Nic Cage – Matchbox Cine

Cage-a-rama 2020 Guests + UK Tour

Black an white image: Nicolas Cage and stand-in Marco Kyris stand together, looking down - Cage holds tissue paper, Marco an empty tin can — Nicolas Cage and Marco Kyris on set

Matchbox Cineclub are pleased to announce Marco Kyris, Nicolas Cage’s official stand-in for over ten years, will attend our third annual Cage-a-rama film festival at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts on 3rd, 4th & 5th January 2020 and afterwards embark on a UK-wide Cage-a-rama: Uncaged tour.

Marco, who worked with Cage on almost 20 films between 1994-2005, will join Lindsay Gibb, Toronto-based author of National Treasure: Nicolas Cage and world-leading Nicolas Cage expert, for an in-conversation event and a screening of Uncaged: A Stand-in Story at CCA Glasgow on Saturday 4th January. Kyris will also introduce several of Cage-a-rama 2020’s films across the festival weekend: Leaving Las Vegas (for which Cage won an Academy Award® for Best Actor), the first of the fan-favourite National Treasure films, and Martin Scorsese’s urban horror Bringing Out the Dead, the latter of which he will introduce alongside journalist Josh Slater-Williams (Sight & Sound, Little White Lies).

Kyris has also guest-programmed a special opening night screening of one of his favourite collaborations with Cage, Brian De Palma’s Snake Eyes, followed by a Q&A. Throughout the festival, Marco will be open to any questions about his “Cage Wage” years, and share genuine call-sheets and other Cage memorabilia from his archive – and might be persuaded to part with them if audience members pose good enough questions. Cage-a-rama’s opening night is sponsored by Drygate.

Directors Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) and Stephen Campanelli (Grand Isle) will introduce their films via specially recorded videos. Joining them are Nicolas Cage aficionados from across the globe, including Timon Singh of Bristol Bad Film Club, Torïo Garcia of the Spanish NicCagepedia, and Mike Manzi & Joey Lewandowski, the New Jersey-based hosts of the much-loved #CageClub: The Nicolas Cage Podcast.

Three images featuring Marco Kyris standing in for Nicolas Cage on film sets - The Rock, Face/Off and Con Air. (https://www.mkyris.com/) — Marco Kyris, on the sets of The Rock, Face/Off and Con Air

The subsequent Cage-a-rama 2020 UK Tour will feature a 35mm screening of Con Air at the Genesis Cinema in London on Thursday 9th January, and a 20th-anniversary screening of Gone in 60 Seconds in collaboration with Bristol Bad Film Club at Bristol Improv Theatre on Saturday 11th January. Both screenings will be accompanied by Marco Kyris’s short film, Uncaged: A Stand-In Story, and a post-screening Q&A.

Cage-a-rama 2020 highlights Cage’s relationship with directors: from big guns to young guns, from huge budgets to low ones, from his career’s early days to now. The festival features 10 films over three days, closing with the UK premiere of brand-new Nicolas Cage film Primal (2019), to be released by Lionsgate in February 2020. Sunday 5th January also sees the UK premiere of Grand Isle, which pairs Cage with Kelsey Grammer, set to be released by 101 Films. The rest of the programme features Cage classics from some of his earliest roles, in Francis Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married and Top Gun “homage” Fire Birds, to blockbuster sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets and a midnight screening of Zandalee, his erotic thriller co-starring Judge Reinhold.

Cage-a-rama 2020 Weekend and Day Passes and individual tickets are on sale via Matchbox Cineclub’s online shop. Tickets for Con Air in London are available via Genesis Cinema’s website (genesiscinema.co.uk) and tickets for Gone in 60 Seconds can be purchased via Bristol Improv Theatre (improvtheatre.co.uk).

For the first time, the entire Glasgow Cage-a-rama programme will be open-captioned for D/deaf audiences, and tickets for each film are priced on a sliding scale, £0-8, with reference to our three-tiered guide, so audience members decide what to pay.

Keep up-to-date via the Cage-a-rama 2020 Facebook event

Poster for Cage-a-rama 2020, feauring an illustration of Nicolas Cage climbing Glasgow Cathedral a la King Kong (https://veronavarro.com/) — Illustration by Vero Navarro

Going Full Cage: Exploring the Enigma of Nicolas Cage

Tara Judah and Ti Singh bring their sell-out show to Cage-a-rama 2019

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We are beyond thrilled to bring Going Full Cage, the extremely popular, sell-out event from Bristol’s Watershed, to Glasgow for Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged. In January, two of the UK’s foremost film experts will explore the phenomenon of Nicolas Cage and debate the case for and against the best/worst actor of our times.

Nicolas Cage has been nominated for more Razzies than he has Oscars (The Golden Raspberry Awards recognise the worst in film), and yet he remains an Academy Award winning actor, thanks to his outstanding performance in Leaving Las Vegas. But just how can one man be recognised by both the industry’s most esteemed and most mocking award ceremonies? As fascinating as he is baffling, who is this enigmatic man? Is he utterly brilliant – in on the joke – or is he an overrated actor taking whatever pay check comes his way?

Whatever your opinion, we can say for sure that this member of the Coppola clan has worked with both the best and the worst in the business. From the Coen Brothers to the Kaufmans, with David Lynch and Neil LaBute, Nic Cage has entertained cinema audiences for almost forty years. Famous for his outlandish purchases, including oddities as wide-ranging as a castle in Bath (where he used to live!) and an illegal dinosaur skull, it’s no wonder he’s earned a reputation for eccentricity.

Nic Cage super fans Tara Judah (Watershed Cinema Producer) and Timon Singh (Bristol Bad Film Club Founder), will be diving deep into the bottomless abyss of the enigma. Presenting their cases for and against his brilliance in back to back presentations with clips, quotes and context, before discussing and debating their findings. Join us on Saturday 5th January as Tara and Ti dare to go Full Cage.

Whether you’ve seen the best or the worst of his career, this session will equip you with the tools, anecdotes and arguments to understand the curious career and big screen allure of one of Hollywood’s most unconventional A-listers.

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Tara Judah is Cinema Producer at Watershed in Bristol, and has worked in programming and editorial for the cinema’s archive, classic and repertory film festival, Cinema Rediscovered since its inception in 2016. Tara is also a freelance film critic and has contributed to Senses of Cinema, Desist Film, Monocle and Sight & Sound. Tara is a director on the board of trustees at one of the UK’s longest continuously operating cinemas, Curzon Cinema Clevedon. Tara’s favourite Nic Cage movie is Wild at Heart and her least favourite is City of Angels. (WHYYYY?) She especially loves it when Nic Cage sings.

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Timon Singh is Campaign Managers for Film Hub South West and also runs Bristol Bad Film Club and Bristol Sunset Cinema in… well, Bristol. He has previously written for Den Of Geek UK and Cineworld Magazine and his first book Born To Be Bad: Talking to the greatest villains in action cinema is out now. Timon is also the writer/producer on the upcoming documentary film In Search of the Last Action Heroes. His favourite Nicolas Cage film is Wings of the Apache. His worst is the first Ghost Rider. At the least the sequel had the decency to go Full Cage…

Going Full Cage, Saturday 5th January 2019, CCA Glasgow, part of Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged. All tickets on sale via our online store, here.

Cage-a-rama 2: Premieres, Guests and Going Full Cage

Matchbox Cineclub present the UK premiere of Nicolas Cage’s newest film, Between Worlds, with director Maria Pulera in attendance

Between Worlds is the film where Nicolas Cage makes love to women while reading aloud from a book entitled “Memories by Nicolas Cage”. That’s to say, it’s the perfect closing film for Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged, our second annual Nicolas Cage film festival. We’re delighted to welcome writer-director-producer Maria Pulera to present her film at Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow, on Sunday 6th January, 2019.

Nicolas Cage is Joe, a man obsessed by the death of his wife and daughter. At a way station on a lonely highway, Joe meets Julie (Franka Potente), a spiritually gifted woman who enlists him in a desperate attempt to recover the lost soul of her comatose daughter, Billie (Penelope Mitchell).

The full Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged film programme features Mandy, Army of One, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Wicker Man, Mom and Dad, Zandalee, Vampire’s Kiss, Wild At Heart and Between Worlds.

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Confirmed guests/contributors include: Maria Conchita Alonso (actor, Vampire’s Kiss, The Running Man, Predator 2), Skype Q&A; Lindsay Gibb (author, National Treasure: Nicolas Cage), video essay premiere; Barry Gifford (author, Wild At Heart, screenwriter, Lost Highway, Hotel Room), pre-recorded interview; Tara Judah (Bristol’s Watershed) and Ti Singh (Bristol Bad Film Club), Going Full Cage; Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks) and Shane Morton (Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell), creators of Mandy‘s Cheddar Goblin sequence, Skype Q&A; Maria Pulera (director, Between Worlds), live Q&A; Brian Taylor (director, Mom and Dad, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Crank), Skype Q&A.

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Film experts Tara Judah and Ti Singh bring their sell-out Going Full Cage live event from Bristol’s Watershed on Saturday 5th January. Canadian Cage academician Lindsay Gibb will also premiere a brand-new and exclusive video essay at the festival.

With 11 Nicolas Cage films and events over three days, a counter-Cage cool-off area will be provided for those who need a break – this VHS “Hanks-a-rama” station will loop the reassuring presence of America’s Dad Tom Hanks throughout the festival weekend.

Local brewers Innis and Gunn sponsor Cage-a-rama for the first time this year. The annual Nicolas Cage Birthday Quiz will run on Sunday 6th, with prizes provided by Arrow Video and a huge pile of Cage merchandise up for grabs. A wide range of Cage-related publications and merchandise will also be on sale in the festival pop-up shop.

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Cage-a-rama weekend pass holders get a personalised Blockbuster-style membership card. All tickets are on sale via our online store: matchboxcineclub.bigcartel.com.

Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged takes place Friday 4th to Sunday 6th January 2019 at Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow.

Keep up-to-date with the Facebook event page here.

Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged

Europe’s longest-running Nicolas Cage Film Festival returns to Glasgow

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Matchbox Cineclub present Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged, a two-day film festival celebrating the wild, weird world of Nicolas Cage. Europe’s longest running Nic Cage film festival returns on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th of January 2019, to the Centre of Contemporary Arts, Glasgow.

Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged fully unleashes the wild side of Cage with eight films, classic and brand-new, featuring the Oscar-winner’s most iconic meltdowns, freak-outs and outbursts. The festival also features a range of bonus content, including Cage’s 55^th Birthday Brunch + Quiz and Going Full Cage, a live event hosted by Tara Judah (Watershed Cinema producer) and Ti Singh (Bristol Bad Film Club founder and author).

The full programme will be announced on Wednesday 24/10.

Programmer Sean Welsh says, “People flew in from across Europe to attend the first, sell-out Cage-a-rama in January 2018. We wanted to raise the stakes with this sequel, so Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged is going to be an even more intense experience for fans. Last year, our campaign to #BringCage2Glasgow netted his official stand-in, Marco Kyris, so this year we’re upping our game to get him.”

Weekend passes for Cage-a-rama 2: Cage Uncaged are on sale now in our online shop. Limited day passes and single tickets will be on sale Friday 26/10.

Sign up to Matchbox Cineclub’s mailing list to get updates on Cage-a-rama and more: eepurl.com/duX1R9.

Nic Cage’s stand-in joins CAGE-A-RAMA 2018 line-up

We’re delighted to announce that Marco Kyris, Nicolas Cage’s official stand-in for over 10 years, through his iconic Action trilogy and almost 20 films, will be joining us for a live Skype Q&A on Saturday at Cage-A-Rama 2018!

Marco Kyris was born and raised in Toronto, Canada on Oct 14, 1961 [Nee Evrimahos Kyriakakis] to Greek immigrant parents. Growing up in a non English speaking house in Greektown with two siblings proved difficult for Marco, who was challenged academically and never kept up with school or family ties.

He was more of talker, like a TV show host, and worked that naturally into retail and restaurant skills over his teens and twenties.

Moved to Paris at 21 to soak in the culture and learn French while waitering, then to Los Angeles to try his skills in acting while working as a maitre’d, and meeting the stars of that era. Taking acting classes and getting bit parts that came and went, Marco was disillusioned by LA and not succeeding, so after several years he moved back home to Toronto to start over again.

While settling back, he had an audition to be Nicolas Cage’s stand-in for a winter theme film there. He got the gig, and ended up befriending Cage. Nic thought Marco was just right to be his permanent stand-in, as Cage was becoming an A list actor and was building a traveling team of hair, make-up, wardrobe, stunt, and stand-in. This turned into a 10-year-long career of almost 20 films with Mr Cage and his entourage.

All on buddy terms, they travelled many cities, states, and countries over those years, working on Cage’s most iconic and memorable films to date, including his trio of action films. Hard working and well respected as all of Cage’s team was, it was time to move on as the biz was changing, and Cage seemed like he needed a fresh start, as he masterfully re-invents himself when necessary.

Marco and the team were also ready to retire into a more calming life. It was a welcome halt from movie madness travel in the Cage Wage World.

Marco has been living in Toronto ever since, and bought into real estate holdings as a long term retirement, but travels back to LA yearly to enjoy winter with film friends.

He is currently working on his memoirs of that time, and has a podcast with guests of his film past (Babble B.S. And Beyond). Check out his website at www.mkyris.com for more fun photos from behind the scenes of your favourite Cage flicks.

Marco is recording a special introduction to the action trilogy and will be joining us live from Toronto after the screening of Con Air.

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Tickets from CCA: Book online, 0141 352 4900.

Keep up-to-date with the CAGE-A-RAMA 2018 Facebook event page here.

£4 (+£1 booking fee) per film
Day pass: £9 (+£1 booking fee)
Weekend pass: £18 (+£1 booking fee)