Unfortunately, we don’t know much about the story of “Dream Scenario” yet, but what is known sounds crazy. Nicholas Kooi plays a pretty ordinary teacher who suddenly becomes famous all over the world when he appears in everyone’s dreams.
“Dream Scenario” comes from Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli, who has just thrilled festivals with the grotesque social satire “Sick Of Myself” (German cinema release March 23, 2023), which also contains body horror elements. That indie forge A24 movie (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) also “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” makers Ari Aster being involved as a producer already suggests that things are going in the horror direction here too. For a while, Aster even wanted to direct the project, which was sometimes described as “horror satire”, and at the time had Adam Sandler in mind for the lead role.
What we also already know about “Dream Scenario” is what Nicolas Cage looks like. Because director Kristoffer Borgli published on now a look back at his “crazy and beautiful year” 2022. While the first photos are still ahead of “Sick Of Myself” and its premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, it’s worth clicking through. Photos 7 – 10 are from the recordings of “Dream Scenario” and show Cage in his role, among others.
We see the superstar with a few more pounds on his ribs and significantly less hair on his head. It’s a bit reminiscent of “adaptation”. Even though there are some visual differences, of course his Charlie Kaufman has a bit more (and curly) hair and doesn’t wear a beard, but similar vibes emanate from the characters. The parallels are there – and they aren’t bad.
After all, “Adaptation” is considered by many to be one of the best roles of Nicolas Cage’s career – although more precisely, they are “two of his best roles”. After all, he plays twin brothers in Spike Jonze’s bizarre comedy, for which he received his second Oscar nomination after taking home the golden boy in 1996 for “Leaving Las Vegas.”
The fact that the images are in black and white does not indicate to us that “Dream Scenario” could also be in black and white, as some other movie sites are currently speculating. If you look at Borgli’s annual review, you will see that he also kept all other photos, such as the red carpet in Cannes, in black and white.
Incidentally, Benjamin Loeb is responsible for the camera on “Dream Scenario”. He also filmed Borgli’s “Sick Of Myself” but also worked with Cage on “Mandy”, not a bad reference when it comes to impressive visuals. His resume also includes the strong German NSU drama “Wintermärchen” and the Netflix masterpiece “Pieces Of A Woman”.
Netflix and Black Adam star Noah Centineo can also be seen in the photos for “Dream Scenario”, who joins the cast along with Julianne Nicholson (“Blonde”). It is not yet known when “Dream Scenario” will appear. But that can only happen in 2024.
With Nicolas Cage, there are plenty of other exciting projects coming up. The western “Butcher’s Crossing” has already had its premiere at festivals and his Dracula film “Renfield” recently received an R rating for adults in the US – partly because of “gory violence and some gory scenes”.
At the end of the article, here’s the trailer for “Sick Of Myself,” which, as I said, is scheduled to hit German cinemas on March 23, 2023: