That was a puppet. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics. 2. The character has a few quirks, like his surprisingly ironclad work ethic, but the character is just as underwritten, absent personality, and replaceable as any of the killer robots. Willy's Wonderlandis heavily inspired by theFive Nights at Freddy's franchise, which also features a silent character facing off against evil animatronics in a restaurant with a horrifying history. I'd grown up on the border of California and Nevada and there was this place called Boomtown, outside of Reno. Cage went through a period where all I he was "doing was meditating three times a day and reading books on philosophy" and found himself seeking out the places he had studied and read about. His unnamed character remains entirely silent throughout the picture. He's picked up by a local mechanic named Jed (Chris Warner), who tells him that he will only fix the car if he is given a large amount of cash up front. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. That was a challenge, but it was a fun challenge. Parsons: When I originally wrote the script, I put in one line, which was "Come at me, bro." The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News. I always picture it something like what Bruce [Campbell] says in the Evil Dead: "Groovy!" Now available on-demand, Willy's Wonderland realistically will likely be hated by many viewers, but I had quite a bit of fun watching it. In one moment, these teens will denounce doing stupid acts and the unreasonable risk, and then the next minute they're splitting up to go have sex in the scary birthday room or murder. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. [8] Shortly after, Deadline Hollywood confirmed that Nicolas Cage had joined the cast after the script, which became popular on the site, caught his attention. For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary. After the announcement, the film received a small cult following, with many comparing it to the Five Nights at Freddy's video game series, although Parsons and Lewis denied any similarities. It's not one of those films where you show up and it's like, "What are we feeling today guys?" As mentioned above, Cage was worth about $150 million US at the height of his career in the mid-2000s. For me it was all about where was the grail? Please reference Error Code 2121 when contacting customer service. Nicolas Cage's character's car breaks down and the mechanic tells him he can get it fixed for free if he cleans this building and makes it ready to reopen. This took away from the little tension (or lack thereof) there was. His payoff was that number for Gone in 60 Seconds, National Treasure, and Windtakers. [11] Certain changes were made during production; the title was changed from Wally's Wonderland to Willy's Wonderland due to legal issues; and original animatronic characters Douglas Dog, Pauly Penguin, Beary Bear, Pirate Pete, and Regina Rabbit were replaced with Arty Alligator, Tito Turtle, Gus Gorilla, Knighty Knight, and Cammy Chameleon, respectively. They committed a satanic ritual to transfer their souls into the animatronics before committing suicide. What's going on?'". Lewis: Oh, that was fantastic. [13], On February 12, 2021, Filmtrax LTD released the score soundtrack for the film composed by moi. We had a couple of puppeteers in green smocks manipulating Ozzy. It was messy and it needed to be organized. First came Kevin Lewis' Willy . Nic is into reptiles, he is into amphibians, and he's into dinosaurs. The Rock actor stated, The misconception that Im crazy, which people seem to enjoy, the madman or whateverto which I simply say you cant survive 43 years in Hollywood or star in over 120 movies if youre crazy.. He reportedly paid $2.6 million for the pied-a-terre, which dates back to the 16th century. On top of that, he was in serious debt to multiple banks for millions of dollars and they were suing him for unpaid loans. Nicolas Cage (Nick Cage) enjoys a cocktail in Mallorca, Spain in THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. I had like three cameras set. Parsons: Nic added that dance at the end. Even without dialogue, Cage's performance inWilly's Wonderland is a delight. "Those nurses and doctors are the real heroes. Just confirm how you got your ticket. A quiet loner finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Lund handcuffs the Janitor and leaves him to die as Evan takes Liv away. The film is thoroughly enjoyable, it's far from being an amazing film, but take it at what it is, and nic cage doing the cage effect! Nicholas Vince (Hellraiser & Nightbreed) chats weekly with special guests about Horror & Thriller topics. But this wonderland has a dark secret that the "The Janitor" is about to discover. Below, Lewis and Parsons talk us through the making of Willy's Wonderland and tease a possible second adventure for Cage's Janitor. He had to have landed some pretty big roles in order to have a net worth that high. Early on when Nic Cage first enters the kitchen and starts cleaning, he has a piece of tape on his cheek. A quiet loner finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Had something gone wrong, one thing to delay us a week or 10 days or whatever, it would have absolutely ended the film. Nobody without a spear through their head could sincerely describe Willys Wonderland as a good film, but it is trash with a commendable pedigree. You're not going to go into dire straits buying an octopus," he told the New York Times during a recent interview. The guy worked tirelessly, man. Like this story? Directed by playwright Neil LaBute, The Wicker Man might be one of the least scary horror movies in the history of the genre. A quiet drifter is tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Willy's Wonderland. Was it there? He also bought a lot of cars. article points out, Nicolas Cages salary was $20 million US at the peak of his career in the early to mid-2000s. . For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. An 85-year Harvard study found the No. Notable genre examples include Akira Kurosawa'sYojimboor westerns like Sergio Leone's "Man with No Name" trilogy starring Clint Eastwood. This "holy grail quest," as Cage calls it, "put me on a search around different areas, mostly in England, but also some places in the States." Meanwhile, the Janitor is attacked by Gus in the restrooms; he kills him by curb stomping his face into a urinal. I would visit him for summers, and those summers I wanted to be him," he explains. If he is given a task he completes it and he's so focused on cleaning up Willy's Wonderland that even killer animatronics won't keep stop him. He compares the journey to the process of building a personal library: "You read a book, and in it there's a reference to another book, and then you buy that book, and then you attach the references. The wanderer travels from town to town getting into trouble and solving the local's problems before riding off into the sunset again. ", Despite his financial ruin, Cage doesn't regret all of his purchases. Willy's Wonderland isn't quite as much fun as its premise would suggest -- but it's still got Nicolas Cage beating the hell out of bloodthirsty animatronics, which is nice. With that said, the film also gets very repetitive along the way. Some of them were terrific, like Mandy, but some of them didnt work. A new bad guy? We have an 81 percent audience review on Rotten Tomatoes. The release of the film follows a traumatic period for Lewis who was recently diagnosed with COVID. I'm old school, so I'm about Siskel and Ebert. I was like, "Sounds good to me.". That was driving me.". It's no surprise that Nicolas Cage has fully leant into the Cage Rage meme over recent years, whether it's tackling demon bikers in . And Boomtown had all these animatronics. In the end, Willy's Wonderland promises Cage fighting robots and it delivers. [21] Nick De Semlyn of Empire gave the film a score of three out of five stars, concluding that, "though the dialogue and plotting are no great shakes, that commitment to the concept, combined with Cage's swaggering soda-swigger, is enough to make this a good time. It was announced on January 15, 2021 that it would be available for digital distribution. Actor Nicolas Cage was once a top earner in Hollywood, worth around $150 million, but he didn't hold onto the fortune for long. Due to being delayed by the pandemic, it was released in Saudi Arabia on September 23, 2021. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate, RELATED: Nicolas Cage To Play Dracula In Comedic Adaptation Renfield From Universal Pictures. There's nothing here but the novelty, but here's why it works. Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willys Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown. says the actress. Next:How Many Body Parts Nic Cage Loses During Prisoners Of The Ghostland, Why Nic Cage Doesn't Talk In Willy's Wonderland, Willy's Wonderland: How To Watch Nic Cage's Five Nights At Freddy's Clone, How Many Body Parts Nic Cage Loses During Prisoners Of The Ghostland, The New Mad Max Might Break A Decades Old Series Rule, 6 Reasons Welcome To Derry Is More Exciting Than It Chapter 3, 7 Ways James Bond 26 Has To Be Different From Daniel Craig's 007 Era. Click to enlarge. However, the movie clearly appears to be out of ideas pretty early. His net worth was around $150 million before he ran into financial problems. Parsons: Kevin is one of the hardest-working people I've ever met in my life. are available through our research services. Corman is, alas, not involved, but, like so many of his films, Willys Wonderland involves evil hicks, disembowelled teenagers and just a bit of grunty sex. The craziest things Nicolas Cage blew his $150 million fortune on, How this 39-year-old earns $26,000 a year in California. It was eventually released through video on demand and received a limited theatrical release on February 12, 2021. The crew was applauding him at the end. Im just going to focus on being extremely selective, as selective as I can be, he said. Coming Soon. Let's get a turtle instead of a regular mammal.". Cage went on to say that he plans to continue making indie films as he enjoys the process more than making big-budget studio movies citing studios like Disney leaving him in the dust when he was down financially. A quiet loner (Nicolas Cage) finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. In order to pay off his debts, he has been taking almost every role offered to him and filming five to eight movies a year. For those looking for the splendidly crazy moments that can define Nicolas Cage performances, I think you'll be slightly disappointed. Is that consistency or a lack of development and imagination? That was Nic. Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Jurassic Park Movies Ranked By Tomatometer, 10 Black Women Filmmakers Who Have Shaped the Cinema Landscape of the 21st Century, 10 LGBTQIA+ Women Who Became Trailblazers in Entertainment. It centers on the backstories of the animatronic characters. Cage squandered it on a string of expensive and often eccentric. In an interview with GQ magazine, Cage confirmed that he officially finished paying off all his debts a year and a half ago. But, without Nic saying yes, you would never have got the chance to consider the films humble merits before streaming something else instead. Picture Information. In recent years, Cage has appeared in a lot more films due to his financial problems. Parsons: The next stage was really Nicolas Cage defending the script while we took it out to try and get financing for it. When I was doing four movies a year, back to back to back, I still had to find something in them to be able to give it my all, Cage said. The film stars Nicolas Cage, who also served as producer, along with Emily Tosta, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner, Kai Kadlec, Christian Del Grosso, Caylee Cowan, Terayle Hill, Jonathan Mercedes, David Sheftell and Beth Grant.It follows a quiet drifter who is tricked into . In this exclusive trailer for Willy's Wonderland, Nicolas Cage's drifter character doesn't even muster . That was one of the draws for sure. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate. Nicolas Cage went on a house-buying spree, but by house, we actually mean a castle and mansion-buying spree. Nicolas Cage's turn as the Janitor in Willy's Wonderland was the latest in a series of horror flicks he's headlined. Everything is portrayed with 100% deliberate deadpan delivery. By creating an account, you agree to the Pedro Pascal as Javi and Nicolas Cage as Nic Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. He has even noted in interviews that he made big mistakes and is paying for them now. They didnt work, all of them. Not only that, but he also dissed Disney. ', Sketch Comedy Series That Show Tonight Offers An Alternative To Late Night Comedy, Roasts Joe Biden And The White House With Nursing Home Skit, Hollywood Producer Harvey Weinstein Loses Los Angeles Rape And Sexual Assault Case, Receives Additional 16-Year Prison Sentence, Nicolas Cage To Play Dracula In Comedic Adaptation Renfield From Universal Pictures, Nicolas Cage Dishes On Disney: Theres A Lot Of Fear There, Rumor: The Flash to Feature Crazy Cameos, Including Tom Welling and Nicolas Cage as Superman, Nicolas Cage Weighs In On Alec Baldwin Rust Shooting: Actors Need To Know How To Use A Gun And Know What The Procedure Is. Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. There's so much cool stuff you could do. If I don't end up praising the film for anything else, that's okay. It has been a long road back to prosperity for Nicolas Cage. [14], On January 29, 2021, to promote the film, G. O. Parsons announced on his Twitter feed that original Willy's Wonderland T-shirts identical to the staff shirt Nicolas Cage wears in the film, would be available. The unfortunate Nic is expected to do away with the possessed creatures and render the amusement facility safe for commerce again. It's an enjoyable movie that begins to feel its length on multiple occasions. We could at least once trust Nic to put his all into every performance. Cage talked about just how bad of a hole he was in financially and what it took for him to come out. After his abusive mother strangled him so hard his vocal cords stopped working, he became a serial killer who preyed on women attending university. The man is doing the industry a service. They team up in their satanic pact to kill everyone. By subscribing, you agree to receive email communication from Bounding Into Comics. "[23] Anton Bitel from VODzilla.com awarded the film a score of seven out of ten, saying: "It is set in an amusement centre for children, but comes with adult doses of foul-mouthed language, sex, gore and death. 4 min read. "You have good investments and bad investments," he says. Cage may not talk, but his blas behavior is so bizarre audiences can't help but be sucked in. Has even noted in interviews that he made big mistakes and is paying for them now Rotten Tomatoes to., How this 39-year-old earns $ 26,000 a year and a half ago it out to try get... 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