The Wicker Man with Nicolas Cage

I think this is the Nicolas Cage smiley:

Hardcore (1979)
Starring George C. Scott
Written and Directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver)

8MM (1999)
Starring Nicolas Cage
Written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en)
Directed by Joel Schumacher (Batman & Robin)


Random Trivia

Plot for Hardcore:
A father discovers that his runaway teen daughter is making porn movies. So, he sets out to find her and bring her back home.

Plot for 8MM:
A private investigator is hired to find out if a teenage runaway was murdered in a snuff film or if its just an elaborate hoax.

Hardcore vs 8MM

Let's begin by addressing the elephant in the room: Hardcore is Taxi Driver in disguise. All Paul Schrader did was replace a mentally unstable Vietnam veteran with an angry father, replace 1970's New York with the 1970's porn industry and then replace a teenage prostitute with an under-aged porn actress. So does that make Hardcore a lazy movie? Not really. For starters, George C. Scott is amazing. Sure, he can get over-the-top and unintentionally hilarious, but for the most part, he delivers a captivating performance. And secondly, the daughter is depressing. In Taxi Driver, Jodie Foster played a very unrealistic teenage hooker. No matter how good she acted, especially for a young performer, she never looked the part. You could tell this was a rich girl from Hollywood. And secretly, I think Paul Schrader knew this, so for this movie, he went out and found the real deal. The girl he cast, who's only acting credit is this movie, was a teenage stripper and member of a cult. So her face brings all that history to her character. And with those two elements, Hardcore creates its own identity. Taxi Driver is an intellectual movie and Hardcore is an emotional one. But nonetheless, there's no denying that Hardcore has a troubled script and it's where 8MM has an advantage.

Andrew Kevin Walker made a smart decision by having his story revolve around a detective and an actual investigation. Unlike Hardcore, where the main character uses money and his fists to find his daughter. That leads to a lot of unintentional comedy and over-the-top acting. 8MM, by contrast, has a very consistent tone and conventional performances from its actors because it's telling a story inspired by reality. And yes, 8MM does get into action movie mode once Nicolas Cage finds the bad guys but it always remains in the realm of believe-ability. Hardcore, on the other hand, is a dark fantasy film. Nothing that happens is realistic or even logical in some cases. So from an intellectual standpoint, 8MM does have the advantage.

So... does this mean that 8MM is the better movie? No. Hardcore, despite its flaws and laziness, is very emotionally compelling. 8MM, however, is a straight-forward thriller. It takes no risks other than its subject matter. It's as if Joel Schumacher was afraid to go the extra mile. Hardcore doesn't suffer from that. Paul Schrader takes his story into any direction that will get an emotional reaction from the audience. And sometimes, that's more rewarding.

His new film looks AMAZING:

This is still the best thread ever.

That's amazing, just another reason I love LA because there's hilarious events like that going on.

Nicolas Cage will play Osama Bin Laden in Larry Charles' Army of One. And no, it's not April 1st. It's January 21st.

Just give him the damn Oscar already.