Back in 2000, Nicolas Cage owned a rare Action Comics #1, one of the most famous comic books in the world because it contained the first appearance of Superman. The comic was stolen from him and vanished without a trace until 2011, when it was found in a storage locker and sold at auction for $2.1 million at an auction last November. Now Night at the Museum writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon have written a script based on the incident, and Lionsgate has picked up the idea. More after the jump.

The aptly-named Heat Vision has the story, but they’re unsure whether Cage will play himself or if another actor will portray him in this screen adaptation of real life events. Apparently Jason Statham’s name came up for an undisclosed role, but other sources claim he’s not involved. Mysterious. This sounds pretty awesome, and as Heat Vision notes, remarkably similar to Kyle Newman’s Star Wars movie Fanboys, in which a group of friends attempt to break into Skywalker Ranch to see an early copy of Episode I. Hopefully Cage will end up starring as himself, because as his recent appearance on “Saturday Night Live” indicates, he’s fairly self-aware these days.

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Nicolas Cage is the kind of actor you either like or you don’t. No real middle ground here and polarizing is probably the word that best describes him. He won an Oscar in 1996 for Leaving Las Vegas and is the nephew of famous director Francis Ford Coppola (his real name is Nicolas Kim Coppola). Also according to IMDB trivia he got Johnny Depp his first acting job.

Nicolas Cage plays Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance now in theaters, so I think this is as good a time as ever to recap his top 10 most successful movies worldwide, unadjusted for inflation.

10. Knowing (2009) $183.6 million – The first hit for distributor Summit Entertainment outside of their famous Twilight franchise, Knowing was somewhat of a surprise considering most expected it to bomb. You won’t remember the plot a few months from now but Knowing is still an interesting sci-fi thriller, one of the better movies of Nicolas Cage’s career.

9. City of Angels (1998) $198.7 million – What happens when you bring together rom-com sweetheart at the time Meg Ryan and action star Nicolas Cage? Well City of Angels is what, a bitter-sweet fantasy romantic drama about an angel (Nicolas Cage) that falls in love for a human (Meg Ryan). It’s a good movie, watch it if you haven’t already.

8. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010) $215.3 million – After the success they had with the National Treasure series, prolific producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Jon Turteltaub, and actor Nicolas Cage teamed up once again to deliver this film inspired by a famous Mickey Mouse short. The end result leaves more than a few things to be desired but ultimately it will entertain the younger ones and won’t bore their parents as much as other similar kid flicks.

7. Con Air (1997) $224 million – Now this is one of my personal favorites. Here Nicolas Cage is a genuine badass, John Malkovich makes for a fantastic villain, while Steve Buscemi plays one of the most memorable psychopaths. Don’t know what you have but “he’s got the whole world in his hands”.

6. Ghost Rider (2007) $228.7 million – Nicolas Cage had been after this part for a very long time so finally getting the chance to play Johnny Blaze in 2007′s Ghost Rider must have been a dream come true for him. For just about everybody else it’s more like a nightmare. Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating here; it’s not that bad actually.

5. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) $237.2 million – I remember being really into this back then and I can see why. Cool cars, action, Angelina Jolie, you know the rest. The film hasn’t exactly aged well but it still features a really good car chase sequence at the end and if you’re a gearhead you owe it to yourself to see at least that part.

4. Face/Off (1997) $245.7 million – This is in my honest opinion one of the best pure action flicks of all time. Directed by John Woo, Face/Off puts a twist on the usual cop after criminal scenario. Here the good guy has to become the bad guy and I’ll leave it at that, the rest you must see for yourself.

3. The Rock (1996) $335.1 million – Without a doubt the 1996-1997 period was the best of Nicolas Cage’s career. The second big screen movie for director Michael Bay and arguably his best effort to date, The Rock is a fantastic flick. It was this, Face/Off, and Con Air that made me a Nicolas Cage fan.

2. National Treasure (2004) $347.5 million – This is an entertaining action-adventure where Nicolas Cage plays Benjamin Franklin Gates, a treasure hunter. In his search for a long lost mythical treasure he discovers that the next and possibly final clue to said treasure is hidden on the back of the declaration of independence. A good film, worth your time.

1. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) $457.4 million – Direct sequel to the original, Book of Secrets tried the bigger-means-better approach and for the most part it failed. It’s still a worthy follow-up but with some of the charm lost along the way. If you liked National Treasure there’s no reason not to check this one out. A third entry is scheduled for 2014 with most of the original cast returning according to IMDB.

Before getting into trashy films Nicolas Cage used to be in some pretty great movies more often than not, particularly older stuff like Peggy Sue Got Married, Raising Arizona, It Could Happen to You or Leaving Las Vegas, all worth your time if you can find them. Then there are some newer ones like World Trade Center, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and the crazy Kick-Ass. So yeah, with Nicolas Cage it’s worth navigating your way around his bad flicks since you never know when you might stumble upon something really good.

So what is your favorite or least favorite Nicolas Cage movie?

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It should have been a match made in heaven. Neveldine/Taylor, the directors of Crank and Gamer, in charge of a comic book movie featuring a guy who rides around on a motorcycle dispensing justice while his skull is on fire. Sounds perfect, right? But even these kinetic directors, known for their outlandish, hands-on style, couldn’t overcompensate for a godawful script that features surprisingly little action. This is not the Ghost Rider movie people wanted to see.

The problems begin in the opening minutes, at which point a young boy is introduced who has the power to CHANGE EVERYTHING, YOU GUYS. I hate this plot device, and that’s what the entire movie rides on (pun most definitely intended). It saddles our anti-hero with the task of protecting this kid right from the beginning, with Idris Elba’s drunken monk dangles the X-Men 3 carrot in front of Nic Cage’s Johnny Blaze: promise to save this kid, and he’ll break Blaze’s pact with the devil, removing his powers forever.

Look, I won’t sit here and tell you the entire movie was worthless. Some of the visual stuff worked very well. Ghost Rider himself was pretty rad, with his leather jacket popping from the fire and his flaming skull looking a lot scarier and more intimidating than it did in Mark Steven Johnson’s 2007 film. There was a cool little animated introduction detailing the character’s past, and a split-screen editing choice made one phone conversation way more visually interesting than the normal back and forth cutting we expect. The few sequences in which Ghost Rider goes on a rampage and wrecks people were OK, and anytime he operated a vehicle that turned into a burning hellblazer, I was into it. But there are far too few of those scenes, and far too many of him saving the kid, and protecting the kid, and setting up the kid’s connection with Blaze. Ugh, just kill him already and be done with it. People aren’t there to watch an emotional story about freaking Ghost Rider because IT’S FREAKING GHOST RIDER. They’re there to watch Nic Cage go crazy and see some stuff get burned.

Which brings me to my next point: Nic Cage’s performance. The dude is obviously self-aware – just look at his recent appearance on “Saturday Night Live” if you don’t believe me – but I think his perception of what audiences want to see suffers from a disconnect with the truth. The Nic Cage “freakout” moments in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance almost seem staged, as if the filmmakers looked at Cage before the take, winked at him to indicate “now’s the time,” and let him go off. But the best part about Cage’s freakout moments in other films is the “out of nowhere” insanity of the performance; oftentimes his mood doesn’t fit with what’s happening on screen, causing all of these water cooler conversations (or, almost assuredly in more cases, internet conversations) about how his career has evolved to such a crazy point after his Oscar nomination.

The villains, played by Ciaran Hinds and Johnny Whitworth, were boring and inadequate, never providing any real danger for our flammable anti-hero. Even Idris Elba, who did a lot with the small role he was given in Thor, fizzles out here, never quite able to perfect his French accent or translate why his character is so invested in the proceedings. One-liners intended to score laughs were met with silence, a warranted reaction to a pitiful script by Scott Gimple, Seth Hoffman, and David S. Goyer.

I’d say stay far away from this movie, but based on the almost universally negative buzz, chances are pretty good you weren’t planning to see it anyway. Until next time…

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Ghost Rider 3 could move forward

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are two of the most visually interesting directors working in the business today. The directors of Crank and Gamer bring a gritty, guerrilla-style of filmmaking to their work, oftentimes donning roller blades or attaching consumer cameras to self-made rigs to get the shots they’re looking for. Their new film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance roars into theaters on Friday, and The Playlist had a chance to speak with the directors about possible sequels to some of their movies.

Neveldine told the site that Nic Cage is interested in reprising his role of Johnny Blaze for Ghost Rider 3, but they’ll have to wait and see how Spirit of Vengeance does at the box office before making any final decisions. He also commented on the status of Crank 3D:

“It’s gonna happen, it’s gonna be written, and it will be 3D,” Neveldine assures the fans, though they claim they’re still spitballing ideas, claiming they’re fueled by, “Beer, tequila, talking about ideas, doing whatever the fuck we want to do, and trying to push it through the system.” Taylor adds, ” ‘Crank’ is destined to be a trilogy. And then maybe we’ll go for the prequels the way ‘Star Wars‘ did.”

I loved the first Crank movie, but even I thought that Crank 2: High Voltage went too far over the top. What are your thoughts on the series? Are you looking forward to more craziness from Chev Chelios?

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Columbia has released the second official trailer for Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance. Following a recent screening at Butt-Numb-A-Thon the reaction wasn’t the best. Though /Film thought it was better than the first film, they say the “script is a boring mess” and the 3D is “horrible”.

The new trailer doesn’t do anything to counter this negative buzz as it is pretty much just action and money shots (there’s a plot in there somewhere). Still, it looks crazy as hell and I’m sure some folk will get enjoyment seeing Ghost Rider breathing and pissing fire.

Watch the trailer below:

In the film Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage) is hiding out in remote Eastern Europe and is struggling to repress his curse. Blaze is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Ciaran Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son’s body.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is set to be released on February 17, 2012 and is directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the duo behind Crank, Crank: High Voltage, and Gamer.

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Columbia has released a loud and crazy first trailer for Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, and it already looks better than the first film. Not only does Ghost Rider breathe fire this time round, he pisses it.

Watch below:

Footage from Spirit Of Vengeance was recently screened at the San Diego Comic Con, and has been described as “deranged” and “unspeakably insane“. This trailer seems rather tame compared to what was screened, so more madness will likely be shown in the second trailer.

In the film Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage) is hiding out in remote Eastern Europe and is struggling to repress his curse. Blaze is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Ciaran Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son’s body.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is set to be released on February 17, 2012 and is directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the duo behind Crank, Crank: High Voltage, and Gamer. They insist it isn’t a sequel.

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The latest issue of Empire Magazine contains a feature on Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, and they’ve released the first images from the movie.

Footage from Spirit Of Vengeance was recently screened at the San Diego Comic Con, and has been described as “deranged” and “unspeakably insane“. Apparently Ghost Rider pisses actual flames in one shot.

In the film Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage) is hiding out in remote Eastern Europe and is struggling to repress his curse. Blaze is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Ciaran Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son’s body.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is set to be released on February 17, 2012 and is directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the duo behind Crank, Crank: High Voltage, and Gamer. They insist it isn’t a sequel.

Read similar posts to New images from Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance on Filmonic

According to The Wrap Sony has given Ghost Rider 2 the greenlight so it can begin production almost immediately, but they have cut the budget from $135 million to $75 million. Nicolas Cage may have to ditch the motorcycle.

The studio has also partnered with Hyde Park Entertainment to co-finance the film as Sony already has a lot of money invested in the Spider-Man reboot, Men in Black 3 and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Hyde Park will also release the sequel overseas, while Sony will keep domestic distribution rights. Usually budgets for sequels increase by about $20-50 million, but in this case it appears Sony is keeping the risk low (Ghost Rider made $229 million worldwide in 2007).

In the film Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage) is hiding out in remote Eastern Europe and is struggling to repress his curse. Blaze is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Ciaran Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son’s body.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is set to be released on February 17, 2012 and will be directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the duo behind Crank, Crank: High Voltage, and Gamer.

Read similar posts to Ghost Rider 2 budget cut in half on Filmonic

According to Heat Vision Irish actor Ciaran Hinds is in negotiations with Columbia to play the Devil in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. In the film Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider (Nicolas Cage) is hiding out in remote Eastern Europe and is struggling to repress his curse. Blaze is recruited by a sect to take on the devil (Hinds), who wants to take over his mortal son’s body.

Italian actress-singer Violante Placido also said to be in talks to join the cast, presumable as the female lead. Filming will begin towards the end of November in Romania and Turkey.

Ciaran Hinds has been rather busy lately. He is currently shooting The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe, and will appear in Deathly Hallows: Part II next year as Dumbledore’s brother. Hinds also filmed Disney’s John Carter of Mars earlier this year where he plays Tardes Mors, a leader of one of the two warring tribes on Mars.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is set to be released on February 17, 2012 and will be directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the duo behind Crank, Crank: High Voltage, and Gamer.

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According to SHH Columbia Pictures has set a February 17, 2012 release date for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Nicolas Cage will once again play Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider but this time Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the duo behind Crank, Crank: High Voltage, and Gamer, will direct.

Cage revealed earlier this year he will be heading to Romania and “Ghostrider has to ride up to Dracula’s castle”, which suggests he will be battling Dracula next time round. David Goyer has been working on the script and he previously mentioned that the film is set 8 years after the first one, and is a “bit more stripped down and darker”.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has no direct competition at the moment, but in the realm of superhero 2012 will see The Avengers, Batman 3, Spider-Man, and probably Wolverine 2. Columbia has wisely avoided those.

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