Nicolas Cage's 'meme-worthy' moment in new movie was inspired by classic film

Daily Mirror

12-05-2025

Nicolas Cage stars in Lorcan Finnegan's new thriller The Surfer, which sees the Hollywood icon spiral into madness
In his latest outing, The Surfer, directed by Lorcan Finnegan, Nicolas Cage revisits the offbeat, manic energy he's renowned for, plunging into a sun-drenched abyss of insanity.
Cage plays a nameless surfer who travels back to his hometown in Australia with the intention of repurchasing his childhood residence.
‌
However, his plans are foiled when he and his son (played by Finn Little) are met with aggression by a clique of hostile locals at the beach, spearheaded by the captivating yet confrontational Scally (Julian McMahon). This unwarranted hostility relentlessly chips away at Cage's character's sanity.
‌
As the surfer's mental state continues to deteriorate, his desperation reaches new depths when he resorts to scavenging for food and entertains the notion of feasting on the dead body of a rat he had encountered before.
Director Lorcan Finnegan shared an insider's perspective with Express Online, recalling the details of the scene: "We had two rats, one that had a mechanical part to bite him and another one that was soft for whacking against the card", reports the Express.
"So he threw that away and he's supposed to find it the next day and think about taking a bit out of it. He picked it up and that's as far as it was in the script."
Cage's penchant for injecting a bit of the unconventional into his characters ensures that each portrayal is nothing less than fascinating.
Movie buffs and Cage aficionados, prepare for a scene set to join the ranks of the iconic 'Not the bees!' moment from The Wicker Man.
‌
In this moment, the surfer pockets a rat, turning it into an impromptu tool against Pitbull (Alexander Bertrand), one of Scally's henchmen.
Director Finnegan revealed: "But then Nic put it in his pocket and he wasn't really sure why yet, but he was kind of formulating an idea.
"The art department wanted the rat back, they were like, 'We need to keep that, we only have one', and he's like, 'No, no, I need to keep it in my pocket'."
‌
As it turns out, the wacky fight sequence was a brainchild of Cage himself, taking inspiration from a film icon in a classic flick from the '50s.
Finnegan continued, explaining Cage's inspiration: "Then, I think it was the next day, he was telling me he had this idea that's related to Sabrina, the Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart movie.
‌
"There's a scene where Humphrey Bogart takes an olive out the jar and puts it into another guy's mouth and says 'Eat it!'
"He'd rewatched that film just before coming to Australia and thought it was just hilarious, so he had this weird connection and wanted to take the rat and shove it into Pitbull's mouth during the fight and say 'Eat it!' So that was another bit of Cage magic.
"I think there are little lines he'll give the film if he loves the process of it because he feels like it needs a little bit of something."
Film enthusiasts can celebrate as Sabrina is now available for streaming on both NOW and Paramount+, offering an opportunity to delve into the roots of Nicolas Cage's most recent bout of inspired madness.