philip Baker Hall, with a collaboration apparently in the works that ultimately fell apart.
Nolan’s situation was simpler, an offer declined on Insomnia this apparently closed that door for good.
The reason Cage is discussing all this now is because he just made a rare exception to what seems to be a pattern of broken relationships between directors.
He plays legendary football coach and commentator John Madden in the upcoming David O. Russell biopic. Madpremiered on November 26, alongside Christian Bale, John Mulaney, Kathryn Hahn, Sienna Miller, Shane Gillis and Joel Murray.
The film chronicles the life of Madden and his role in the creation of the iconic Madden NFL video game franchise.
What makes this collaboration remarkable is that Cage had also turned down Russell, on a project that he had called good but which he nevertheless refused.
Most of the directors, as he has now clarified, would have left the group permanently.
Russell didn’t.
“He’s the only director I said no to and came back and offered me another film,” Cage said, adding that the gesture reflected true class.
“I didn’t want to say no to him anymore because I have great respect for his talent. And it was a great experience. I loved working with David. I loved working with Christian, John Mulaney.”
As for Christopher Nolan, it seems this particular collaboration remains firmly in the no-call zone.
