Nicolas Cage.

Shame.

The movie is titled KNOWING and it’s a sci/fi thriller setup at Summit Entertainment which will begin production in Melbourne in March, cutting it fine to beat the June deadline but 2 and a bit months should see everything run ok.

The film was first originated by novelist Ryne Pearson (MERCURY RISING) who came up with the idea for the flick and pitched the first draft. Since then re-writes from a couple of screenwriters have taken place but the locked shooting draft has come from Proyas himself and Stuart Hazeldine (RIVERWORLD).

Cage will play a teacher who examines the contents of a time capsule unearthed at his son’s elementary school. Startling predictions in the time capsule that have already come true lead him to believe the world is going to end at the close of the week and that he and his son are somehow involved in the destruction.

Half decent plot, lots of avenues to explore here but it’s kind of a similar role for Cage as his NATIONAL TREASURE movies and although I think his persona works quite well there, I’m not sure if it will here. Another question that Variety don’t have the answer too is just how Proyas will approach it. Will it be action lauded like I, ROBOT or is this a psychological thriller?

Alex Proyas has quickly become one of the more interesting directors around in Hollywood having given us THE CROW, DARK CITY and I, ROBOT over the last 13 years and with DRACULA YEAR ONE and possibly a stand-alone SILVER SURFER movie on the horizon, he could soon become a household name.

Shame he couldn’t have picked a more interesting actor but I guess in these pre-strike days where most actors are already committed to movies, the well is pretty dry. They have done well to get a marketable actor but just not a popular one.