Two years ago, Paul Schrader’s botched CIA terrorist thriller Dying of the Light flopped – and flopped hard. But in spite of the “frustrating” failure, the filmmaker is poised to reteam with Nicolas Cage for Dog Eat Dog, a new breed of thriller that’s due to make its premiere during the closing night of Cannes. And today, The Playlist has debuted the movie’s first clip.
Not only does it herald a reunion between Cage and Schrader, but the upcoming feature also marks the latter’s first screen appearance as notorious mob boss Grecco the Greek. It wasn’t for lack of trying to find a suitable actor, of course, given Schrader approached an entire roster of A-listers including Michael Douglas, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Nick Nolte, Chris Walken, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Winncot and Rupert Everett.
Alas, the director decided to take on the role of the transgender Cleveland gangster himself, claiming “for one reason or another, none of them worked. I was the only actor we could afford. ‘I may not be good,’ I thought, ‘but at least I’ll be interesting.’” It may be brief, but the movie’s first clip embedded above gives us a sense of the chemistry between Cage and Schrader.
Also starring Justice League‘s Willem Dafoe, Dog Eat Dog is expected to shoot for theaters later in 2016. To get acquainted with the core cast ahead of time, check out the gallery below.
