For all the wild Nicolas Cage stories we’ve heard in our lifetimes, there’s surely plenty that have yet to be disclosed. Seth Rogen was the latest person to remind us how eccentric the National Treasure star famously is when he shared a super out-there story about his past run-ins with the actor. Rogen said when he was making The Green Hornet, Cage reached out to him about playing a "Jamaican white guy" that set off "a lot of alarms" for him and his partners on the movie.
Seth Rogen told the story in promotion of his collection of essays titled Yearbook, after the comedy actor, writer and producer wrote of his encounter with Nicolas Cage in the book. As it goes, Cage reached out to him about playing the movie’s villain, and it was ultimately rejected since Rogen felt it might cause a “world of trouble” for the production. With the book being on shelves for just under a week, Cage has now released a statement in response to the story. In his words to EW:
I like Seth. He's a funny guy and clearly a good storyteller. I wish him luck with his book.
Nicolas Cage chose not to address the issue head-on or defend himself in any way. The actor’s statement was one of support toward Seth Rogen as his book on the week of its release. So that’s that. No drama or bad will seems to be between Rogen in light of a decade-old story about The Green Hornet villain that never was.
Seth Rogen was recently asked to tell the story on The Howard Stern Show, to which he went into detail about the awkward encounters he had with the actor. After Nic Cage pitched him his ideas for the role, he, Sony chief Amy Pascal and his partner Evan Goldberg met with the Con Air actor and here’s what apparently happened:
We show up at the house and within 60 seconds we were all seated in the living room as he stood in front of us reciting a monologue in a Jamaican accent. We were all just like, what's happening? A monologue, I should add, that was not in the script — nor did it have anything to do with the script. At which point I was like, I don't think he's read the script! There was no indication he had any idea what film we were trying to make, other than it was called The Green Hornet and there was a villain in it.
And when Rogen had to reject the idea, Nic Cage apparently left their meeting abruptly. Years later, Seth Rogen met with the actor again after his former collaborator James Franco had worn cornrows for Spring Breakers. During a meeting, Cage confronted Rogen, asking him if he told Franco about his idea from Green Hornet. Rogen denied it, but it didn’t seem like Cage believed him, by Rogen’s measure.
Despite what happened, Seth Rogen told Howard Stern that he’d still probably work with Nicolas Cage if the right opportunity presented itself. It sounds like Cage’s vision for Green Hornet didn’t match their vision and the role ultimately went to Christoph Waltz (who did not do a Jamaican accent). There are tons of crazy celebrity stories to be found in Rogen’s Yearbook including one about Tom Cruise pitching Scientology to him. The book is out now.
