How Coppola Became Cage

Zach Schonfeld

Dec 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Matt Godfrey

About this audiobook

In 1982, a gangly teenager named Nicolas Coppola made his film debut and changed his name to Nicolas Cage. Once he achieved stardom as the rebel hunk of 1983's Valley Girl, Cage began a career defined by unorthodox risks and left turns. How Coppola Became Cage takes listeners behind the scenes of the beloved cult movies that transformed this unknown actor into an eccentric and uncompromising screen icon with a wild-eyed gift for portraying weirdos, outsiders, criminals-and even a romantic capable of seducing Cher. Author Zach Schonfeld traces Cage's rise through the world of independent cinema and chronicles the stories behind his career-making early performances. Drawing on more than 100 new interviews with Cage's key collaborators, How Coppola Became Cage offers a revealing portrait of Cage's wildly intense devotion to his performances behind the scenes and his creative self-discovery as he drew on influences as far-flung as silent cinema and German Expressionism. Brimming with previously untold stories and insights, How Coppola Became Cage both revels in and demystifies Cage's onscreen eccentricities. No other modern actor has explored such profound creative extremes while bending the boundaries of good taste. Here is the origin story of an actor who truly is wild at heart and weird on top.

About the author

Zach Schonfeld is a freelance writer, journalist, and critic based in New York. He contributes to Pitchfork, Paste magazine, and other publications. He was formerly a senior writer for Newsweek. His first book, 24-Carat Black's Ghetto was published in 2020 as part of the 33 1/3 series.

Matt Godfrey was raised on O'Connor, Welty, and Lee. He spent most of his teenage years in Yoknapatawpha County, but traveled wherever the books took him, from Alabama to Tokyo, Twain to Murakami. Now he has the privilege of bringing those books to life as an audiobook narrator.