Who could have guessed how much news we would read about John Madden in the last 24 hours? After initial reports suggested that Amazon had Will Ferrell in its sights for the role of the NFL legend in a new biopic, Director David O. Russell confirmed that the role goes to… Nicolas Cage?!
“Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will play the beloved national legend John Madden, bringing to life the American spirit of originality, fun and determination that anything is possible,” Russell said, according to Deadline. “Along with the wild style, determination and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders team, the feature will explore the joy, humanity and genius that John Madden brought to an incredibly inventive, cool world in the 1970s.”
Madden coached the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, so the film will likely focus on his time on the sidelines – rather than his late-career transition into the world of television broadcasting and video games. Madden coached the Raiders to their first Super Bowl title in 1977, but later in his life spent half a decade working with Electronic Arts to develop a realistic football video game. (Even though he’d never touched a controller before!) Although Madden also had a lucrative career as a co-commentator for the NFL, his name is probably more closely associated with his hit video game franchise today.
But back to Cage. He is certainly an interesting choice for Madden’s larger than life personality, but I would pay a lot of money to see him frantically drawing X’s and O’s. After Long-legged, PigAnd Dream scenarioit feels like Cage can do anything – including grow four inches and gain 100 pounds to play the (literal) football giant. Will we see Cage’s Madden yelling at Ken Stabler? Will Cage hire Austin Butler’s voice coach to get Madden’s vocal cords TV-ready? My main question is: Can Cage avoid the famous Madden curse?
According to fans of the series, the cover of Drive crazy is both a gift and a curse. Over the years, many Drive crazy Cover Stars would suffer a loss of performance or serious injury. (Never forget when Madden NFL 12 Cover star Peyton Hillis blamed his hamstring injury on the curse.) Although LaDainian Tomlinson turned down the cover in 2008 due to “contract negotiations,” many fans believed it was solely due to the threat of the curse. In 2010, EA even announced that it was considering developing a movie based entirely on the Madden curse. I don’t know how long ago it was that EA turned down the cover. Madden NFLs creation that will examine David O. Russell’s film, but I would warn Cage to stay away from any promos in which the actor is on a Drive crazy Cover!
