Nicolas Cage Tried to Build Movie Studio in Las Vegas Before Elon Musk Came to Town

Nicolas Cage has been busy promoting his new film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which sees the Academy Award-winning actor playing a version of himself who is hired by a billionare played Pedro Pascal to attend his birthday party. The movie and its press tour have been one giant love letter to Nic Cage, so the iconic actor has been reflecting on his filmography by sharing his favorite movies and also revealing his future goals. Cage recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live where he addressed some rumors about his odd spending choices, including whether or not he bought a batcave while filming National Treasure. During the interview, Cage also talked about living in Las Vegas and revealed he almost started a movie studio in the city. 

“Vegas has been good to me, it really has. It’s both a small town and a big city. It’s probably one of the most unique addresses. If you want to go to the strip and participate you can. If you want to just go with the locals and go to the cool restaurants then you can,” Cage explained. “I’ve had great experiences making movies there. Leaving Las Vegas was great. Honeymoon in Vegas is great. I’ve got good mojo there. I tried to get a movie studio built there and then Elon Musk came in, and all the money I got for the movie studio – I got $80 million – they put into the Tesla corporation, which then ironically drained all of the water out of the city. But I almost got it, I almost got a movie studio.” You can check out the full interview below:

Recently, Cage also spoke with ComicBook.com about some of his movies that are referenced in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. 

“Those were all in the script,” Cage explained. “They came in pre-preloaded. Interesting choices. I thought the reference to Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was a good one. Because, that movie is underrated and I’m glad this movie gave it some props. I know Penelope [Cruz] was great in that movie. And I’m glad John Madden, I’m sure he’ll be happy the director, so that was nice.”

Cage has been answering a lot of questions this month in honor of his upcoming movie. Last week, it was revealed that the actor wants to be in a Muppet movie. During Cage’s recent Reddit AMA, he also shared that he wanted David Lynch to appear in Massive Talent, and said he’d be down to make a Face/Off 2. 

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is now playing in theatres. Check out our Month of Cage streaming guide.