Chris McKay On ‘Renfield’ And The Art Of Making Nic Cage Memes [Interview]

Nicholas Hoult missed out on three big roles in a row, and the first was a chance to play the caped crusader himself in The Batman.

EXCLUSIVE: Patriot Pictures and XYZ Films have brought on Wayward Entertainment to release Nick Cassavetes action-thriller God Is A Bullet.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Nicholas Hoult recently made headlines for revealing he lost roles in “The Batman,” “Mission: Impossible 7” and “Top Gun: Maverick” all in a row, but that’s nothing compared to the handful of A-list projects Rachel McAdams consecutively turned down. As revealed in her new Bustle profile, McAdams turned down offers for “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Casino Royale,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Iron Man” and “Get Smart” in the two-year period where she moved back to Canada following a rise in Hollywood with “Mean Girls,” “The Notebook” and more. “There’s certainly things like ‘I wish I’d done that,’” McAdams said. “[But] I step back and go, ‘That was the right person for that.’”

Nicolas Cage went the extra mile for his role in "Vampire’s Kiss" by eating bugs. The iconic Hollywood actor reflected on when he ate several cockroaches for the 1988 cult movie during an interview for his latest role as Count Dracula in "Renfield." "Oh yeah, I ate it twice, because the director did it just to prank me," Cage, 59, told Yahoo! Entertainment. "I'm not one to give advice, but [Nicholas Hoult] ate a potato bug, so he took it to another level." His "Renfield" co-star Nicholas Hoult, 33, responded, "The cockroach is worse than a potato bug I think … the cockroaches I got to eat in this were caramel." While discussing their new vampire horror-comedy, both actors continued to debate which insects were worst to eat on set.  "Oh, but he ate a real potato bug, which is terrifying to me and so are cockroaches.

Vampire’s Kiss, telling Yahoo Entertainment that he’ll “never do that again”.Vampire’s Kiss stars Cage as publishing executive Peter Loew, who thinks he’s turning into a vampire. In the scene in question, Loew picks up a cockroach that is scuttling across the cooker in his apartment and then eats it whole for breakfast. The film’s script originally called for Cage to swallow a raw egg instead, but Cage insisted it be a cockroach.“I saw it as a business decision because when people see the cockroach go in my mouth… [they] really react,” he said during the film’s DVD commentary track.In another recent interview with Mediacorp, Cage reflected further on his bug-eating days.

“Renfield” star told Yahoo Entertainment of his regrets. “I’m sorry I did it at all.”Cage claimed on the film’s DVD commentary track that he was the one that begged for the live insects, as the original script allegedly called for Cage to simply swallow a raw egg. “I saw it as a business decision because when people see the cockroach go in my mouth … [they] really react,” he reportedly said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Nicolas Cage will not be eating cockroaches on camera ever again. The Oscar winner recently told Yahoo Entertainment that eating two cockroaches on camera during the making of his 1988 comedy “Vampire’s Kiss” remains a career regret. “I’ll never do that again,” Cage said. “I’m sorry I did it at all.” “Vampire’s Kiss” stars Cage as a literary critic who becomes convinced he is a vampire. The film’s script originally called for the actor to swallow a raw egg, but Cage insisted it be a cockroach instead. As he said on the film’s DVD commentary track: “I saw it as a business decision because when people see the cockroach go in my mouth…[they] really react.”

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” left its box office competitors in the dust, scoring a massive $87 million in its second weekend of release. Ticket sales declined just 41% from its debut, resulting in the best sophomore outings ever for an animated film. So far, the video game adaptation has grossed $347.8 million in North America and $678 million globally. “Mario” stayed strong even as several new movies entered the theatrical race, to varying results. In a surprise finish, Universal’s wacky horror-comedy “Renfield,” which sees Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his rebelling henchmen, landed in fourth place with a disappointing $7.7 million from 3,375 locations. The film arrived behind Sony’s R-rated demonic thriller “The Pope’s Exorcist,” which also fell slightly short of expectations with $9.1 million.

Dracula, where he’s been memorably portrayed by greats like Alexander Granach (in 1922’s silent Nosferatu), Dwight Frye (as a wide-eyed madman in 1931’s Dracula), and Tom Waits (chewing the scenery, and bugs, in 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Renfield is perpetually overshadowed by the blood-sucking count.Universal’s new Renfield (★★☆☆☆), a big-budget spinoff of the Dracula story, set in present-day New Orleans, promises to give the character his overdue shine. Unfortunately, the film is an overcooked clash of genre and tepid grasps at modernization, whose greatest asset is — you guessed it — Dracula himself, played by a glammed-up, fang-gnashing Nicolas Cage.

The acting life isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice for the part. Submitted for your approval is one Nicolas Cage, who has revealed a major regret captured on film while out promoting his current horror comedy, Renfield, which features Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as the title servant, R.M. Renfield.

The Late Show to promote new vampire movie Renfield.Responding almost immediately, Cage said: “I’m gonna start with Pig — that’s my favourite movie I’ve ever made.”He went on: “I love Mandy, that Panos Cosmatos directed. I love Bringing Out the Dead, that Martin Scorsese directed.

"Flashdance" is celebrating its 40th anniversary. First released in 1983, the movie follows the story of Alex Owens, an 18-year-old girl working as a welder in a steel mill.

Nicholas Hoult has been in a few films you might have heard of. He’s been a young version of X-Men’s blue mutant The Beast, and was in George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Sometimes, you find startling accuracy in the most unlikely places. Codependency and toxic relationships have long been fodder for film and television, but lately there’s been a batch of quality entertainment that does an excellent job of depicting the reality of an unhealthy relationship — and the struggle to break free from one. Surprisingly, it’s comedic entertainment that seems to be doing it best as of late. Take the first season of the Apple TV+ comedy “Shrinking,” which depicts a therapist (Jason Segel) trying to help a client (Heidi Gardner) break up with her verbally and emotionally abusive husband. It’s a character arc that rings only too true, expertly captured by “Saturday Night Live” breakout Gardner. Over on HBO Max, the animated series “Harley Quinn” has spent three seasons showing how its titular character starts a new life out from under the shadow of the ultimate toxic boyfriend, the Joker. While it’s a fantastical story that uses heroes and villains with superpowers, the metaphor is apt — Harley Quinn has no identity outside of her famous paramour and has to rebuild her life, and self-worth, on her own.

Five wide releases hit theaters this weekend, but Illumination and Universal’s Super Mario Bros. Movie will reign supreme with a second weekend, -60% of $58M. Already the plumbers have plunged a running stateside total through nine days of $260M, with $300M+ this weekend in sight.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When director Chris McKay was making “Renfield” he turned to production designer Alec Hammond (“Donnie Darko”) to help deliver a fresh and updated take on the Dracula story, by taking “a big monster movie, rooting it in the classic movies, but subverting any expectations.” The film starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his faithful sidekick Renfield, begins in 1931, in black-and-white. It was important, Hammond says, to set up Cage’s world in the historic context of harkening back to classic Dracula movies before jumping to the present day. The Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which had been abandoned since Hurricane Katrina, was the perfect location for Hammond to set Dracula and Renfield’s modern-day lair.

Jordan Moreau Universal’s latest monster movie, the blood-sucking “Renfield,” is sinking its teeth into the domestic box office with $900,000 from 2,750 theaters in Thursday previews. It expands to 3,375 locations on Friday. This modern take on Dracula won’t be able to drive a stake through the heart of last week’s box office champion, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” The animated, family-friendly video game adaptation will get another high score at the box office this weekend, with an expected $58 million to $66 million in its sophomore outing. “Renfield,” starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his lowly servant, is projected to make just $10 million in its opening weekend. Considering the horror-comedy carries a $65 million price tag, it’s not a great start to its run. It will also have to battle the fellow R-rated horror “The Pope’s Exorcist,” which opened to $850,000 in previews and is also on track to earn $10 million this weekend. The upside to the Sony horror movie, starring Russel Crowe as the Vatican’s lead exorcist, is that it only cost the company $18 million.

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Thursday, the Academy Award winner took a trip down memory lane with the host while promoting his new film, “Renfield.”While Cage, whose real name is Nicolas Coppola, has some impressive blockbusters under his belt — including “National Treasure,” “Moonstruck,” and “The Rock” — the 59-year-old’s top five is comprised of his lesser-known work.“I’m going to start with ‘Pig’ that is my favorite movie I have ever made,” Cage told Colbert. “I love ‘Mandy,’ the movie that Panos [Cosmatos] directed. I love ‘Bringing Out The Dead’ that Martin Scorsese directed.

The new Dracula movie Renfield is now in theaters and it’s expected to be the biggest new release of the weekend.

Stuck in a movie theater seat watching “Renfield” plod along, the answer is a resounding meh.As the Count from “Sesame Street” would say, “‘Renfield’ gets TWO stars! Ah, ah, ah.”Cage — whose career has become so goofy he recently played a parody version of himself who gets kidnapped by a Spanish drug lord — is as funny and self-aware as the evil old vampire. Crazy, it would seem, has become Cage’s new normal. But don’t come looking for a wacky sendup of the story in the vein of Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein.” It’s actually not even as hilarious as that director’s much-worse 1995 movie “Dracula: Dead and Loving It,” and outside of a few basic details the film has little to do with Bram Stoker’s book.“Renfield,” directed by Chris McKay, has more in common with the (far better) “Zombieland” series, with high-body-count action sequences, quick-cut comedy and an unlikely, socially awkward hero. That would be Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), Count Dracula’s beleaguered “familiar,” who has been gifted an unnaturally long life in exchange for bringing the vamp fresh victims.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Brandon Scott Jones loves horror films — but despite starring in the CBS series “Ghosts” as forgotten Revolutionary War soldier Captain Isaac Higgintoot, the actor and writer has yet to appear in the horror genre. That all changes with the April 14 release of “Renfield,” starring Nicolas Cage as the legendary Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his put-upon underling. Jones plays Mark, the leader of a co-dependency support group who advises Renfield — with no idea just how toxic his relationship with Dracula truly is. Jones will also be seen in the third season of “The Other Two,” hitting HBO Max on May 4, reprising his role as Curtis, the confidante to aspiring actor Cary.