One of the most interesting stories of the week is that a biopic about John Madden is currently being filmed and a legendary actor is nominated for the role of the legendary trainer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oscar winner Nicolas Cage is set to take on the role of Madden in a film directed by David O. Russell.
Fresh from his role in the surprise hit Long-leggedCage is back in demand in Hollywood after years of dominating the independent scene. Casting him as Madden is a stroke of genius. The Hall of Fame commentator and trainer was a standout personality, and there is arguably no actor more standout than Cage.
Interestingly, this is not a traditional biopic. According to THR, it is more of a video game movie and will focus mainly on the creation of the Madden NFL Video game. Raiders fans may be disappointed that his time as coach of the legendary franchise isn’t the focus, but it’s understandable why they’d want to focus on the video game aspect.
Russell is a controversial director and I personally don’t like his films, but he has been nominated for five Oscars and his actors usually deliver really great performances. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cage finally wins some awards.
“Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will represent the best of the American spirit of originality, fun and determination, where anything is possible, as beloved national legend John Madden,” Russell said in a statement. “Combined with the wild style, focus and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the film will be about the joy, humanity and genius that John Madden represented in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s.”
This quote is pretty interesting because it doesn’t sound like they’re completely ignoring Madden’s connection to the Raiders in the movie. This is definitely a movie that Raider Nation should keep an eye on when it eventually comes out.
