The film is thoroughly enjoyable, it's far from being an amazing film, but take it at what it is, and nic cage doing the cage effect! [5] Lewis was hired as director in December 2019 while the cast joined in February 2020. It is revealed that the Arty Alligator animatronic is possessed by former art teacher turned infamous serial killer Arthur Allen, also called "The Bloody Banksy", who mauled people to death and then made artwork with their blood, declaring the world to be a blank canvas, and he is giving it color with each murder. Once you realize just how many of these robots there are, I found myself counting until he was done. [15], On June 25, 2021, Parsons confirmed that American Mythology Productions would release a comic book series serving as a prequel to the film.[16]. Next:How Many Body Parts Nic Cage Loses During Prisoners Of The Ghostland, Why Nic Cage Doesn't Talk In Willy's Wonderland, Willy's Wonderland: How To Watch Nic Cage's Five Nights At Freddy's Clone, How Many Body Parts Nic Cage Loses During Prisoners Of The Ghostland, The New Mad Max Might Break A Decades Old Series Rule, 6 Reasons Welcome To Derry Is More Exciting Than It Chapter 3, 7 Ways James Bond 26 Has To Be Different From Daniel Craig's 007 Era. However, Willy's Wonderland could have used more drafts and variety to really tap into the sheer gonzo potential of its ridiculous pitch. That was a puppet. [26] Charles Barfield of The Playlist gave a similar opinion and rated the film with a "B+". As the Janitor begins his duties, the restaurant's now-withered eight animatronic mascotsWilly Weasel, Arty Alligator, Cammy Chameleon, Ozzie Ostrich, Knighty Knight, Tito Turtle, Gus Gorilla, and Siren Saraare revealed to be alive and homicidal. Mike read it on a Friday morning, he gave it to Nick on a Friday night, I stared at this pink wall behind me for like 48 hours while Nick read the thing. I would visit him for summers, and those summers I wanted to be him," he explains. The houses and cars werent the only things Nicolas Cage bought, there was some weird stuff too. They're chintzy and creepy and effective in their Chuck E. Cheese/Freddy's reference points. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. A quiet drifter is tricked into a janitorial job at the now condemned Willy's Wonderland. Willy's Wonderland is a 2021 American action comedy horror film directed by Kevin Lewis from a screenplay by G. O. Parsons: The next stage was really Nicolas Cage defending the script while we took it out to try and get financing for it. Willy's Wonderland, Cage's latest venture, offers proof that he's gone overlooked. are available through our research services. Its scenarios feel a little rote, but are enlivened by the craziness that Cage brings to everything". With his seven cannibalistic colleagues, he often murdered unsuspecting families, but the authorities eventually discovered them. As mentioned above, Cage was worth about $150 million US at the height of his career in the mid-2000s. He's like, "If you want to do something good, you're going to have to make a movie." Does he take on somebody new? Neither is it an accident when he's towed to a garage run by a yokel (Chris Warner) who tells him the bill is going to be $1,000, and that he only takes cash, and that none of the ATMs in. That's what I wanted, man, especially with what's going on in the world and the pandemic. Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free newsletterto get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. He doesn't actually apply the tape to his face until after the ostrich fight, which happens shortly after he cleans the kitchen. Later on, it is revealed that the Cammy Chameleon animatronic is a woman going by the last name of "Love" and has a split personality in her deranged, psychopathic, and child-like immature mind, and her normal shy persona in the same comic and is revealed to be Jed Love's sister. But this wonderland has a dark secret that the The Janitor is about to discover. You can read more below about Nic Cages highest-paid roles, his huge spending spree, and his debt. I'll just have the character be silent the whole time. There are lots of little nods to games throughout Willy's Wonderlandtoo; the opening credits are 8-bit, and Cage's regularly consumed cans of Punch Soda act like powerups. The Janitor receives his repaired vehicle and invites Liv to accompany him. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics. He doesn't actually apply the tape to his face until after the ostrich fight, which happens shortly after he cleans the kitchen. He purchased shrunken pigmy heads, an octopus, the Lamborghini that was owned by the late Shah of Iran, and a dinosaur skull. In the restaurant, the Janitor subdues Sara, and twists Cammy's head, killing her. It's an enjoyable movie that begins to feel its length on multiple occasions. Still, the Nicolas Cage horror moviepulls fromtwo main inspirations, with the first being the archetypal wanderer and the second being the silent video game protagonist. [21] Nick De Semlyn of Empire gave the film a score of three out of five stars, concluding that, "though the dialogue and plotting are no great shakes, that commitment to the concept, combined with Cage's swaggering soda-swigger, is enough to make this a good time. "What is an octopus, $80? In fact, in the original script, there was one piece of dialogue at the end. Once they go in a certain direction, youve got to get a million tugboats to try to swivel it back around.. If we can't get it done in that time, the movie ain't going to happen. It was eventually released through video on demand and received a limited theatrical release on February 12, 2021. Maybe they didnt even give him a script. When the Janitor and Liv arrive at the arcade, Cammy snaps Chris' neck, killing him. Theother likely inspiration for Nic Cage's silent Janitor in Willy's Wonderlandisthe silent video game protagonist. Meanwhile, the Janitor is attacked by Gus in the restrooms; he kills him by curb stomping his face into a urinal. Nicolas Cage's much anticipated horror film, Willy's Wonderland, that has him playing a Janitor battling evil animatronics, is now available on VOD and in select theaters. There's nothing here but the novelty, but here's why it works. That was driving me.". We saw the same vision. For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary. It started out like La La Land, where you do a play and one person's in the audience, or two people and they're on their cell phone the whole time. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival against wave after wave of demonic animatronics. Every day I'm getting stronger and feeling more like myself. I did a 70-page shot list. In the vents, Arty chases Liv, but she escapes into a fairy-themed room where Sara kidnaps her. There's probably just going to be me doing this, so I'll keep it in one location, and then, if I'm running the camera and doing all this other stuff, I probably shouldn't give myself a lot of lines. Kevin had made some movies in the early 2000s and he just felt like he did not get a fair shake with those movies. Principal photography began in February 2020 for a month in various parts of Atlanta, Georgia. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. In order to pay off his debts, he has been taking almost every role offered to him and filming five to eight movies a year. Everything was on the shot list. Coming Soon. but other than that there is no issues, and I got exactly what I paid for. Nic is into reptiles, he is into amphibians, and he's into dinosaurs. Cage lost it and most of his fortune. Read critic reviews, The story isn't great, but it's got a fun '80s slasher movie feel and Nicolas Cage using random objects to destroy homicidal kiddie characters. 3. That's how miraculously this happened. But I never phoned it in. "So many amazing reviews and watch parties. It's really kind of cool. It's known that he drives a nice car, consumes a lot of energy drinks, is a miracle worker of a cleaner, and is apparently unbothered by the existence of murderous animatronics. That sounds like everything you would need for a gonzo movie experience with, hopefully, an unrestrained Cage. The third comic was released on March 30, 2022, showing the origins of Tito Turtle, Ozzie Ostrich and Knighty Knight. We had a couple of puppeteers in green smocks manipulating Ozzy. . Even his financial manager advised him against all of his crazy purchases, but he wouldnt listen to any advice. The story also shows the re-opening of Willy's Wonderland after the deaths of Jerry and his colleagues by Tex and Jed despite protests from the public and the Sheriff. It was announced on January 15, 2021 that it would be available for digital distribution. SUMMARY. The following day, it grossed $203,886, with Croatia grossing $12,734 and the UAE grossing $14,191. The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth: Season 8, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Season 1, Link to Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Link to 10 Black Women Filmmakers Who Have Shaped the Cinema Landscape of the 21st Century, Link to 10 LGBTQIA+ Women Who Became Trailblazers in Entertainment, The story isn't great, but it's got a fun '80s slasher movie feel. On the way, Lund reveals to Evan that after Willy's Wonderland was shut down, the animatronics continued murdering people around Hayesville until she, Tex and Jed made a deal with them. Other roles included Willys Wonderland, a film where Cage hunts down animatronic monsters without saying a single word in the film. Photo Credit: Karen Ballard/Lionsgate. He also bought a lot of cars. He soon finds himself locked in an epic battle with possessed animatronic mascots that roam the halls. But what is it? Can we really blame Cage for lending his efforts to the project? Siren Sara is depicted as a dance teacher who, upon seeing her assistant, Debbie, making out with Gary, her boyfriend (or possible husband), suddenly snaps and kills them both with an ax. [6] Kevin Lewis was hired as director while the cast, including Emily Tosta, Beth Grant and Ric Reitz, joined in February 2020.[10]. Thats why in 2009, Cage ran into problems with the IRS who said he owed $6.3 million in back taxes. and the Early on when Nic Cage first enters the kitchen and starts cleaning, he has a piece of tape on his cheek. [13], On February 12, 2021, Filmtrax LTD released the score soundtrack for the film composed by moi. By creating an account, you agree to the Some of those properties ended up in foreclosure though, including the famous New Orleans LaLaurie House that he had bought in 2007. Nicolas Cage (Nick Cage, left) and Pedro Pascal (Javi, right) escape their enemies in THE UNBERABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. This "holy grail quest," as Cage calls it, "put me on a search around different areas, mostly in England, but also some places in the States." I was thinking you could go to different amusement parks or you could go to a circus. For most of this bizarre exploitation flick he is, despite appearing in virtually every scene, not doing anything at all. Like this story? Unable to pay for the repairs he needs, he agrees to spend the night cleaning Willys Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. The Mandalorian's Pedro Pascal on season 3. Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube! It centers on the backstories of the animatronic characters. Could it walk away with no Oscars? [17][18], On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. His latest project entitled The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an action-comedy where Nicolas Cage stars as a fictionalized version of himself in a wacky adventure dealing with a billionaire superfan of his. causing the closure of theaters across the globe, "Movie Review Willy's Wonderland (2021)", "Watch Nicolas Cage battle giant animatronic animals in 'Willy's Wonderland' teaser", "Nicolas Cage To Star In Genre Thriller 'Wally's Wonderland', "WILLY'S WONDERLAND Interview: Director Kevin Lewis On Casting Nicolas Cage, Possible Sequel, & More", "Everything We Know So Far About Willy's Wonderland", "Nicolas Cage to Star in Twisted Theme Park Thriller 'Wally's', "The Making of Willy's Wonderland Pinball", "New Shot of Nicolas Cage in 'Wally's Wonderland', "Where Was Willy's Wonderland Filmed? Is a film in which Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage battles a series of giant animatronic creatures just the thing to raise spirits as we head into the second year of the pandemic? 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