The last time we talked you quoted Hunter S. Thompson: “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” What kind of weirdness is there in Season of the Witch?
Nicolas Cage: "In Season of the Witch there’s a whole lot of weird going on because we have monks that are being re-animated and possessed by demon spirits and wolves that are morphing into demon wolves. We have witches that are transforming into other things, so there’s a lot of it in the movie - in the true sense of the word."
I know you’re into magic. Are you as interested in witchcraft?
Nicolas Cage: "I have an open mind. I don’t judge people in terms of what they choose to believe or not to believe. I feel everybody has the right to believe whatever they want to. It’s not something that has been my own personal practice, but let’s say I’m not opposed to having friends who may have experienced things like that because I don’t tend to judge people. My understanding of that is it’s more of a nature worship as opposed to some sort of devil worship."
How did you choose this long-haired look for Behman?
Nicolas Cage: "What I like to do as a film actor is create new looks. I kind of like to think of myself as coming from the Lon Chaney school, which is you create characters from the outside in. As every character is a little bit different, I think it’s exciting to play dress up and to try new looks, whether it’s with the hair or the costume or the wardrobe."
Season of the Witch may not be for kids like some of your movies, but do kids get what you’re doing better than adults sometimes?
Nicolas Cage: "Oh yeah. Yeah, I think so. Children still are in a place where the magical worlds can still have some reality to them. They haven’t lost that ability to open themselves up to that way of thinking, so they’re more accepting of abstract things and the infinite because it’s still very much part of their way of looking at life."
Which scene from Season of the Witch belongs in the montage of your greatest freakouts?
Nicolas Cage: "The only thing I would say is I have been doing this for a very long time now. It’s been three decades and not all my characters are in that style. Some of them are more minimal and some of them are more subdued, so I don’t think that Behman would be in that particular category."
How were you able to use 3D in Drive Angry to enhance those extreme qualities?
Nicolas Cage: "Well, the thing is the 3D for me was a chance to re-imagine film acting again, but I didn’t really get to do the kind of extreme outbursts and things that we’re talking about - even with Milton in Drive Angry. Milton is just so not like anything I’ve ever done before that I don't know how to categorize it. He’s not really even human. It’s sort of like you can just think about him in more supernatural terms, but I don't think you’re going to see that kind of mega thing that you were talking about."
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Season of the Witch hits theaters on January 7, 2011.
