Nicholas Cage to star in remake of "Left Behind" film

[brooklynite]

The Wrap:

On the eve of the AFM, Arclight Films has taken on international sales duties for the film adaptation of the Christian-themed best-seller, “Left Behind,” a representative for the film told TheWrap on Tuesday.

The film, which will star Nicolas Cage and will be directed by Vic Armstrong, is looking for an early 2013 start date.

The book about the end of the world hit the top of the New York Times best-seller list, with more than 65 million novels sold. It went on to be translated into 30 languages.

Boy, the IRS must really want that Tax Bill paid off fast...

[Marrah_G]

1. ewwwwwwwwww

[Warpy]

2. Roles that pay well must be few and far between for Cage

Only desperation could have driven him to sign onto a turkey like this one.

[trotsky]

4. And desperate he is.

Didn't he go bankrupt a year or two ago?

[Rob H.]

3. Some 'Left Behind' movies have already been made

They star Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort's bestest friend. Of course, Cage also starred in a remake of The Wicker Man, which I've heard is laugh-out-loud terrible.

[Taverner]

5. BEES!!!!!!

[Gore1FL]

6. National Treasure 3: The Jesus Teleporter n/t

[progressoid]

7. I would never go to see a Left Behind movie anyway

And now I have another reason not to.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. I feel the same...

except the other way round.

[AlbertCat]

8. Nicholas Cage has not made a decent film since....

.... I dunno...

"Raising Arizona"? (1987)

This is in keeping with his recent opera of lots-of-special-effects-but-otherwise-unwatchable crap.

Perhaps after this remake we can finally leave behind "Left Behind".

[cynatnite]

9. I thought he was awesome in Leaving Las Vegas...

I think he went to crap after the first National Treasure movie.

[RebelOne]

10. I don't know that he is so bad.

I watched Knowing last week and thought it was pretty good. But I have always been into disaster films. What was weird was a TV broadcast in the film of an oil rig blowing up in the Gulf. This movie was made before that disaster. Maybe someone knew something.

[AlbertCat]

12. Knowing

Is that the one with the angel-like aliens who poo black pebbles that levitate?

Ay yay yay!

[onager]

13. Cage better get his money up front.

First, I wonder if those Xian movie producers of "Left Behind" saw Cage's recent masterpiece, "Drive Angry?" It starts with him escaping from Hell in a '63 Buick Riviera. From there it's a cornucopia of good ol' traditional Xian values - torture, rape, mass murder, and lots of jiggly bosoms. Also starring a '69 Charger R/T.

I watched it twice. Just for the vintage cars, of course.

Anyway, the last go-round of "Left Behind" films sparked a 9-year legal battle between "author" Tim LaHaye and the producers of the Kirk Hameron versions.

Weirdly, LaHaye's lawsuits weren't totally about money. He claimed that the production company had promised to make a $40 million blockbuster. But instead it cranked out cheapie "church basement movies" that damaged LaHaye's...er...um...intellectual property.

The production company won the lawsuit, and the same people are behind the Cage remake (the LaLondes mentioned in the article):

2001 article in Xianity Today about the lawsuit:

Left Behind: Author LaHaye Sues Left Behind Film Producers

...The suit says the producers told LaHaye that the movie's production budget would exceed $40 million, although there is no language in the contract to that effect. Publicity, marketing, distribution costs, and production costs came to just $17.4 million...

Peter Lalonde, CEO of Cloud Ten, called LaHaye's expectation of a gospel blockbuster "so unrealistic as to be absurd."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/aprilweb-only/14.20.html

2008 article, LaHaye loses lawsuit:

Settlement Brings End to 9-Year 'Left Behind' Dispute

http://www.christianpost.com/news/settlement-brings-end-to-9-year-left-behind-dispute-33828/