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Nicolas Cage reveals inspirations behind ‘The Surfer' and his unhinged characters

Nicolas Cage reveals inspirations behind ‘The Surfer' and his unhinged characters

Nicolas Cage is riding the wave.
' The Surfer ' is the latest film in a late-career surge of excellence for the 61-year-old actor, who just a couple of years ago was considering retirement.
'I'm feeling very good about the work, perhaps more than I was even in the '90s,' Cage told the Chronicle in a video interview from his home in Los Angeles on the eve of his new movie's release. 'There are scripts coming to me now from young filmmakers that seem a lot more confident and brave, who take risks. That's always appealing because you might catch lightning in a bottle.'
Set in Australia, Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan's 'The Surfer' has Cage's character hoping to close on the purchase of his childhood home once owned by his grandfather that overlooks his favorite surfing spot. But when he tries to catch a wave, he is thwarted by a tough surfer gang, leading to some very desperate actions.
It follows 2021's 'Pig,' 2022's ' The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,' 2023's ' Sympathy for the Devil ' and ' Dream Scenario ' and last year's ' Longlegs,' among others as vehicles for Cage's unique unhinged style.
Next week, the former San Francisco resident and nephew of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola begins shooting David O. Russell's 'Madden,' in which Cage, in a bizarre bit of casting, plays Bay Area football and broadcasting legend John Madden.
Q: One of your most distinctive early performances was in 'Wild at Heart' (1990), directed by David Lynch, who died in January. What did you learn from him?
A: Obviously, I was saddened by his passing, but I was happy with the en masse response recognizing his contribution to cinema and what he cultivated and what he was able to accomplish with the power of a visual image. His surrealism was never weird for weird's sake; it was always in form, not unlike a dream that made you feel something after the movie was over and came back to you.
His maestro was Federico Fellini, and I think David was the American Fellini, in that both artists were able to do something with cinema that nobody else really had mastered.
He taught me the importance of enjoyment, of fun. I was one of these method actors who was so serious. And I remember I said to David, 'Is it OK if I have fun?' He said, 'Nic, not only is it OK, it's necessary.' That was like an anchor came off me, it was that kind of freedom.
After the premiere, I screamed at him, 'You're the greatest!'
Q: 'The Surfer' features one of your most desperate characters, but he is a man with a lot of pain. What was your inspiration for the role?
A: 'The Swimmer' (1968) with Burt Lancaster for me was the model — both Lancaster's performance and John Cheever's short story. I felt that I had enough life experience to play it authentically and to inform the character with genuine emotions and frustrations.
I also like the idea of a character who is not going to stop. There was an old Russian short story called 'The Overcoat.' This guy's just had this beautiful coat made, he doesn't have a lot of money, and then someone steals it and he goes on a tear to try to get it back.
Q: What determines how far you go with a character? Is there a point where you pull back, or do you just keep going forward?
A: The body and the mind and the heart tell me when it's not real or doesn't feel authentic. I am my own instrument, and I can tell when I'm out of tune or when I'm in tune going for something that feels right. I've always been an advocate of 'it's OK to go bigger' as long as it's informed with genuine emotional content and the audience will connect with it.
You have many options on the palette and it's music, and this is a character and a story and an unusual narrative that allows me and my instrument to take it up a notch right up against the edge and see what happens.
Q: Was there a specific scene in 'The Surfer' that for you was the key to your performance?
A: One is when the Surfer goes back down to the beach and he says, 'Dude, that's my board, and I want it back,' and I added the 'dude' because that's a very California thing. You don't explain why he wants it back, that's not important. What's important is he's gonna get his board back. I like that.
Q: You said in 2023 that you were close to retirement. It seems like you're on such a roll right now, have you reconsidered?
A: I think what I was talking about was trying a different format, that I had done a lot of movies and that I wanted to try something else. I'm 61 and I've made I don't know how many movies, and at a certain point you have to find ways to stay interested. Maybe that means try a new format such as television or the stage, some other way to get the body moving again and get reinvigorated.
Q: Do you ever see yourself moving back to San Francisco?
A: I have fantasies about it. Sometimes I look at my old homes there and think, 'God, that was a nice time.'
I remember my Uncle Francis' house on Broadway, thinking, 'How big was that house?' When I was in that house, I was maybe 3-feet tall. It seemed cavernous and Old World and Gold Rush, from another time.
It's like how the Surfer feels about the house on the cliffs and his grandfather. I feel like that about San Francisco and my uncle's old house.
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'This moment and his entire guest episode,' Shields wrote, 'was a true highlight. Sending love to all of his loved ones today.' From 2005 to 2009, VH1 aired the reality show Hogan Knows Best followed by its spinoff Brooke Knows Best that followed the lives of Bollea, his first wife Linda, and their children Brooke and Nick. Bollea married Linda Marie Claridge, who took the name Hogan, in 1983. Hogan filed for divorce in 2007. Bollea then married makeup artist Jennifer McDaniel, who was 20 years his junior, in 2010, though they divorced in 2021. Bollea married yoga instructor Sky Daily, who was 25 years his junior, in 2023. Bollea's personal and professional lives were rocked in 2012, when a 2007 sex tape was leaked of him with Heather Clem, the then-wife of radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. Bollea and Bubba had previously been described as 'best friends,' and Bollea served as best man at Bubba's wedding in 2007. 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Bollea apologized at the time for the 'offensive language' that he said was 'inconsistent with my own beliefs.' Bollea said he was 'disappointed' with himself, and his lawyer said he resigned from WWE, though WWE said they terminated his contract. (He returned to WWE in 2018.) A number of Black wrestling stars defended Bollea, including Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Michael 'Virgil' Jones, Laurence 'Mr. T' Tureaud, and Elijah 'Da Pope' Burke, who cited Bollea's decadeslong 'positive mark on humanity.' After Bollea's death, Burke posted on X: 'I'll never forget being able to share the ring with someone who helped shaped my childhood.' 'Trump-a-mania' 'Nobody's even asked me my opinion until now,' Bollea told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in 2008. 'If I had to step out and say who I really believe in,' he said, 'I would say Obama.' 'He's the choice. He seems like the real deal,' Bollea said. Liberal media site HuffPost even created a fake political ad touting the endorsement. But Bollea's love for Barack Obama wouldn't last. In 2011, he told Fox News that he was disappointed with the President. 'I was a big Obama supporter and kinda, like, believed everything he said he was gonna do,' Bollea said, before lamenting that 'nothing's happened.' Bollea added that he was also 'a little upset that he didn't ask me permission to use my music,' after Obama made his entrance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner earlier that year to Bollea's wrestling theme song 'Real American.' Bollea joked that he himself would make a great President and went on to endorse Mitt Romney in 2012. In 2015, Bollea retweeted a post that said 'Bi-racial President Obama uses N word, is applauded and keeps his job. @HulkHogan uses N word, is vilified and loses his job' to his more than 1 million followers on the social media platform. Later that year, he said he would like to be Trump's running mate. Bollea cited his decadeslong ties with Trump, when he gave what Trump would call 'an absolutely electric speech' at the Republican National Convention in 2024. 'As an entertainer, I try to stay out of politics,' Bollea said from the stage in Milwaukee. 'I can no longer stay silent. I'm here tonight because I want the world to know that Donald Trump is a real American hero, and I'm proud to support my hero as the next President of this United States.' Bollea ripped off his shirt, his signature move, to reveal a red Trump-Vance tank top beneath and told the crowd: 'Let Trump-a-mania run wild, brother! Let Trump-a-mania rule again! Let Trump-a-mania, Make America Great Again!' 'Hulk Hogan was a great American icon,' Vice President J.D. Vance posted on X after Bollea's death. 'One of the first people I ever truly admired as a kid. The last time I saw him we promised we'd get beers together next time we saw each other. The next time will have to be on the other side, my friend! Rest in peace.' Other Republicans including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also offered tributes. Johnson called Bollea 'a giant in stature and in life.' DeSantis said he was 'a major icon' and a 'Floridian through and through.' Conservative activist and political commentator Charlie Kirk described Bollea as 'a genuine, uniquely American creation. Fearlessly original. Flawed but unbowed. He had the courage to stand on his own principles, and he never stopped fighting for his country.' Bollea outlined those principles at the height of Hulkamania in what he called his 'Demandments': train, say your prayers, and eat your vitamins. Later, he added a fourth: believe in yourself.

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