Why Nic Cage Hates Seth Rogen
Nic Cage has held a grudge against the actor that dates back to The Green Hornet.
This article is more than 2 years old
Who hates Seth Rogen? The likable Canadian spent 2020 sharing photos from his home pottery studio on his Instagram. He’s easy-going. He’s funny. It’s hard not to laugh when he gets going with that classic laugh of his. The actor has played in a lot of stoner movies, only to now run his own cannabis company, which is both amusing and on brand. He’s just some happy, likable, guy doing his own thing. Right? Who doesn’t like Seth Rogen? Well, Nic Cage. Rogen is pretty sure that Cage doesn’t like him one bit.
In a recent interview with GQ, Rogen was asked about a number of Hollywood rumors. The second story they asked him about involved Nic Cage. According to the interview, Cage was up for the part of Benjamin Chudnofsky in The Green Hornet. Cage proposed playing the Russian crime boss in the 2011 movie two different ways, and also suggested adding a scene idea. His first take on the character was for Benjamin Chudnofsky to be a bald man but with hair tattooed on his head. He wanted to have large prosthetic lips and talk like actor Edward G. Robinson.
When Nic Cage met Seth Rogen in person, he had changed his mind about how he wanted to play the villain for The Green Hornet. He wanted the Russian crime boss to act like a “white Bahamian”. This mean he wanted the character to have a thick Caribbean accent. He also had an idea for a scene, and he acted that scene out. The idea involved Cage pouring pigs blood on Green Hornet. This would be part of a “creepy voodoo ritual”.
In the end, Nic Cage didn’t get the part. Instead, the role of the villain went to Christoph Waltz. The villain was played in an entirely different way, and that probably should have been the end of the story. However, a year after The Green Hornet released, Seth Rogen’s good friend played in Spring Breakers. The 2012 movie featured Franco playing a character named Alien.
According to Rogen, Nic Cage recently requested a meeting. This part happened only just before the pandemic began, so in late 2019. During this meeting, Cage wanted to know if Rogen had told James Franco about Cage’s idea for the villain in The Green Hornet. Nic Cage felt that Franco had probably stolen his idea for the villain and used it in Spring Breakers.
Spring Breakers and The Green Hornet were not exactly critically-acclaimed films. Still, Nic Cage is apparently angry about the events, at least according to Seth Rogen. He says that he expects Cage will continue not to like him into the future. Probably particularly since Seth Rogen isn’t afraid of sharing this story in GQ, where Cage is the guy who not only didn’t get the part but then had his idea stolen by Franco.
Strangely, the character of Alien as played by James Franco in Spring Breakers completley makes sense as a villain Cage might play. Now that the GQ interview has published, we’ll have to wait to see if Nic Cage has anything else to add to this story.
