The video provides an in-depth exploration of Nicolas Cage's unique career and personal life, tracing his journey as an actor with an eclectic filmography. Cage's career spans over four decades, marked by a diverse range of roles from leading man to action hero, reflecting his inventive imagination and passion for cinema. The segment also highlights Cage's move away from Los Angeles, his distinctive home decor in Las Vegas, and his continued dedication to his craft with several upcoming films, including a revamped portrayal of Dracula.

Nicolas Cage's background is rooted in cinematic history, having grown up in a family with direct ties to Hollywood royalty through his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola. Cage's fascination with film and performance was sparked by early exposure to classic films and directors, and later shaped by personal struggles and professional challenges, such as the financial difficulties he faced. Despite these hurdles, Cage remained committed to his art, proving his versatility across genres and delivering powerful performances even during financially taxing times.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. eclectic [ɪˈklɛktɪk] - (adjective) - Selecting or choosing from various sources; not limited to one type. - Synonyms: (diverse, varied, assorted)

At 59, the Academy Award winner owns one of the most eclectic lists of film credits in the business.

2. kaleidoscope [kəˈlaɪdəˌskoʊp] - (noun) - A constantly changing pattern or sequence of elements. - Synonyms: (variety, assortment, mixture)

But we learned behind that kaleidoscope of characters is a unique imagination and an encyclopedic knowledge of film that seems to motivate everything Nicolas Cage does.

3. encyclopedic [ɛnˌsaɪkləˈpiːdɪk] - (adjective) - Comprehensive in terms of information covered. - Synonyms: (comprehensive, extensive, thorough)

But we learned behind that kaleidoscope of characters is a unique imagination and an encyclopedic knowledge of film that seems to motivate everything Nicolas Cage does.

4. pivoting [ˈpɪvətɪŋ] - (verb) - Changing direction or focus. - Synonyms: (turning, shifting, rotating)

He's been at it for more than 40 years, pivoting from leading man to action hero to a slew of lesser features and back again.

5. goth cathedral [ɡɒθ kəˈθidrəl] - (noun) - A style reminiscent of Gothic architecture, characterized by dark, brooding, and often ornate elements. - Synonyms: (gothic style, dark architecture)

Nicolas Cage's home in Las Vegas would be part goth cathedral, part avant garde gallery.

6. avant garde [ˌavɑ̃ː ˈɡɑːrd] - (adjective) - New and unusual or experimental ideas in the arts. - Synonyms: (innovative, progressive, experimental)

Nicolas Cage's home in Las Vegas would be part goth cathedral, part avant garde gallery.

7. institutionalized [ˌɪnstɪˈtuːʃənəˌlaɪzd] - (verb) - Admitted into an institution for medical care, often for mental health reasons. - Synonyms: (committed, hospitalized, admitted)

He told us his mother, Joy, a choreographer, suffered from severe mental illness and was institutionalized for much of his childhood.

8. electrified [ɪˈlɛktrəˌfaɪd] - (verb) - Enthralled or profoundly excited. - Synonyms: (excited, thrilled, energized)

I came out of the cinema electrified.

9. operatic [ˌɒpəˈrætɪk] - (adjective) - Relating to the opera or resembling its style, often dramatic and expressive. - Synonyms: (dramatic, flamboyant, theatrical)

35 years on, the Ronnie Camoreri, the operatic one handed baker in the romantic comedy moonstruck, remains one of his most memorable roles.

10. catapult [ˈkætəˌpʌlt] - (verb) - To propel or launch forward or upward. - Synonyms: (launch, propel, thrust)

An absurd idea that delivered big box office returns and helped catapult Cage into the category of Hollywood's highest paid actors.

Nicolas Cage - The 60 Minutes Interview

It's no secret big Hollywood studios like a short bet, and there's no shortage of predictable movies to prove it. Which is probably why Nicolas Cage left Los Angeles for Las Vegas a long time ago. At 59, the Academy Award winner owns one of the most eclectic lists of film credits in the business. He's been at it for more than 40 years, pivoting from leading man to action hero to a slew of lesser features and back again. But we learned behind that kaleidoscope of characters is a unique imagination and an encyclopedic knowledge of film that seems to motivate everything Nicolas Cage does. His work, his life, and even this.

The story will continue in a moment. I always love that character. Cage's brand new gold Lamborghini, a tribute to a beloved 1968 film directed by Federico Fellini, featuring this gilded Ferrari. It was a crazy, beautiful Fellini movie and it inspired me. So when I saw this, I said, that's the car. It's not a Ferrari, which would be great, but they don't really have any gold ferraris. Have you driven this out here beyond the gates? Oh, yeah, yeah. It's fun. It's fun. Snapped, crackle, pop right. By any measure, Nicolas Cage is not slowing down. He's revamping the role of Dracula in a movie out now called Renfield. Please come in and has another five movies coming up.

We met Nicolas Cage at the home he shares with his wife and young daughter in Las Vegas. It is exactly what you might imagine. Nicolas Cage's home in Las Vegas would be part goth cathedral, part avant garde gallery. Ok, Hoogan. There's an african crow in the living room, a cat that could scare off a burglar. And this. This is my black dragon. That's a monitor lizard. He'll get to be about 6ft long. He's like having a real dinosaur in your house. It's kind of amazing. And he's alive. That kind of imagination is in his DNA.

Nicholas Kim Coppola was born on the fringe of cinema royalty. His uncle is director Francis Ford Coppola. He told us his mother, Joy, a choreographer, suffered from severe mental illness and was institutionalized for much of his childhood. He and his two brothers were raised by his father, August, a literature professor who introduced him to the masterworks of italian and german filmmakers, igniting his love of cinema. As a teenager, he worked at a movie theater and says he was mesmerized by the big screen. Was it about being a movie star or was it about escaping into something else? It was about wanting to be James Dean in rebel without a cause and wearing that red jacket, wanting to be John in Saturday Night fever.

I came out of the cinema electrified. I was like, yeah. Wanting to go there. And after seeing James Dean in east of Eden, he did. It was more meaningful to me than anything else I'd experienced. Music, you know, Beethoven, Beatles, painting. What I saw in that moment made me realize the power, the excitement of what you can convey through film performance. Film performance. He's been in pursuit of that feeling for most of his life. Hey, birdie. Inhabiting characters of every stripe. A baby snatching ex con.

I'll be taking these huggies and whatever cash you got to the bed. A Brooklyn Baker, an alcoholic screenwriter. You have a cell phone I could borrow? A treasure hunter and even himself. Nick Cage. Cage's first feature role came in 1980. Two's fast times at Ridgemont High. The 17 year old blends into the background, but his Coppola name did not. His uncle directed the Godfather and apocalypse now. Sick of being hazed about it on set, he changed his name, inspired by a Marvel superhero with unbreakable skin.

When people think of Nicolas Cage, I wanted it to have, like, a punk rock energy at that time. I wanted it to be unpredictable. You don't know what you're gonna get. I wanted it to be exciting and a little scary. It has been. After more than 100 movies, Nicolas Cage is almost his own genre. He told us when he read the script for Peggy sue got married, he worried it was going to be too much like the play our town. How did you know about that? Which he hated. I grew up watching Gumby and listening to pokey.

And I thought, well, that would be a good voice for a character, especially in this movie. Thank you for saving me. And so I thought, if I do that, that won't be boring. That'll be like, what the hell is he doing? Things just work out better in the end. And Kathleen Turner said, like, what the hell is he doing? I think I frustrated her with the performance, but I adored her. Did she ever say, like, knock it off? Oh, yeah. But Cage would draw from odd places again in the Coen brothers raising Arizona. How did you envision that role?

Hi. McDonough was like that thrush muffler symbol, the woody woodpecker with the cigar. I saw him with, like, the red hair sticking up like a Looney Tunes character come to life again. I want to ask you about one scene in that movie. You're having your mugshot taken, and you turn, and as you're walking away you slap your ass. Let me know how those come out. I had it all thought out. Giddy up. You know, like, he's giddying himself up out of the mugshot. Cage's catalog of inspiration extends from cartoons to the haunting german films he watched as a child. You've been influenced by german expressionists. What does that look like?

Well, what it is is specifically movies like cabinet of Doctor Caligari or Nosferatu or Metropolis. The mad scientist shows the robot hand, and he goes like that. You know, it's just like large, expressionistic acting. So I put that into moonstruck. I lost my hand. That's exactly a direct steal. I lost my hand. I lost my bride. Johnny has his hand. Johnny has his bride. You want me to take my heartbreak, put it away and forget.

Come on. 35 years on, the Ronnie Camoreri, the operatic one handed baker in the romantic comedy moonstruck, remains one of his most memorable roles. You can do this one thing for me. But Cage says it was a small movie called leaving Las Vegas. That was the answer to his prayers. What did you think when you first read that script? That was the feeling that I had with east Avedon and James deams. Like, this is the kind of movie I really want to make. A heartbreaking drama about two wounded people who somehow have this true love. How did you figure out how to play that role?

Well, I looked at a lot of great movies. I looked at Chris Christopherson, and a star is born from him. I got that feeling of he was always smiling. In my view, the only thing sadder than a person who's in a sad situation and knows it is a person who's in a sad situation and doesn't know it. You're like some kind of antidote. Mixes with the liquor and keeps me in balance, but that won't last forever. I was saying to myself, literally, I'm never gonna win the Academy award. So let's just do this anyway, because nobody wanted to make it at the Oscars. You announced on stage, you love the idea of blurring the line between art and commerce by making this small film.

And then you start doing these big action films. Yeah, that was about staying unpredictable and trying something new again. But at the time when I did it, I think it pissed a lot of people off, you know, it was like, well, that's. You're an actor's actor. You're not supposed to be doing adventure films. He will not. But he did the rock with Sean Connery. A prison break movie. Con airtainous. Put the bunny back in the box. The national treasure franchise.

And face off, where Cage's character literally swaps faces with John Travolta. You've got something in common. An absurd idea that delivered big box office returns and helped catapult Cage into the category of Hollywood's highest paid actors. Where's your head at when that starts happening? Oh, great. Now I can make another leaving Las Vegas. Let's keep doing it. Let's keep mixing it up. Let's keep challenging ourselves. But Cage ended up facing a different kind of challenge.

We wanted to ask him about reports that he blew through his fortune buying exotic cars, mansions around the globe, even a dinosaur skull. But his african crow, Hoogan, objected to the line of questioning. Hi, Hoogin. Right on cue. It's nice to hear you're talking again. I know everybody in the house kind of freaked you out. The houses, right. Castles in Germany, in England, in Ireland. The mansion in New Orleans. Right. What's that about? I was over invested in real estate. It wasn't because they spent $80 on an octopus. The real estate market crashed and I couldn't get out in time.

How much money did you end up owing to the IR's into your credits? I paid them all back, but it was about 6 million. I never filed for bankruptcy. He moved to tax free Las Vegas, dug in and worked nonstop, making three to four movies a year. That had to be a dark period for you. It was dark, sure. Did the work help you get through work? Work was always my guardian angel. It may not have been blue chip, but it was still work. When somebody suggests during that period of time, when they say, these critics say, like, ugh, he's just here for a paycheck and he's phoning it in.

Even if the movie ultimately is crummy, they know I'm not phoning it in, that I care every time. But there are those folks that are probably thinking that the only good acting that I can do is the acting that I chose to do by design, which was more operatic and, you know, larger than life and so called cage rage and all that. But you're not going to get that every time. But part of the appeal is the cage rage, a moniker his fans have for his outside, some say over the top moments on film.

I'm trying to help you, and you won't let that. You go for it. I've heard you've described it as like going for the triple Axel every time. And sometimes you land it and sometimes you don't. Well, not every time, but there are things that I do want to go for sometimes that I have a vision for, and I. And I do like his 2021 performance as a heartbroken chef in the movie pige. None of it is real. The critics aren't real. The customers aren't real, because this isn't real.

When I played Rob and Pig, I felt I entered the room. I felt that I was closer to me than maybe I've ever been before in film performance. She died. What do you mean, closer to you? That I wasn't acting. I felt that I was doing exactly what I care about. I think it's probably my best movie, and I think I'll put that up against leaving Las Vegas or anything else that would include his turn as Dracula in his latest movie. Renfield Cage Metta sat a favorite hangout on the strip to talk about the count.

We have much to discuss. Dracula is daunting. I am Count Dracula because it's a legacy. He's my servant. Dracula is a character that has been done well many times. He's also a character that has been done poorly many times. But for me, I think Christopher Lee, he was my Dracula. He made Dracula scary. You know, we had a happy marriage in terms of I could bring where I wanted to go, like, into the camera with the teeth, almost like the shark in jaw is like.

You seem like a guy who's all in, all the time. You don't do anything halfway. Very insightful, Sharon. Very, very insightful. Let's eat.

Hollywood, Nicolas Cage, Film Industry, Inspiration, Innovation, Las Vegas, 60 Minutes