Sure, Sundance is absolutely loaded with some amazing prestige films that are sure to be in the discussion at the end of the year during awards season. Rebecca Hall’s “Passing?” Looks incredible and thought-provoking. “Together Together?” Sure to be a good time. And Jerrod Carmichael’s “On the Count of Three” looks pretty great, as well. But don’t call me crazy for thinking “Prisoners of The Ghostland” might be the most exciting film to make its debut at this year’s event. Why? Well, when you hear the film’s director, Sion Sono, talk about it, ‘Ghostland’ might be heralded as one of Nicolas Cage’s wildest films ever made. Let that gravity of that statement sink in for a second.
Speaking to EW, Sono talked about his new Sundance film, “Prisoners of the Ghostland,” and how it might be a film that fans of Nicolas Cage put up there with the eccentric actor’s craziest features. On paper, the premise doesn’t seem all that nutty. The film follows Cage’s character, who is freed from jail by a wealthy warlord so that he can be given the mission to find the warlord’s kidnapped granddaughter. But wait, there’s more! You see, the catch is Cage’s character is put in a leather suit that will explode if he doesn’t return with the girl after five days. Oh yeah, and according to Sono, “There are samurais, there are ninjas, and ghosts are part of the story as well.”
All told, this sounds like it could be bonkers. As for the hype from Cage himself, who said that ‘Ghostland’ might be his “wildest” film yet, Sono said, “That’s a good question. I’d rather leave that question up to the audience. However, I know that Nicolas Cage has done a lot of great works and some of the works are crazy as well. If audiences think that this is the wildest movie that he’s ever made, the craziest movie that he’s ever made, then I would be really really happy to hear that.”
But just because the film is full of insane action and features one of the most legendarily “interesting” actors in the industry, Sono has nothing but rave reviews about working with Cage on the film.
“He is literally the easiest person to work with in the world, in my opinion,” Sono said. “He never acts like a star star at all. He tried everything he can to make this movie great for Sion. He did everything for Sion. I actually feel fantastic. Great. Just so you know, I text with Nicolas on a daily basis and we share this happiness that the movie is showing at Sundance.”
“Prisoners of the Ghostland” will debut at this year’s Sundance. A full release has yet to be announced. You can see the first look image below.
