There are two kinds of Nicolas Cage movies. There are the ones where he shows his dramatic and comedic breadth as an actor, in films as diverse as Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation and The Weather Man. Then, there are the rest of his films. Notorious for making schlock as well as the occasional stellar film, Cage has one of the biggest resumes of any actor his age. Now on a hot streak due to his role in David Gordon Green’s drama Joe, Cage has signed on to Pay the Ghost, a film that could fall in either category of his filmography.
Based on a short story by Tim Lebbon, Pay the Ghost is about a professor whose son is abducted during a Halloween parade. A year later, he and his wife begin to feel the son’s presence and decide to search for the boy. As they uncover clues to their son’s whereabouts in New York City, the husband and wife also come across a dangerous spirit and ancient secrets. No actor is currently on board to play Cage’s partner, although Voltage Pictures is shopping around for more talent and hopes to sell the film at Cannes.
Pay the Ghost‘s screenplay comes from Daniel Kay, the writer behind 2007 horror flick Timber Falls, among a few other thriller and horror scripts being shopped around Hollywood. Director Uli Edel, currently working on a Houdini biopic for A&E and best known for Oscar-nominated crime drama The Baader Meinhof Complex, is set to helm.
Whether Pay the Ghost will show the crazy side of Nic Cage or the strong actor within him, this is a project worth keeping an eye on, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted when we hear more.
