Nicolas Cage responds to his Pig movie Oscar snub, saying he never expected a nomination and believing it achieved what it needed to. The Oscar winner starred in the crime drama as Robin “Rob” Field, a former Portland chef who lives as a reclusive truffle hunter in the Oregonian wilderness. When his prized foraging pig is kidnapped and he’s left beaten, he must return to his past with the help of young and inexperienced luxury ingredient supplier Amir to track down his pig.
Alongside Cage, the cast for Pig includes Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin, Nina Belforte, Gretchen Corbett and David Knell. Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski in his feature debut, the film has received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike for Cage’s performance, the subversive tone and story and Sarnoski’s direction. Despite the positive reviews, Pig was left out from the major awards ceremonies this year, surprising many, save for one close to the production.
Cage recently caught up with IndieWire to discuss The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and his recent return to stardom. When reflecting on his acclaimed work in Pig and reports of having been snubbed for his performance in the film, Cage said he didn’t expect to get a nomination and initially didn’t want to campaign for the award, but felt moved by the character and story that he decided to help build its reputation. See what Cage said below:
“I don’t normally go and do the things like campaigning, but ‘Pig’ is one of two movies that I’ve made in 43 years that really was like lightning in a bottle, where the people you’re working with, everything is just flowing in a way where the ship is sailing and the wind is blowing from a place that you don’t know. The other one was ‘Leaving Las Vegas.’ When I saw the movie, initially I thought it would antithetical to the character for me to campaign. But these people were a joy to work with.
The movie came out in July and it didn’t get any love from the film festivals. [Cannes head] Thierry Fremaux said no, so I was like, ‘Let’s give this movie a little bit of attention so people may discover it because I think it’s worthy of that.’ I never expected a nomination. The movie has already told a story and that’s why we’re in this business. It became almost like a folk song, especially with what we were all going through coming out of feelings of isolation with the quarantine. So the movie already achieved what it was trying to achieve.”
Cage’s response to the Pig movie Oscar snub is a humble one and very in line with his character in the film, not wanting to seek out the fame but rather take solace in knowing he told the story Sarnoski wanted to tell. His note that the drama didn’t receive any love in its festival runs is interesting given much of the film’s anticipation came from its early positive reception in the festival circuit and saw distributor NEON acquire the rights to the movie in a heated bidding war. Given its indie status, Cage is right to a degree that Pig didn’t get the same level of widespread attention as the more modestly budgeted The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, though the film still proved to be a modest box office success, grossing over $3.8 million.
The Pig movie Oscars snub came as one of many surprises from the awards ceremony this year alongside Lady Gaga being overlooked for her performance in House of Gucci and Bradley Cooper in Licorice Pizza. It also came as a disappointment for fans of Cage who have relished in his recent return to more critically favored roles, some of which include Panos Cosmatos’ psychedelic horror pic Mandy, Richard Stanley’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s Color Out of Space, Sion Sono’s surreal Western Prisoners of the Ghostland and the action horror-comedy Willy’s Wonderland. With The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent currently scoring rave reviews ahead of its April release, however, Cage’s Oscar future is still open.
