Nicolas Cage on Family, Fatherhood, and “The Weather Man:” “I think that no matter what walk of life or who we are, we all have that connection with our father because we are small and they are big and there’s this awesome regard for dad. And, on top of that, my dad is a professor of comparative literature and he’s very, very smart so I was always trying to figure out how can I be inspired by him and be him; listen to classical music, read classic novels. There was this intimidating aura growing up with a university professor."
Nicolas Cage on His Attraction to “The Weather Man:” “I will say that I’ve really wanted to make a family drama. That’s a genre that I think will do the most good for people because we can relate. We can go to the theater and grow in some way or learn something. But it’s also the hardest kind of movie to make because it can lapse into saccharine and really be kind of [like a] Hallmark Card or episodic TV show.
…My goal [of making] a family drama, and also my artistic aspirations of doing things which are a bit edgy, I’ve gotten a really happy marriage in ‘The Weather Man.’ Gore [Verbinski] went outside the box and did something personal and artistic but, at the same time, it hits all the right notes in terms of children that may be going through a divorce or a husband and wife and dealing with it in a way that’s not Pollyanna or saccharine or B.S. I feel like I haven’t made that many movies like it, at least in that genre. I know I’ve never made a movie as individual as ‘The Weather Man’ in dealing with family issues."
Nicolas Cage on Working with the Chroma Key Screen in “The Weather Man:” Since he plays a weatherman, naturally Cage had to film scenes in which his character was working in front of a map of the country pointing out the weather. Cage said, “I’ve done a movie where I’ve had to act with a twin brother that wasn’t there, with an earwig in my ear and a tennis ball, so that was like a precursor to being a weatherman and doing everything backwards - because it’s all backwards. They put up these…they’re called ‘put-ons’ and you do it. You can’t look at it and you do your dialogue.
Those days were daunting for me. I would go there very nervous about dealing with the dialogue and getting all the moves down. I worked with Tom Skilling in Chicago and I had people to guide me on the set, actual weather people who could show me how to do it and that was helpful.”
Nicolas Cage Confirms the Obvious - Michael Caine is One of the Best Actors Around: “It’s always fascinating to work with the best in the field and Michael Caine, to me, has always been among the best in film acting. So, I was exhilarated. It was a wonderful opportunity to study him, to look at his very seasoned approach to film acting. That whole thing he did where he’s talking about looking at the right eye and the left eye, I was watching him. There were moments when he actually would do that. I’m like, ‘Wow, Michael Caine just did that thing that I saw him teach about on that video!’
I was ecstatic to work with him. He also was friendly, which was an added bonus.”
Nicolas Cage Dissects His Character’s Relationship with His Ex-Wife: “It’s the battle of the sexes. Don’t you have trouble dealing with men? There are times when we have difficulty - on both sides - comprehending what exactly is it that we’re thinking. I think Dave is on the receiving end of that because he’s not thinking all the time. He’s forgetting he’s got to get the tartar sauce. I’m sure it’s enormously frustrating that, for her, something as mundane as tartar sauce tipped the apple cart. But we know it’s more than that, don’t we? It’s everything. It’s all building up to that final straw.”
On Being Beaned by Director Gore Verbinski: Rumor has it that it was the “The Weather Man” director himself who threw fast food at Cage during filming. Cage confirmed that yes indeed it was Gore who had that particular honor. “There are some photographs of him throwing the Chicken McNuggets at my head. He’s really got this follow-through with his arm. He’s got a good arm. He’s a good pitcher but, yeah, he was doing it. I think he did enjoy it. He made sure, every time, it was him.”
Page 2: Nicolas Cage on His Archery Skills, "Ghost Rider," and Oliver Stone's 9/11 Film
