You might think Nicolas Cage is just acting crazy in his movies. Not so! Well, technically, he is acting kinda nuts, but ask him and he will tell you: There is always a method behind the madness.

For instance, look to the excellent interview Indiewire did with Cage about his gonzo new movie Mandy. Cage discusses the film, and how he has become a meme factory on the internet. While Cage certainly enjoys some of the attention, he’s not really down with the way his performances are sometimes treated online. (Uh, sorry Nic!)

Everything he does onscreen, he explained is “all very thought out and carefully planned.” Turning his work into a meme is “frustrating,” he claimed. “I’m sure it’s frustrating for [Mandy director] Panos [Cosmatos], who has made what I consider a very lyrical, internal, and poetic work of art, to have this ‘Cage Rage’ thing slammed all over his movie.”

Cage also noted that this so-called “Cage Rage” is an extension of something he has been exploring onscreen for decades. He draws inspiration for his work from everywhere. Like, did you know his performance as Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider was inspired as much by Marvel Comics as by Edvard Munch paintings? It’s true:

I had made a decision a long time ago that I wasn’t only going to explore naturalistic acting. I would do that sometimes — like I did in “Joe” — but I also wanted to look at some of my other inspirations. I believed in art synchronicity, that what you can do in one art form, you can do in another. So if I wanted to be abstract, like imitating Edvard Munch’s “The Shout,” as I did in “Ghost Rider,” I could do that. If I wanted to be more operatic or Western kabuki, I could do it. And I’m not the first.

I presume Cage means Munch’s The Scream. Anyway, here it is:

You know what? I kind of see it. That does kind of look like Cage in those Ghost Rider movies. Maybe this guy in the painting is screaming because he’s been transformed into a living Spirit of Vengeance! It would make sense.

I love Nicolas Cage. I love the way he assess his own work. I love these weird VOD movies he’s making right now. I hope he never stops.

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