Nicolas Cage’s ‘Longlegs’ hit theaters recently. It drew attention due to Cage’s shocking role and an impressive marketing campaign. However, one of the film’s stars decided not to attend the screening at the premiere.
In an interview with Variety, Alicia Witt explained why she refuses to watch the film:
“When I did get the role, I had about six weeks. I journaled, I made playlists, I thought about her thought process, what she experienced as a child, and what her darkness was. By the time I got to set, I could let it all go and discover what she was going to do and say. It’s for that reason that I’m not watching the movie. It’s what came out of me that I don’t want to see.”
‘Longlegs’ follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she tries to solve a case involving multiple murders with hidden occult symbols. Witt plays Ruth Harker, Lee’s maniacal mother.
Cage Receives Lots Of Praise For His Role
‘Longlegs’ writer and director Osgood ‘Oz’ Perkins thinks that Cage was ‘unrecognizable’ in his role as the serial killer:
“We derived the voice of the character, the look of the character, the attitude. What references is Nic going to use in terms of people in his life or other actors? He’s very upfront that he pulls from other people a lot. So which other person is he going to do? By the time he gets to the set, he’s unrecognizable. He doesn’t sound like himself, he doesn’t walk like himself. So you have this element, like wind or fire, but it’s Nicolas Cage as your character.”
Speaking to The New Yorker, Cage revealed that he heard his mother’s voice when he read the script. This eventually inspired him for the role:
“For some reason, when I read the script, I heard my mother’s voice. And then I met with Perkins at the Polo Lounge. And the first thing he said to me was, ‘Nic, this is a movie about my mother.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s very interesting, Oz, because I was just thinking that I want to make this character about my mom.’ I thought, O.K., I want to make this character as a sort of homage to my mother. Not that she was satanic, but her vocalizations, the way she would move. So that’s why this is so different. It’s not Tiny Tim. It’s [Cage’s mother] Joy Vogelsang.”
‘Longlegs’ is currently out in theaters.
