How Coppola Became Cage

Examining the life of Nicolas Cage

I went to school for nearly a decade. I have a Ph.D. from the top program in my field. I’ve got three peer-reviewed journal articles. I have a book contract. I helped found the only conference dedicated to new scholarship on the Indigenous South. I’ve spoken around the world. And yet people know me best for one thing:

Nicolas Goddamn Cage.

Knowing this, I invited Zach Schonfeld, an absolutely amazing writer who has covered pop culture for Newsweek, Vulture, Paste, Pitchfork, and more to come to talk about his new book, How Coppola Became Cage.

This is a different pod than we’ve ever done before. We’re not talking about any single film, but instead talking about Nic Cage’s vast filmography, especially keying in on his early years in Hollywood and the reasons Nicolas Coppola dropped his family name and became Nicolas Cage.

If you read Zach’s work, you’ll realize instantly just how engaging of a storyteller he is and that comes through in our conversation. This project took about three years for him to complete and we talk about so much stuff.

I am really happy with this episode. Take a listen to it. Let me know what you think. It’s a bit of a change from our usual format. If you dig it, tell me, and we’ll do some more.

Own the book:

Big long day Friday. Lots more stuff coming for y’all. Stay tuned.

JWH