Maybe it’s just me, but there seem to be some people out in the world (namely on the internet) who are obsessed with actor Nicolas Cage. I had this startling revelation when I found a link to an official petition pending White House recognition to give Nicolas Cage the Declaration of Independence. The petition reads: “Nicolas Cage deserves the Declaration of Independence. He is a National Treasure. Having stolen the Declaration once, he is clearly capable of doing so again, but chooses not to out of the kindness of his heart. He should be rewarded for his work as an actor and a historian by being given the Declaration of Independence” (petitions.whitehouse.gov).
I’ve already done a column on how it’s wrong to waste the government’s time with silly frivolous petitions (last time, a group of knuckleheads was trying to push legislation to get a real, working Death Star built). But this absolutely fascinated me. I was surprised that this petition – which is clearly a joke – has received nearly 3,000 online signatures (2,595 the last time I checked before the paper went to print). Now, that’s nowhere near 100,000 signatures needed by April 25 for this to officially reach the desk of President Obama, so I get the feeling the Declaration of Independence can enjoy its stay in Independence Hall a bit longer.
Regardless of how I feel about Nicolas Cage and his movies, it is undeniable that the man has seemed to have struck a chord across the internet. This petition is only the latest in, frankly, weird tributes to the Oscar-winning actor. Many of these tributes are made to pay homage to the actor’s quirky and somewhat overblown performances in modern-day turkeys like “The Wicker Man” or “Face/Off”.
My personal favorite of these tributes is the Youtube video “Nicolas Cage Losing his S***”. It’s 4 minutes and 14 seconds from all of Cage’s movies featuring the actor shouting obscenities, bursting into tears, screaming the alphabet and combusting into wild hysterics.
There is even a website called niccageaseveryone.blogspot.com where people who really love Nicolas Cage can see their favorite screen idol Photoshopped into screenshots of other movies, historical events or even nature photos.
Around Valentine’s Day, Facebook was littered with Nicolas Cage Valentine e-cards, with such sentiments as: “You’re a National Treasure!” Very clever….
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find most of these things quite hilarious. But, it’s the seeming randomness of it all that makes me laugh. Why Nicolas Cage? I know he’s done some stinkers and overacts at times, but you can say that about any actor in Hollywood. Why not a site like johntravoltaaseveryone.com or videos like “Christopher Walken Losing his S***”? I’m sure those would be equally hilarious.
Nicolas Cage has been working at such a high frequency lately (he owes quite a bit to the IRS, which would explain his heavy work load). Maybe that’s why the public is so fascinated with him. Someone might be thinking: How does he do so much so fast and why is none of it really that good?
One day Cage, I am sure, will do another film that makes us remember why he became such a huge star in the first place. Maybe when he has time to do the films that he wants to do we’ll get the chance to see another film from Cage like Mike Figgis’s “Leaving Las Vegas” or Spike Jonze’s “Adaptation” – both films that benefit from the brilliant character actor Nicolas Cage.
Until then, I’ll enjoy the films being produced by Cage in his “Nutty Nic” mode (a phrase coined by Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips) and let the memes, videos and pictures of Nicolas Cage as historical figures roll in….
Brian Laughran
Viewpoints Editor
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