One is a nephew of Francis Ford Coppola who changed his name and forged his own reputation with a slew of diverse roles equal parts insane and respectable. One is a Scientologist who was a lupine star in the early 80’s, suffered a decade-long career death only to return to the A-list as a Tarantino hitman-junkie. They united for the first time in John Woo‘s 1997 over the top actioner Face/Off. I’m talking about Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, for those of you just in from distant lands, and they could re-unite for two new films. [/Film, Vulture]
Shrapnel, a 2008 Black List script by Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) follows the deadly circumstances which arise when an American veteran goes on a friendly hunting trip with a former Bosnian soldier, only to find himself hunted prey in a revenge scheme. The project had Die Hard director John McTiernan on board before he was embroiled in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping scandal. McTiernan was sentenced to a year in prison for perjuring himself and is appealing.
The other project is called Sea Trial, by City Island writer/director Raymond De Felitta based on the novel by his father, Frank De Felitta (Audrey Rose, The Entity). This one is about a couple who board a romantic cruise only to discover that the middle-aged owners have something else in mind for them entirely.
While both of these projects sound a little shaky – McTiernan is hardly out of hot water at the moment, and De Felitta’s project is still lining up financiers – it would be great to see Cage and Travolta join forces again. They had a lunatic chemistry in Face/Off and clearly had a great time riffing off each other. Personally, I’m down for Shrapnel, although Sea Trial could be an interesting thriller and De Felitta is a good director.
Would you like to see Cage and Travolta together again? Which of these projects sounds more interesting?