EXCLUSIVE: Screenwriter and director David O. Russell has hired Nicolas Cage as the lead actor Drive crazythe Amazon MGM Studios drama about the unlikely path that took John Madden from Super Bowl winner and head coach of the Oakland Raiders to the head and brand behind Madden NFL. This paved the way for his rise to become arguably the best football commentator the NFL has ever seen.
When Madden became the Raiders’ head coach and led the team to a championship, he seemed to be on top of the world. Coaching and teaching the fundamentals of football was everything he ever wanted out of life. But his dream job destroyed him because he was so obsessed with putting everything into the job. He had to quit at the peak of his powers.
That path that shaped Madden’s future was an unlikely one. He was courted by the fledgling gaming company Electronic Arts to become the frontman for their multiplayer video game Madden NFL. Madden had never played a video game before, but it became an outlet where he could contribute his knowledge and help the masses better understand the football field. Although Madden died in late 2021, the hugely popular game that bears his name continues to thrive in his 25 years.th Iteration. It became a favorite of NFL players and fans alike and Madden made a fortune from it.
That paved the way for him to enter the commentary booth, where he initially provided color while Bob Costas called the plays. His most famous collaboration was with former football star Pat Summerall; their voices are part of the soundtrack of many football fans’ adult lives. Madden changed the commentary game by combining his exceptional knowledge of Xs and Os with a bombastic sense of humor and childlike joy, focusing not just on the game but also on its absurdities. He also focused on the unsung achievements of not only the “skill players” but also the giants on the offensive and defensive lines who fought epic battles that few had noticed before Madden made them household names. His skills included a penchant for using the Telestrator to illustrate everything from the composition of great plays on the field to the smoke rising from an offensive lineman’s overheated head.
The slender Cage may not be the first person to spring to mind for the role of the muscle-bound Madden, but this is an admirable second turn for the Oscar winner. Cage has taken on a number of very different characters. Most recently, he shone in the horror hit Long-leggedand before that in Renfield, The Unbearable Burden of Enormous Talent, Pig and others. He has always thrown himself headfirst into these characters, and Madden will be a tough test of his abilities.
“Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray beloved national legend John Madden, embodying the American spirit of originality, fun and determination to make anything possible at its best,” said director David O’Russell. “Combined with the wild style, determination 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 brought to a wildly inventive, cool world in the 1970s.”
Russell wrote the screenplay, based on an earlier draft by Cambron Clark. Black’s partners at Escape Artists, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch, and Jonathan Shukat are also producing, alongside David O. Russell and Matthew Budman. Escape Artists’ David Bloomfield will serve as executive producer.
Cage is repped by WME and Stride Management, Russell is repped by CAA.
