The “disgusting” Nicolas Cage movie Sean Penn hates
After winning an Academy Award in the mid-1990s for his leading role in Leading Las Vegas, Nicolas Cage quickly pivoted into action stardom. He spent the next two decades picking up projects that thrust him into FBI uniforms, motorcycles, and treasure hunting. In the midst of that run of action movies was Con Air.
Con Air was directed by Simon West and released in 1997. The so-bad-it’s-good film followed an extraordinary prison break and saw Cage lead an all-star cast featuring John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, and Ving Rhames, to name just a few. Despite the ridiculous nature of the film, it earned a huge return in theatres, with a box office that surpassed $224million.
Contrary to the film’s commercial success, one of Cage’s peers was vocally unimpressed with his work in the film. Sean Penn, who had previously starred opposite the Con Air star in Richard Benjamin’s Racing with the Moon in 1984, was outspoken about his distaste for Cage’s career pivot. “Nic Cage is no longer an actor,” he stated at the time, “He’s more like a performer.”
Penn’s distinction between the two words, perhaps, meant that Cage had given up on serious acting in favour of performing up to box office bait. In another damning statement which many have assumed also referred to Con Air, Penn commented, “If there’s anything more disgusting in the movie business it’s the whoredom of my peers. It’s a guy’s arm coming out of the screen [and] jerking you off. I prefer to do it myself at home than have some guy contriving wet dreams for me.”
Cage responded to Penn’s criticism in an interview with The Guardian, suggesting that his previous co-star was far too concerned with his work. “He’s paying a little too much attention to my career, I think,” he responded, “I’m not thinking too much about what he’s doing, you know.”
The Con Air actor went on to clarify that Penn had not called him a sell-out, as many people had come to believe. “I had heard those words but not from him,” he stated. Nonetheless, Cage was unhappy with the suggestion that he merely performed rather than acted, arguing, “But what he did say was that I wasn’t an actor, and I can’t agree with that. That’s Sean’s opinion, and he’s entitled to it. But for me, acting has always been an expression, in any format. I happen to like action movies. For me, that’s a legitimate expression.”
Many conversations are ongoing surrounding the classification of action flicks and blockbusters as real cinema, but it’s true that the action genre doesn’t necessarily negate the expressive or artistic elements of cinema. Some of the most acclaimed films of all time sit within the genre, from Die Hard to Mad Max: Fury Road. Still, many action movies do appear to prioritise commerciality over creativity. Whether Con Air is one of those is for Penn and Cage to disagree on.
