Dream Scenario: Everything We Know So Far About Nicolas Cage's A24 Comedy
Nicolas Cage is back! Okay, it's not like he went anywhere, as the running joke goes in his recent meta-action-comedy "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent." Still, there's no denying we're in the middle of a Cage-aissance following his direct-to-video era, starting with films like "Mandy" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" in 2018, and continuing on to "Massive Talent" and, in particular, his haunting, ruminative drama "Pig" (pictured above).
Up next, Cage stars in "Butcher's Crossing," a western that finds the actor "at his most subdued, but still radiating energy that can only be described as malevolent," as /Film's Chris Evangelista put it in his positive review from the film's debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. It's one of several intriguing projects Cage has coming out between now and the end of 2023, including Chris McKay's horror-comedy "Renfield" (featuring Cage as Count Dracula himself).
Most recently, the man they call Cage boarded "Dream Scenario," an original film that's being described as a comedy of some variety. Here's what we know about it so far.
What we know about the cast of Dream Scenario
Among those joining Cage in the "Dream Scenario" cast are Julianne Nicholson ("Mare of Easttown"), Dylan Baker ("Hunters"), and Kate Berlant ("Don't Worry Darling"), as well as Michael Cera ("Arrested Development"), Dylan Gelula ("Everything's Fine"), and Tim Meadows ("The Goldbergs").
While character details of any kind have yet to be revealed, it's probably safe to assume "Dream Scenario" will be more of a Cage vehicle than a true ensemble piece. After all, much of the crew is composed of talent and accomplished but relatively lesser-known character actors, with Cera and Nicholson being perhaps the biggest names among their ranks.
As for Monsieur Cage, the hope is the film will take advantage of his unique acting methods the way a movie like "Pig" does, as opposed to selling him way short the way some of his not-so-stellar recent projects have. For more on that, allow me point you to /Film contributor Matt Donato's excellent piece about how to properly utilize your Nicolas Cage.
What we know about the crew of Dream Scenario
Deadline reports filming on "Dream Scenario" is set to begin any day now, with Lars Knudsen and Ari Aster co-producing via their Square Peg banner. Kristoffer Borgli is writing and directing "Dream Scenario," with A24's Jacob Jaffke and Tyler Campellone also producing. This will mark the fourth collaboration between Square Peg and A24 after Aster's first two feature-length films as a director, "Hereditary" and "Midsommar," and his upcoming "Disappointment Blvd.," an original dark dramedy movie starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Borgli, much like Aster, definitely has a twisted sense of humor. His feature-length directing debut, 2017's "Drib" (pictured above), is a film that centers on a comedian who nearly schemes their way into becoming the face of the global marketing campaign for an energy drink ("a delightfully warped fish-out-of-water satire," as IndieWire critic David Ehrlich dubbed it). More recently, Borgli helmed the satirical dramedy "Sick of Myself," an entry at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival that, as /Film's Erin Brady has described it, follows "a competitive woman who decides to one-up her boyfriend once and for all by consuming a drug that completely destroys the user's skin."
What we think Dream Scenario will be about
With Borgli directing and Aster serving as a producer, it's reasonable to assume "Dream Scenario" will hew closer to the dark, warped side of the comedy spectrum. A24's involvement only points further in that direction, given its track record of backing off-kilter, idiosyncratic, and otherwise unconventional genre films. Case in point: 2022 alone has seen A24 release critically-acclaimed but undeniably eccentric visions like "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On," as well as more polarizing titles like Alex Garland's folk horror movie "Men" (read our review here).
The actual plot of "Dream Scenario" is under wraps for the time being, but Borgli's fondness for satire — along with Cage's recent detour into examining his own legacy on-screen with "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" — has me wondering if this won't be some kind of darkly comedic look at showbusiness, if not some other related type of industry. That would also align with Aster's interests of late, given what we know about "Disappointment Blvd." at this juncture.
/Film will bring you more updates on "Dream Scenario" as they come our way.