Epsiode 19: An Ode to Nicolas Cage’s Mullet in Con Air

I think over time this podcast is slowly The answer I think is ‘No’, objectively, but morphing into a meditation on various lockdown has been long and the nights types of guy – action guys, renaissance have been cold. The second outcome, is men, guys who love their wives even that I’ve now watched just an obscene though they’re divorced, guys bonded amount of Nicolas Cage movies in rapid by the light homoeroticism of male strip succession and I think I know what I want tease, guys trying to move on from to talk about. their careers as boy band guys, big strong guys who I would like to lift me I’m Alex – this is Pop Culture Boner, the in their powerful arms, and perhaps podcast edition, and today I’m thinking most importantly, weird guys. I love to about Nicolas Cage in Con Air. read a Wikipedia page on a guy and go “Jesus… is this allowed?” So, unlike Steven Seagal, whose film history can really be held up against I did an episode on Steven Seagal earlier the continued Western appropriation of this year and I learned a lot about Eastern genre cinema into things that are Japanese martial arts and the rise of barely recognisable, there’s no coherent Kung Fu cinema. To be clear – I learned a starting point for Nic Cage. He’s done lot about each of these things separately. everything from Oscar-winners, to totally I know they’re different – it’s unclear forgettable action cinema, to iconic camp if Steven Seagal does. Anyway, that action cinema, to rom coms, to children’s episode was prompted by a conversation films, to unhinged indie cinema. Where with notable friend of the pod, Jamie the question “What’s Steven Seagal Preisz. At this point, he’s essentially co- up to?” has a fairly definitive answer producing with Wesley, and I’m paying of “something offensive probably, neither of them. And now that Sydney is just based on his personal brand”, the in lockdown, he’s done it again by being question “What’s Nicolas Cage up to?” like “You should watch the film Next has a variety of responses which include starring Nicolas Cage. What’s he up to?” large goth sons, films about truffle pigs, Which is a great question that prompted crow domes and tax debt. There’s a lot on me to do a deep dive on Nic Cage’s his plate. chequered film history, strange personal life and the invention of the crow dome. Hollywood has always loved an eccentric This journey has had two major outcomes – or maybe it just consistently produces – the first is that at various points I have them and so they just have to turn it into said to myself out loud “Is Nic Cage hot?” a charm point. It’s unclear. Either way, I’ve fully bought into the narrative – I But then I was forced to say the plot of have an entire shelf of books dedicated Con Air out loud to my dad, to remind him to the various scandals, murders, of the fact that we’d watched it together. affairs, addictions and eccentricities of And as I said the words “but then Steve Hollywood’s Golden Age and beyond. Buscemi doesn’t dismember the child And look, 90% of it is probably made up, who sings ‘He’s Got the Whole World In but I think the number of rumours flying His Hands’ and disappears into the Las around often drives further oddball Vegas night, which we are happy about”, behaviour. Like, do I think Joaquin I thought “I should probably actually just Phoenix is a bit of a weirdo? Yes. Do write about Con Air.” So here we are – I think that he deliberately inflates we’re going to use this episode to look his own eccentricities to allow him to at Nick Cage’s Hollywood reputation at maintain an air of mystery? Also yes. Do the time of Con Air’s release, his bizarre I think Ben Affleck is a grubby little ass- performance in the film and unpick the man who loves ice coffee? Yes. Do I think completely unhinged plotline. Let’s get his relationship with Jennifer Lopez is into it, shall we? real? Yes. Do I think the recently staged paparazzi photos where he is touching If you have not seen Con Air before her butt in direct imitation of photos taken and now think that it might be about a of the couple circa 2003 are the most murderous Steve Buscemi finding Jesus genuinely unhinged and beautiful thing through the power of not murdering in the world? Absolutely. Everything is a children, allow me to elaborate. That is circle. Weird begets further weird. only a small portion of the plot. Nicolas Cage plays Cameron Poe, an army ranger Cage is a good candidate for this angle. in prison for manslaughter after he breaks He comes from storied Hollywood a dude’s neck in a bar far fight. He’s family, famously changing his name ostensibly defending his wife’s honour, from Coppola to Cage in an attempt to but the guy also said “Pussies like you prove he could make it on his own as an are why we lost Vietnam”. Which I think actor. (Of course, that’s definitely how is maybe the only time I’ve seen this that works. No one’s ever seen of heard specific approach to the Vietnam War on of you before, wink wink.) But like… I film? Not to get too side-tracked but like, think growing up in any family that’s the I realise that it was an unpopular war equivalent of American royalty makes and that negative public opinion resulted you a little weird to begin with, and then in some pretty difficult circumstances for rumours of your eccentricities begin to some veterans... but I don’t think it was make the news and then that’s how you cos anyone thought the Army Rangers end up with a stolen Mongolian dinosaur were pussies? I thought it was cos people skull and a geodesic crow dome. And kept seeing children – Vietnamese and initially, this episode was going to be American – blown up on TV in a war effort about the idea of a Weird Guy Spectrum that was getting nowhere and doing in Hollywood, and Nic Cage’s place in the nothing? Am I wrong? Americans… if I’m canon of Weird Guys. incorrect, please let me know on Twitter or something. Explain to me this can of worms. It’s a lot of trouble because one man wants to save a diabetic, and he doesn’t Anyway, they give Nicolas Cage 10 years care how many casino-goers he takes because his Army Ranger training makes down in the process. him a deadly weapon – again, this is a direct quote. But he’s well behaved in If that all sounds completely batshit, it’s prison because he’s actually a nice man because it is. When I started watching Con at heart, and he writes to his wife and Air, one of the notes that I wrote down daughter every day. He’s finally paroled, was “who would put every single bad but first him and his buddy Baby-O guy in the world on one plane?” (and have to take a flight to a new supermax then in brackets I wrote “John Cusack”) prison, from which he will be released. – the script even acknowledges it too, Unfortunately for Nicolas Cage, he’s when Cage says to Baby-O that the guards about to be put on a plane with the so- had somehow managed to get “every called worst of the worst, a plane full of creep and freak in the universe on one predators. Again, these are lines taken plane”. This is explained away through a directly from the script. These predators new supermax facility that conveniently include Oscar nominee John Malkovich, needs to be populated. Now, I didn’t national treasures Danny Trejo, Dave know much about supermax facilities, Chapelle and Steve Buscemi, and aside from hearing them as a buzz word Marsellus Wallas himself, Ving Rhames. on crime procedurals. The Wikipedia The unfortunate thing about putting definition of a supermax prison facility every criminal mastermind in the world is as a “control-unit” prison, or a unit on one plane is that they’re probably within prisons, which represents the gonna mastermind some stuff. Which most secure levels of custody in the they do, and lo and behold they hijack prison systems of certain countries with the plane. Nicolas Cage has a chance the objective of providing long-term, to escape but decides not to because segregated housing for inmates classified Baby-O is diabetic and needs his insulin as the highest security risks in the prison shot, which has been destroyed during system and those who pose an extremely the hijacking. Nic Cage spends the rest of serious threat to both national and global the movie being thwarted in his attempts security. In movies, that usually means to find a needle so Baby-O can have his serial killers (Hannibal Lecter types) or insulin. Meanwhile, John Cusack is on criminal masterminds (guys who pull off the ground trying to work out what’s big heists). In reality, the majority of happening. He gets the hot tip when Nic people who sit in supermax prisons in Cage attaches a note to Dave Chapelle’s our current climate are people being held corpse and drops it on an elderly couple. on terrorism charges – in the US federal Eventually, John Cusack and Nicolas Cage system this includes the Unabomber, the manage to take down the criminals but Oklahoma City bombers and the Boston not before crashing a plane into the Las Marathon bomber. Same deal here, Vegas Strip, presumably killing hundreds except no one has actually committed of people. Also, at some point in there, any acts of terrorism, they’ve just been Steve Buscemi finds Jesus. Or something. convicted of planning them. Supermax prisons also house people considered to to country, and even from state to be too high profile to be in the general state in the US, but Leena Kurki and population – like El Chapo in the States, Norval Morris identified four general or Ivan Milat in Australia. characteristics in a 2001 paper called The Purposes, Practices and Problems of I am getting lightly side-tracked by Supermax Prisons. They are: long term history here, but the blueprint for incarceration; extended powers of prison supermax prisons is considered to be administration without outside review Alcatraz, which was constructed in 1934 or usual prisoner grievance systems; and designed to be inescapable. This is intensive and long solitary confinement the set-up for a theme, because Alcatraz designed to isolate prisoners from each was so notoriously inhumane and brutal other and the outside world; and few, if that Hollywood made several prisoner- any, opportunities to access rehabilitative sympathetic films about it. But there was programs generally seen in other prisons big push for supermax prisons in the 80s (for example, substance abuse programs following the killing of two prison guards. or formal education). Essentially, So, by the time Con Air rolls around in regardless of whether or not you think the 1997, it’s interesting to see what types carceral system is something that should of prisoners they’re interested in putting exist, supermax prisons are pretty much in there – most of them are the kinds designed to isolate and break down the of dangerous types Hollywood loves humanity of the people in them. So, it’s as criminals because they make us feel not like… entirely surprising to me that alright about prison – a serial killer who the people on John Cusack’s crime plane describes wearing a little girl’s head as a saw an out and took it. hat, and a serial rapist whose nickname of ‘Johnny 23’ reflects the number of sexual Con Air has a weirdly dual approach to offences he was convicted for. Theatrical, crime and punishment, where it revels but also the types of people we hope that in the view of prisons as necessary and prison keeps away from us. The one that vital, and the notion that good men I found really interesting was Diamond can be redeemed through staying true Dog, played by Ving Rhames, who is a to their goodness, while also showing black power activist who blew up an NRA redemption as somehow able to be meeting and wrote a New York Times obtained through personal revelation – best seller in prison. It’s interesting to see Steve “I wore a girl’s head as a hat” see that even prior to supermax prisons Buscemi wandering free into the Las being filled with (largely white) domestic Vegas night after realising that perhaps terrorists, Hollywood was still so scared he needn’t kill (maybe because Jesus of radical black activists and prison has the whole world in his hands? It’s philosophers that they would cast them unclear). And I know I said this podcast as primary villains next to blood soaked was actually about Nicolas Cage in this serial kilers. film, but I’m giving you all this so you have the fully muddled backdrop against Anyway, the features of supermax which truly bizarre performance takes prisons vary significantly from country place. Now that you have that – let’s talk about Nicholas Cage was when making Con Air. Nicolas Cage in this movie. He is Southern, By 1997, Cage was about 2 dozen films he has a mullet, he doesn’t walk deep, with several of them going on to be anywhere, he swaggers like he’s Naomi either cult classics, like Raising Arizona, Campbell hitting a Mugler catwalk circa or Oscar favourites, like Moonstruck. ’92. He answers everything with the calm His performances in every film were confidence of a man who believes in his the notable kind of eccentric, garnering core that his is the most practical, powerful reviews that hinted at Cage’s talent even and honourable man in the room. He where the films themselves weren’t says “please don’t do that”, giving his good. In 1995 he won an Academy Award opponent the opportunity to walk away for Best Actor for his role as a suicidal before inevitably gutting them like a alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas. People fish. It is, as with all Cage performances, tend to view an Oscars win as a launch totally unhinged, especially when placed pad for serious actors who are looking to in contrast with the screaming camp that make more serious films. Cage did the is John Malkovich playing prison genius. opposite. Rather than meaty dramas, Nicolas Cage was on Saturday Night Live Cage films a three large budget action in 2012, side by side with Andy Sandberg films back-to-back – The Rock, Con Air who was doing an impersonation of and Face/Off – all of which are very silly him – the point of the bit is irrelevant, He received a weird amount of criticism but at one point Andy Sandberg-as-Cage from colleagues and film writers, who and Cage-as-Cage say that the primary viewed the move as a cynical cash grab. qualities of a Nicolas Cage action film are And I think this is partially where public that “all the dialogue is either whispered perception of Cage started to change. or screamed” and that “everything in the movie is on fire”. Everything in If you were on the internet circa 2006, you Con Air is on fire, and while everyone likely saw the evolution of Nicolas Cage else is screaming throughout the film, into a meme. It started with a YouTube Cage barely makes it above a Southern video called Nicolas Cage Losing His Shit, whisper. Despite being shot, stabbed, which was a super cut of every time a Cage punched and blown up, Cage literally character had a screaming breakdown – I never loses his cool. Like… never. At still sometimes mutter “I’m a vampire, one point he kills a guy who threatens I’m a vampire!” from early Cage film to expose him as working with the police Vampire’s Kiss in the which features after finding a rabbit toy he bought for his in the clip. Out of context and hacked daughter, looks at his bleeding corpse, together, these screaming breakdowns drawls “why’d you have to touch the seem as though the sum of Cage’s craft rabbit?”, sits back down in his seat and is just that he is a man who yells on stares forlornly at his hands, as though film. This was combined with some very he simply cannot believe that God would publicly odd goings on in his personal life curse him with the fighting skills of an – like the purchase of several castles, a ancient warrior. public feud with his tax accountant, and the return of Mongolian dinosaur bones. It’s odd to think about where in his career Rather than being rewarded for daring performances, Cage was lampooned for GQ, Cage says “Cameron Poe was really obvious acting. a fantasy… growing up as a skinny kid who wanted to not be bullied… it was a Now, like I said before – Con Air feels version of myself, of who I wanted to be deeply strange to watch. I think part at that age.” And if you think about the of this is because of the strangeness of performance as this totally unflappable Nic Cage’s performance, but I think at man who is honourable, gets the girl, least part of it is because I know Nicolas protects his friends and wins every fight, Cage is a little eccentric. I’ve seen his then actually Nicolas Cage has created fancy jacket collection and read about the perfect vision of a shy 12 year old’s the meaningful conversations he has version of cool cinematic tough guy. with his pet crow, and I’m projecting a little bit. I’ve decided that the person The point of this podcast was initially and the acting are the same thing. I was going to be what a weirdo I think Nicolas reading a piece by David Goodman while Cage is, but actually I’ve really discovered researching this pod, I was struck by the that I kind of love him? He talks about phrase “audiences have been trained to acting as a craft without making it sound believe that visible acting is bad acting”. like wank and by referencing his sources I’d never really thought about it before the same as any other artist. And if he – I think because I once had an actor tell wants to use his post-Oscar clout to jump me that I would never understand how on a fully unhinged crime heist movie, Heath Ledger died for his craft because then more power to him. Let that mullet I wasn’t an actor, and decided to write float gently in the breeze. the entire profession off – but there is nothing about visible performing that Well, that was my Con Air podcast. I necessarily renders a performance bad. really watched a lot of Nicolas Cage films What’s interesting is that Nick Cage thinks for this and one of the things that I don’t the same thing. There are hundreds of think we talk about enough is the fact interviews with him name checking early that in the 2004 film National Treasure, German cinema as references for his there is a full 45 seconds where the full turns of phrase or use of body language. message of the film is “the real national He says: treasure is the friends we made along the way”. And then they find the Scrolls of “I feel that it’s just stylistic choices, and Alexandria and everyone is like “NEVER this was obviously a choice to use grand MIND!” If you have a particular favourite gesture and go bigger. […] I’ve always Cage performance – or just want to talk thought that acting is […] an art form, about Nicolas Cage’s geodesic dome he therefore if you look at other art forms built for his crow – talk to me about it like painting, you have photo-realism, next time you see me at the pub! Peace. and you have surrealism, you have abstract … Why can’t you do the same with film acting?”

When he was breaking the role down for This episode premiered on 11th August 2021.

Episode written by Alex Johnson and produced by Wes Fahey.

Theme tune by Wes Fahey. (Soundcloud: lee snipes)

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