Nicolas Cage on Prisoners of the Ghostland and Why He Delivers Lines Like a Jimi Hendrix Solo

Prisoners of the Ghostland is, to my knowledge, one of the only films to use its own lead actor’s words as its poster’s pull quote. “The wildest movie I’ve ever made.“ - Nicolas Cage. A tall statement, but it’s definitely arguable. Directed with unhinged abandon by subversive Japanese auteur Sion Sono, Prisoners of the Ghostland sees Cage play Hero, a former bank robber hired by the mayor of Samurai Town (Bill Moseley) to find his daughter (Sofia Boutella), lost to the haunted post-apocalyptic hellscape called the Ghostland. To ensure Hero actually returns, the Mayor outfits him in a leather suit with bombs strapped to the neck, arms, and nards. It’s a whole lot of movie, featuring—among many, many other things—one of the most committed deliveries of the line “testicles“ you’ll ever hear in your life. Luckily, I recently got the chance to sit down with Cage himself to break down the film, his creative relationship with Sono, and his inimitable acting style. W