We are thrilled to announce that Zach Schonfeld’s book just sold to Oxford University Press !

Birth of the Cage: Wild Tales from the Early Career of Nicolas Cage

A short description of the book: 

I am proposing to write a book that gives the definitive and immensely entertaining account of Nicolas Cage’s early career. Birth of the Cage will take readers behind the scenes of the beloved films that turned Cage into an eccentric and uncompromising screen icon, with a deep talent for portraying outsiders, weirdos, sleazeballs, and generally disturbed characters. The scope of the book will span from 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High—his debut film role—all the way up to Leaving Las Vegas, the astonishing dramatic role that won him an Academy Award 14 years later. 

The book will be rooted in extensive original reporting—in particular, interviews with the directors, producers, and actors who worked with Cage during this period (as well as Cage himself, to whatever extent he is willing to participate). But this is not a staid biography. Birth of the Cage will trace Cage’s onscreen self-discovery and the development of his rebellious and aggressively surrealistic approach towards acting, which takes cues from such unlikely sources as silent cinema and German expressionistic. It will reveal how he transformed from the goofy teenager of Valley Girl to the wild-eyed practitioner of what he calls “Nouveau Shamanic” performance, capable of lighting up the screen and bending the boundaries of good taste in outlandish cult films like Raising Arizona and Vampire’s Kiss.