Nicolas Cage will portray John Madden, the legendary American football coach and sports commentator, in director David O. Russell’s upcoming biographical drama “Madden.”
“Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination in which anything is possible as beloved national legend John Madden,” Russell said in a statement. “Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s.”
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Madden, who died in 2021 at the age of 85, was the burly, garrulous head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, leading the team to many championship games and its first Super Bowl victory. He became a mainstay of television football coverage, spending three decades as a color commentator after retiring from coaching in 1979. He’s also the namesake of the popular video game franchise, “Madden NFL,” and continued to provide creative input for the series after his retirement as a broadcaster in 2009.
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Amazon MGM is backing “Madden,” which will be written, directed and produced by Russell. The filmmaker was reportedly considering Will Ferrell and Hugh Jackman to star in the film before Cage was cast.
Additional casting for “Madden” will be announced at a later date, according to the studio. Todd Black will also produce “Madden” with Escape Artists’ Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and Jonathan Shukat, alongside Matthew Budman. Escape Artists partner David Bloomfield will executive produce.
Cage, the Oscar-winning actor who has become synonymous with a certain kind of scene-chewery, can currently be seen in Neon’s box office hit “Longlegs,” which has grossed nearly $100 million globally to date. His other recent credits include A24’s “Dream Scenario,” meta comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” and the acclaimed drama “Pig.”
Russell is the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker of “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Fighter” and “I Heart Huckabees.” His latest film, 2022’s star-studded period drama “Amsterdam,” majorly flopped in theaters with just $31 million in worldwide ticket sales. In addition to “Madden,” he’s also working on a Linda Ronstadt biopic, starring Selena Gomez, as well as a 1970s-set drama “Super Toys,” featuring Keke Palmer and Sacha Baron Cohen.
The filmmaker has a long-documented history of combative and abusive behavior on his film sets, and he was accused in 2011 of groping his then-teenaged niece. (Russell confirmed the incident occurred but said it was consensual, the L.A. Times reported at the time.)
Deadline Hollywood first reported the news of Cage’s casting.
