Science fiction is the antidote to violence… or so says Nicolas Cage, explaining his recent conversion to scifi/fantasy, with movies like Knowing, Astro Boy and the upcoming Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
Talking during an interview to promote Knowing, Cage expressed a rethink about violence in film:
At this point in my life I have made a series of movies with a hieroglyphic of my face and a gun. I had a serious look at a couple of movies, one that I pulled out [of], because I felt, at this point, I didn’t want to kill a person on camera… I was trying to think about ways I could entertain you, hopefully give you some sort of escape, which I think in this day and age is very important, without having to resort to gratuitous violence. Science fiction is a way that I can go into the abstract, go into the imagination, and audiences are still willing to go along for the ride.
Does this mean that Cage sees science fiction as a gateway drug to take audiences into indulgently abstract movies? I hope so, if only because I’d love to see just how abstract the man behind Ghost Rider, Bangkok Dangerous and Adaptation can get when he puts his mind to it.
Nicolas Cage wants sci-fi career [Press Association]
