In the movie Dream Scenario, starring Nicholas Cage, a biology professor named Paul Matthews starts appearing in the nightmares of random people all over the country.
None of these people understand why, nor do they know anything about Paul beyond recognizing his unusual face -- which gives them flashbacks of the terrible dream.
Paul himself is perplexed because he has not intentionally done anything to these people, nor is he a Freddy Krueger-type monster who controls a higher plane of existence.
But when Paul becomes infamous for his cameo appearances in peoples' dreams, he begins to see scorn, fear, hatred, and eventually violence coming from people who hold him personally responsible for their nightmares.
As I finished Dream Scenario, I realized this is what some right-leaning celebrities must feel like.
The Magic of Offending People You've Never Met
They feel they have inadvertently "gone viral" and incited all sorts...
None of these people understand why, nor do they know anything about Paul beyond recognizing his unusual face -- which gives them flashbacks of the terrible dream.
Paul himself is perplexed because he has not intentionally done anything to these people, nor is he a Freddy Krueger-type monster who controls a higher plane of existence.
But when Paul becomes infamous for his cameo appearances in peoples' dreams, he begins to see scorn, fear, hatred, and eventually violence coming from people who hold him personally responsible for their nightmares.
As I finished Dream Scenario, I realized this is what some right-leaning celebrities must feel like.
The Magic of Offending People You've Never Met
They feel they have inadvertently "gone viral" and incited all sorts...
- 4/19/2024
- by Michael Arangua
- TVfanatic
Here’s the true meaning behind Nicolas Cage’s recent A24 film Dream Scenario.
What Happens in Dream Scenario
Nicolas Cage plays Paul Matthews in Dream Scenario, a middle-aged man with a PhD in evolutionary biology who teaches at a college—even though he’d much rather be publishing an educational book about ants. At home, he has a wife and two children.
Read full article on The Direct.
What Happens in Dream Scenario
Nicolas Cage plays Paul Matthews in Dream Scenario, a middle-aged man with a PhD in evolutionary biology who teaches at a college—even though he’d much rather be publishing an educational book about ants. At home, he has a wife and two children.
Read full article on The Direct.
- 3/16/2024
- by Russ Milheim
- The Direct
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Quick Answers: Viewers can stream Dream Scenario online with a subscription to Max, or Amazon Prime users can rent the movie on-demand with Prime Video.
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Enter the surreal realm of Dream Scenario, a captivating comedy-horror film that has enchanted audiences with its offbeat premise and stellar cast. Directed by Kristoffer Borgli and featuring the legendary Nicolas Cage in the lead role, this cinematic gem premiered...
Quick Answers: Viewers can stream Dream Scenario online with a subscription to Max, or Amazon Prime users can rent the movie on-demand with Prime Video.
Get Max Subscription
Enter the surreal realm of Dream Scenario, a captivating comedy-horror film that has enchanted audiences with its offbeat premise and stellar cast. Directed by Kristoffer Borgli and featuring the legendary Nicolas Cage in the lead role, this cinematic gem premiered...
- 3/15/2024
- by Noel Santos
- Rollingstone.com
It’s an interesting month on HBO and Max this March, as two acclaimed films hit the streamer along with some intriguing original programming.
First up in the movies arena is the streaming debut of Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet. From beloved Paddington director Paul King, the film follows the adventures of a young Willy Wonka as he looks to become the world’s best (and weirdest) chocolatier. Later in March on Max, there’s also Dream Scenario, a highly-regarded comedy boasting Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, who suddenly starts appearing in people’s dreams for unknown reasons, and who naturally becomes very famous as a result of this strange phenomena.
Series-wise, the biggest show on Max this month is The Regime. It packs a solid cast, including Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton, and Hugh Grant, and tells the story of “life within the walls of a modern...
First up in the movies arena is the streaming debut of Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet. From beloved Paddington director Paul King, the film follows the adventures of a young Willy Wonka as he looks to become the world’s best (and weirdest) chocolatier. Later in March on Max, there’s also Dream Scenario, a highly-regarded comedy boasting Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, who suddenly starts appearing in people’s dreams for unknown reasons, and who naturally becomes very famous as a result of this strange phenomena.
Series-wise, the biggest show on Max this month is The Regime. It packs a solid cast, including Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton, and Hugh Grant, and tells the story of “life within the walls of a modern...
- 3/1/2024
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
With a premiere-heavy March ahead at HBO, there will be plenty to stream this month on Max!
The first Sunday of March brings the premiere of HBO’s new six-episode limited series “The Regime,” starring HBO alum Kate Winslet. Throughout the rest of the month, don’t rest on the streamer’s long list of library additions, like the recent musical origin story “Wonka” or A24’s sleeper hit (so to speak) “Dream Scenario”; and be sure some of the HBO’s biggest premieres, including “The Girls on the Bus” starring Melissa Benoist and Ramy Youssef’s “More Feelings” make it onto your calendar.
Plus, there’s no March without March Madness! For the first time, Max will stream all of the 2024 [NCAA] Division Men’s Basketball Championship live games and studio coverage airing on TBS, TNT, and truTV, including the NCAA Men’s Final Four National Semifinals and Men’s National Championship.
The first Sunday of March brings the premiere of HBO’s new six-episode limited series “The Regime,” starring HBO alum Kate Winslet. Throughout the rest of the month, don’t rest on the streamer’s long list of library additions, like the recent musical origin story “Wonka” or A24’s sleeper hit (so to speak) “Dream Scenario”; and be sure some of the HBO’s biggest premieres, including “The Girls on the Bus” starring Melissa Benoist and Ramy Youssef’s “More Feelings” make it onto your calendar.
Plus, there’s no March without March Madness! For the first time, Max will stream all of the 2024 [NCAA] Division Men’s Basketball Championship live games and studio coverage airing on TBS, TNT, and truTV, including the NCAA Men’s Final Four National Semifinals and Men’s National Championship.
- 2/29/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
Even by Nicolas Cage’s standards, Dream Scenario is a strange movie — but mostly in that there is nothing at all unusual about the character he plays. A mediocre biologist whose research is routinely stolen by other scientists, Paul Matthews becomes famous overnight when he starts appearing in other people’s dreams. How and why is never explained, but Kristoffer Borgli’s surreal satire has a lot to say about today’s social media-driven society. Speaking from his home in Las Vegas (“The more romantic way of saying it is: I’m in the Mojave Desert”), the actor explains how he saw himself in this most unlikely premise.
Deadline: So, we’re talking about Dream Scenario. How did that project come to you?
Nicolas Cage: What happened was, I had been communicating via email with Ari Aster, and he had heard that I’d wanted to work with him...
Deadline: So, we’re talking about Dream Scenario. How did that project come to you?
Nicolas Cage: What happened was, I had been communicating via email with Ari Aster, and he had heard that I’d wanted to work with him...
- 1/11/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Nicolas Cage appears in everyone’s dreams in, er, Dream Scenario. It’s coming to DVD and Blu-ray in March! More here:
It’ll be a sad day when Nicolas Cage eventually retires from acting. Thankfully, that day is still (hopefully) far away, given that Cage said last December that has at least another three or four films left in him.
He made those comments during the press tour for Dream Scenario, a film that follows a man who becomes an overnight celebrity, quite literally, after he pops up in everyone’s dreams.
The film was written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli and released in UK cinemas in November. Backed by A24 and produced by Ari Aster, Dream Scenario received positive reviews from critics and many hailed the film as some of Cage’s best work in years.
If you missed the film on its theatrical run, there’s good...
It’ll be a sad day when Nicolas Cage eventually retires from acting. Thankfully, that day is still (hopefully) far away, given that Cage said last December that has at least another three or four films left in him.
He made those comments during the press tour for Dream Scenario, a film that follows a man who becomes an overnight celebrity, quite literally, after he pops up in everyone’s dreams.
The film was written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli and released in UK cinemas in November. Backed by A24 and produced by Ari Aster, Dream Scenario received positive reviews from critics and many hailed the film as some of Cage’s best work in years.
If you missed the film on its theatrical run, there’s good...
- 1/9/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
A24 gave the surreal comedy Dream Scenario (JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray gave the film a 7/10 review you can read Here) a theatrical release in early November, but if you missed it during its big screen run, we have some good news to share with you today: you can now watch Dream Scenario in the comfort of your own home! The film has received a PVOD release and is available for rent or purchase on Amazon at This Link.
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli from his own screenplay, Dream Scenario was produced by Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid director Ari Aster and stars the legendary Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, a hapless family man who finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
Cage...
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli from his own screenplay, Dream Scenario was produced by Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid director Ari Aster and stars the legendary Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, a hapless family man who finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
Cage...
- 12/22/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with Dream Scenario, A24’s surreal dark comedy from Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli that plays off Nicolas Cage’s decades-long permeation of the imagination.
In the buzzy Toronto Film Festival title produced by Square Peg — the banner of Hereditary and Beau Is Afraid helmer Ari Aster — Cage stars as Paul Matthews, an ordinary biology professor whose life takes an unexpected turn when he starts appearing in the dreams of people worldwide. Initially amused by the situation, Paul’s attitude later becomes one of horror and frustration, as peoples’ dreams of him turn into nightmares, and he’s ostracized by the public for actions taken only in their minds.
Dream Scenario marks the English-language debut of the Oslo-born Borgli, who broke out with his Cannes-premiering 2022 dark comedy Sick of Myself. In a September appearance at Deadline’s Toronto Studio,...
In the buzzy Toronto Film Festival title produced by Square Peg — the banner of Hereditary and Beau Is Afraid helmer Ari Aster — Cage stars as Paul Matthews, an ordinary biology professor whose life takes an unexpected turn when he starts appearing in the dreams of people worldwide. Initially amused by the situation, Paul’s attitude later becomes one of horror and frustration, as peoples’ dreams of him turn into nightmares, and he’s ostracized by the public for actions taken only in their minds.
Dream Scenario marks the English-language debut of the Oslo-born Borgli, who broke out with his Cannes-premiering 2022 dark comedy Sick of Myself. In a September appearance at Deadline’s Toronto Studio,...
- 12/20/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-winner took part in an In Conversation event at the Red Sea Film Festival
Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage took part in an In Conversation event at the Red Sea Film Festival ahead of the Mena premiere of his latest film, horror comedy Dream Scenario, at a gala screening at Jeddah’s Ritz-Carlton Theatre on December 9.
During the conversation, in which he reflected on his 43-year career, Cage said that after starring in more than 100 films - including Leaving Las Vegas, for which he won as Oscar in 1996, Raising Arizona, Con Air and the recent Renfield - he is now considering making a move to TV.
Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage took part in an In Conversation event at the Red Sea Film Festival ahead of the Mena premiere of his latest film, horror comedy Dream Scenario, at a gala screening at Jeddah’s Ritz-Carlton Theatre on December 9.
During the conversation, in which he reflected on his 43-year career, Cage said that after starring in more than 100 films - including Leaving Las Vegas, for which he won as Oscar in 1996, Raising Arizona, Con Air and the recent Renfield - he is now considering making a move to TV.
- 12/8/2023
- by Mona Sheded
- ScreenDaily
Nicolas Cage did not know writer-director Kristoffer Borgli from Adam when he opened the first page of Dream Scenario. A Norwegian filmmaker with only one other feature under his belt—2022’s Sick of Myself, which also is in Norwegian—Borgli is an exceedingly new voice in cinema, but one Cage was keyed into recognizing as promising because the screenplay had been sent by Ari Aster. As it turns out, the director behind Hereditary and Midsommar was producing this mysterious new dark comedy called Dream Scenario, and he thought Cage would respond to a story about a mild mannered college professor who one day discovers everyone in the world is dreaming about him.
Cage couldn’t put it down. Despite the project being an intensely surrealist comedy wherein our hero, Paul Matthews, learns his daughters, his students, and even folks on the other side of the Atlantic are dreaming of him—be it as a goof,...
Cage couldn’t put it down. Despite the project being an intensely surrealist comedy wherein our hero, Paul Matthews, learns his daughters, his students, and even folks on the other side of the Atlantic are dreaming of him—be it as a goof,...
- 12/8/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
In recent years few entertainment companies have been on a hotter streak than A24. The groundbreaking studio is responsible for boundary-pushing titles like “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “The Whale,” “Moonlight,” “Room,” “Minari,” “Lady Bird,” and “Eighth Grade.” Now, those films are going to have a new home with the Warner Bros. Discovery properties Max, HBO, and Cinemax.
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Warner Bros. Discovery and A24 just inked a deal for several years, meaning that the Wbd properties will host the A24 films first after their sale and rental window.
Here’s a look at some of the upcoming titles as part of the deal:
Dicks: The Musical October 6, 2023
Two self-obsessed businessmen discover they’re long-lost identical twins and come together to plot the reunion of their eccentric divorced parents.
Priscilla October 27, 2023
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu...
7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com
Get 20% Off Your Next Year of Max When Pre-Paid Annually
Warner Bros. Discovery and A24 just inked a deal for several years, meaning that the Wbd properties will host the A24 films first after their sale and rental window.
Here’s a look at some of the upcoming titles as part of the deal:
Dicks: The Musical October 6, 2023
Two self-obsessed businessmen discover they’re long-lost identical twins and come together to plot the reunion of their eccentric divorced parents.
Priscilla October 27, 2023
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu...
- 12/6/2023
- by Ben Bowman
- The Streamable
Today, the HBO and Max brands announced a multiyear deal with A24 that brings the award-winning entertainment company’s theatrical film slate exclusively to Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO, Max and Cinemax.
Among the films to be available under the new deal are Dream Scenario and the upcoming horror film Love Lies Bleeding from Saint Maud director Rose Glass.
No streaming dates have been announced just yet.
Dream Scenario, produced by Ari Aster and starring Nicolas Cage, offers up a nightmare comedy. In the film: “A hapless family man Paul Matthews (Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.”
As for Love Lies Bleeding, the Kristen Stewart-starring horror film “from Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie,...
Among the films to be available under the new deal are Dream Scenario and the upcoming horror film Love Lies Bleeding from Saint Maud director Rose Glass.
No streaming dates have been announced just yet.
Dream Scenario, produced by Ari Aster and starring Nicolas Cage, offers up a nightmare comedy. In the film: “A hapless family man Paul Matthews (Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.”
As for Love Lies Bleeding, the Kristen Stewart-starring horror film “from Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
(L-r) Nicolas Cage in Dream Scenario. Photo Credit: Jan Thijs. Courtesy of A24
Dream Scenario is more of a nightmare for Nicholas Cage’s character, in this darkest of comedies from Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, a social satire commenting on the power and irrational nature of social media. While Cage’s character is not having a good day, actor Nicholas Cage looks like he is having a grand old time, relishing this role as a hapless guy at the center of this outside-the-mainstream dark comedy.
Like his role as a backwoods recluse in Pig, Cage is anything but prettied up for this part, playing an aging, balding professor whose ordinary guy life is upended when random people start seeing him in their dreams.
At first, Cage’s middle-aged academic is sort of flattered by the attention, although he has done nothing to cause his dream appearances. The biology professor...
Dream Scenario is more of a nightmare for Nicholas Cage’s character, in this darkest of comedies from Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, a social satire commenting on the power and irrational nature of social media. While Cage’s character is not having a good day, actor Nicholas Cage looks like he is having a grand old time, relishing this role as a hapless guy at the center of this outside-the-mainstream dark comedy.
Like his role as a backwoods recluse in Pig, Cage is anything but prettied up for this part, playing an aging, balding professor whose ordinary guy life is upended when random people start seeing him in their dreams.
At first, Cage’s middle-aged academic is sort of flattered by the attention, although he has done nothing to cause his dream appearances. The biology professor...
- 12/1/2023
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This article contains minor Dream Scenario spoilers.
The most remarkable thing about Professor Paul Matthews is how unremarkable he is. The latest addition to Nicolas Cage’s oeuvre of oddballs and nuts is, in fact, impressively forgettable. So what makes him so curiously haunting after you’ve seen Dream Scenario? Cage himself is obviously a major factor. With a frequently perspiring bald cap around the temples, hunched shoulders, and a twitchy gaze that betrays the desperation of a lonely child in a middle-aged body, the veteran thespian has built a darkly amusing portrait of neediness which walks right up to the fine border between character and caricature, and gives it a frantic, pleading wave.
It’s a brilliant creation, and it is implemented in one of the cruelest comedies of the last couple of years. Because in spite of Paul Matthews’ lack of distinction, he is the man of your dreams…...
The most remarkable thing about Professor Paul Matthews is how unremarkable he is. The latest addition to Nicolas Cage’s oeuvre of oddballs and nuts is, in fact, impressively forgettable. So what makes him so curiously haunting after you’ve seen Dream Scenario? Cage himself is obviously a major factor. With a frequently perspiring bald cap around the temples, hunched shoulders, and a twitchy gaze that betrays the desperation of a lonely child in a middle-aged body, the veteran thespian has built a darkly amusing portrait of neediness which walks right up to the fine border between character and caricature, and gives it a frantic, pleading wave.
It’s a brilliant creation, and it is implemented in one of the cruelest comedies of the last couple of years. Because in spite of Paul Matthews’ lack of distinction, he is the man of your dreams…...
- 11/20/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Chicago – Nicolas Cage makes a welcome return to Charlie Kaufman-like mind bending drama in “Dream Scenario.” He stars as Paul Matthews, a bald and schlubby college professor always clad in an ever present winter coat. His unremarkable life takes a turn when he mysteriously begins appearing in millions of people’s dreams.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
He’s got a wife and two teen daughters, and makes a good living but hasn’t achieved the level of respect and credit he believes he deserves. Cage’s Professor Paul sees himself as a genius, albeit one with a dad bod and no hair. The rest of the world doesn’t pay him much mind at all, and if they do he’s usually welcomed with the kind of lack of enthusiasm usually reserved for tax lawyers.
”Dream Scenario” is in theaters November 17th. Featuring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Lily Bird and Dylan Baker.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
He’s got a wife and two teen daughters, and makes a good living but hasn’t achieved the level of respect and credit he believes he deserves. Cage’s Professor Paul sees himself as a genius, albeit one with a dad bod and no hair. The rest of the world doesn’t pay him much mind at all, and if they do he’s usually welcomed with the kind of lack of enthusiasm usually reserved for tax lawyers.
”Dream Scenario” is in theaters November 17th. Featuring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Lily Bird and Dylan Baker.
- 11/18/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Plot: A mild-mannered academic (Nicolas Cage) discovers that he’s the center of a strange phenomenon, with people worldwide suddenly seeing him in their dreams. At first, thrilled with the attention and sudden fame, he finds himself despised and “cancelled” when the dreams turn violent.
Review: Dream Scenario is a very “now” movie, with it a blazing satire of sudden fame and “cancel culture,” with director Kristoffer Borgli showing utter contempt for both. It’s the perfect vehicle for Nicolas Cage, as perhaps more than any actor, his likeness has been commodified over the years, being used and manipulated in meme after meme in a way that’s totally out of his control.
Likewise, his character, Paul Matthews, has no control over how people view him. Sporting a bald pate, a beard and the kind of nasal voice he used in Peggy Sue Got Married, Cage fully inhabits the role...
Review: Dream Scenario is a very “now” movie, with it a blazing satire of sudden fame and “cancel culture,” with director Kristoffer Borgli showing utter contempt for both. It’s the perfect vehicle for Nicolas Cage, as perhaps more than any actor, his likeness has been commodified over the years, being used and manipulated in meme after meme in a way that’s totally out of his control.
Likewise, his character, Paul Matthews, has no control over how people view him. Sporting a bald pate, a beard and the kind of nasal voice he used in Peggy Sue Got Married, Cage fully inhabits the role...
- 11/13/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Nicolas Cage is the most meta of modern actors. There are exceptions (most recently his heartbreaking work in Michael Sarnoski's "Pig"), but, for better or worse, we are almost always aware that we are watching a Cage performance. This isn't a new development. He's been an emoting machine dating back to Francis Ford Coppola's "Peggy Sue Got Married," and won a Best Actor Oscar for his Ray-Milland-on-steroids portrayal of an alcoholic in "Leaving Las Vegas."
As much as we love Cage going full Cage, those "Pig" roles are vital to his appeal as an actor. They remind us that he is a thoughtful, deeply intuitive performer capable of drawing us into the world of introverts and quietly damaged people. Kristoffer Borgli's dark comedy "Dream Scenario" is one such film -- to a point. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered biology professor who inexplicably begins appearing in the...
As much as we love Cage going full Cage, those "Pig" roles are vital to his appeal as an actor. They remind us that he is a thoughtful, deeply intuitive performer capable of drawing us into the world of introverts and quietly damaged people. Kristoffer Borgli's dark comedy "Dream Scenario" is one such film -- to a point. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered biology professor who inexplicably begins appearing in the...
- 11/12/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker | Written and Directed by Kristoffer Borgli
Nicolas Cage delivers one of his best performances in the fantasy black comedy Dream Scenario, from Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli, which takes savage satirical swipes at viral fame and cancel culture. It also serves as a thematic follow-up to Borgli’s previous film, Sick of Myself, a superb arthouse horror which dealt with extreme narcissism and the pursuit of fame at any cost.
Cage plays boring, middle-aged college professor Paul Matthews, whose efforts in the field of evolutionary biology haven’t led to the sort of recognition he had hoped for, partly due to his own laziness in actually getting around to writing a book. At home, he’s supported by his understanding wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), though he’s all but ignored by his two teenage daughters (Lily Bird and...
Nicolas Cage delivers one of his best performances in the fantasy black comedy Dream Scenario, from Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli, which takes savage satirical swipes at viral fame and cancel culture. It also serves as a thematic follow-up to Borgli’s previous film, Sick of Myself, a superb arthouse horror which dealt with extreme narcissism and the pursuit of fame at any cost.
Cage plays boring, middle-aged college professor Paul Matthews, whose efforts in the field of evolutionary biology haven’t led to the sort of recognition he had hoped for, partly due to his own laziness in actually getting around to writing a book. At home, he’s supported by his understanding wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), though he’s all but ignored by his two teenage daughters (Lily Bird and...
- 11/10/2023
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
A man of great skill in his field suddenly begins to lose control of his image as people co-opt his likeness and rip it out of context. The icon begins to outstrip the individual, complicating his ability to gain recognition for the work he wants to be known. That’s the tragedy of Paul Matthews in Dream Scenario, and it resounds all the more because it contains echoes of the journey undergone by the actor who brings him to life: Nicolas Cage.
The phenomenon of Cage as meme is but one of many contemporary cultural forces bottled up by writer-director Kristoffer Borgli in his genre-bending new film. Dream Scenario follows fast on the heels of the Norwegian filmmaker’s international breakout, Sick of Myself, another examination of how online pressures guide real-world behaviors. Borgli has a knack for realizing his observations through extended displays of emotional humiliation and bodily mortification,...
The phenomenon of Cage as meme is but one of many contemporary cultural forces bottled up by writer-director Kristoffer Borgli in his genre-bending new film. Dream Scenario follows fast on the heels of the Norwegian filmmaker’s international breakout, Sick of Myself, another examination of how online pressures guide real-world behaviors. Borgli has a knack for realizing his observations through extended displays of emotional humiliation and bodily mortification,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slant Magazine
If dreams could predict the future, Nicolas Cage and film team should be toasting awards success with Dream Scenario for its on-point and absurdly funny representation of the subconscious mind, fame and social media and cancel culture.
Like the random firings of neurons that form dream scenarios, this compelling collective tale of utter ‘ordinariness’ escalating into extreme ‘extraordinariness’ follows unremarkable, middle-aged Professor Paul Matthews (Cage) as he navigates appearing in people’s dreams like some divine intervention, from family to total strangers.
The film opens with Matthews raking leaves by a swimming pool, simply observing, as chaos swirls all around him. In reality, the scholar lives a quiet, modest life and is happily married with two daughters. However, the mediocre-achieving biologist has one nagging regret that he missed his chance of academic notoriety with his ‘ant-elligence’, a theory that is then robbed before his very eyes.
Feeling helpless and dejected,...
Like the random firings of neurons that form dream scenarios, this compelling collective tale of utter ‘ordinariness’ escalating into extreme ‘extraordinariness’ follows unremarkable, middle-aged Professor Paul Matthews (Cage) as he navigates appearing in people’s dreams like some divine intervention, from family to total strangers.
The film opens with Matthews raking leaves by a swimming pool, simply observing, as chaos swirls all around him. In reality, the scholar lives a quiet, modest life and is happily married with two daughters. However, the mediocre-achieving biologist has one nagging regret that he missed his chance of academic notoriety with his ‘ant-elligence’, a theory that is then robbed before his very eyes.
Feeling helpless and dejected,...
- 11/10/2023
- by Lisa Giles-Keddie
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The actor plays a dull academic whose image somehow arrives in millions of sleeping minds in a combination of Freddy Krueger and Leonard Zelig
Nicolas Cage has perhaps never been Nicolas Cagier in what could be his Nicolas Cagiest performance ever. This is a surreal fantasy-satire about the unsafe space of social media and the nature of viral fame, something to be aspired to – or dreamed of – by everyone: the democratised and accessible stardom that can happen to anyone, despite or in some way because of their lack of achievement. This kind of fame can be alchemised from ordinariness, a fame produced and consumed on smartphones and capable of getting inside people’s heads because they can imagine, in fact want to imagine, the same thing happening to them.
Cage plays Professor Paul Matthews, an academic with a decent but unexciting career lecturing on biology and how animals evolve to...
Nicolas Cage has perhaps never been Nicolas Cagier in what could be his Nicolas Cagiest performance ever. This is a surreal fantasy-satire about the unsafe space of social media and the nature of viral fame, something to be aspired to – or dreamed of – by everyone: the democratised and accessible stardom that can happen to anyone, despite or in some way because of their lack of achievement. This kind of fame can be alchemised from ordinariness, a fame produced and consumed on smartphones and capable of getting inside people’s heads because they can imagine, in fact want to imagine, the same thing happening to them.
Cage plays Professor Paul Matthews, an academic with a decent but unexciting career lecturing on biology and how animals evolve to...
- 11/10/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Photo: A24
For children of the ’70s and ’80s, it’s great to see Talking Heads getting a moment in the sun again. From Spike Lee directing David Byrne to Miley Cyrus having him on her New Year special, and Stop Making Sense doing the Imax rounds, it feels like...
For children of the ’70s and ’80s, it’s great to see Talking Heads getting a moment in the sun again. From Spike Lee directing David Byrne to Miley Cyrus having him on her New Year special, and Stop Making Sense doing the Imax rounds, it feels like...
- 11/9/2023
- by Luke Y. Thompson
- avclub.com
Nicolas Cage could relate to going viral like his character Paul Matthews in 'Dream Scenario'.The 59-year-old star features in the new movie as a biology professor who attracts attention online after featuring in the dreams of other people and drew parallels with the "memefication" of his acting work.Speaking to Digital Spy, Nicolas said: "He's going through something that I felt I could relate to. I had gone through something with the internet."I might have been the first actor who experienced a kind of memefication where my scenes that were specifically designed to have meltdowns or nervous breakdowns had been cherry picked in such a way that it would just (be) meltdown after meltdown after meltdown without any linear narrative or without any chapter or act to lead up to."Then I saw it go viral and I saw it grow exponentially, compounding on itself into memes and t-shirts and what not,...
- 11/6/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
Hollywood star Nicolas Cage may have found himself at the center of viral memes that constantly flood social media, but that was not what he ever intended to do. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the Oscar-winning actor said that he initially “didn’t understand how to process what was happening” with all the memes and video mashups of him and the characters he had played for projects.
“I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment,” he said.
“I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in ‘Dream Scenario’ he has no control over this inexplicable phenomenon.
“I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment,” he said.
“I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in ‘Dream Scenario’ he has no control over this inexplicable phenomenon.
- 11/4/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Hollywood star Nicolas Cage may have found himself at the center of viral memes that constantly flood social media, but that was not what he ever intended to do. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the Oscar-winning actor said that he initially “didn’t understand how to process what was happening” with all the memes and video mashups of him and the characters he had played for projects.
“I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment,” he said.
“I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in ‘Dream Scenario’ he has no control over this inexplicable phenomenon.
“I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment,” he said.
“I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in ‘Dream Scenario’ he has no control over this inexplicable phenomenon.
- 11/4/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Nicolas Cage may have found himself at the center of viral memes that constantly flood social media, but that was not what he ever intended to do.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, to promote A24’s upcoming film Dream Scenario, the Oscar-winning actor admitted that he initially “didn’t understand how to process what was happening” with all the memes and video mashups of him and the characters he had played for projects.
“I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment,” he said. “I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in Dream Scenario: he...
In a recent interview with The Guardian, to promote A24’s upcoming film Dream Scenario, the Oscar-winning actor admitted that he initially “didn’t understand how to process what was happening” with all the memes and video mashups of him and the characters he had played for projects.
“I got into acting because I was moved by film performance more than any other art form. I didn’t get into movies to become a meme. That was new. I made friends with it but it was an adjustment,” he said. “I thought maybe they would compel someone to go back and look at the movies. But I had no control over it. The same thing happens with Paul in Dream Scenario: he...
- 11/4/2023
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
What if Nicolas Cage was Freddy Krueger, minus the fondness for murdering people, the burn-induced scarring, and the razor-bladed glove? Cage's character, the unsuspecting middle-aged professor Paul Matthews, even shares Freddy's predilection for cozy knitted sweaters in "Dream Scenario," the latest eccentric exercise in metamodern storytelling from contemporary indie powerhouse A24.
Much like Paul becomes an overnight celebrity when he inexplicably begins popping up in people's dreams around the world, "Dream Scenario" has suddenly found itself in the spotlight following its positive reception on the film festival circuit. With Cage essentially portraying two characters in the film (the real Paul and the one who keeps intruding into people's nighttime fantasies), his performances in "Dream Scenario" are already being compared to his acclaimed work playing radically different twins in director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman's surreal dramedy "Adaptation." In his own review for /Film, Matt Donato declared the...
Much like Paul becomes an overnight celebrity when he inexplicably begins popping up in people's dreams around the world, "Dream Scenario" has suddenly found itself in the spotlight following its positive reception on the film festival circuit. With Cage essentially portraying two characters in the film (the real Paul and the one who keeps intruding into people's nighttime fantasies), his performances in "Dream Scenario" are already being compared to his acclaimed work playing radically different twins in director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman's surreal dramedy "Adaptation." In his own review for /Film, Matt Donato declared the...
- 9/27/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
In Kristoffer Borgli's "Dream Scenario," Nicolas Cage becomes the man of your dreams. The A24-produced psychological thriller dives into complications of subconscious influence, cancel culture abruptness, and overnight fame as told through the science of unconscious thoughts. It's provocative as a hallucinogenic experiment about viral infamy, but not wholly clear in its storytelling as harmless interrupted slumbers turn into waking nightmares. The memeability of Cage is an attraction as always, yet as seriousness overtakes a bumbling nobody's obscure thrust into the limelight, Borgli loses a bit of storytelling control within an otherwise provocative social experiment.
Cage stars as Osler University professor Paul Matthews, an evolutionary biologist who begins appearing in people's dreams. There's no rhyme or reason — he's just there. His classroom fills with students who can't stop seeing Paul, nor can he keep up with flooding Facebook messages from people worldwide who've had a Paul dream. It's...
Cage stars as Osler University professor Paul Matthews, an evolutionary biologist who begins appearing in people's dreams. There's no rhyme or reason — he's just there. His classroom fills with students who can't stop seeing Paul, nor can he keep up with flooding Facebook messages from people worldwide who've had a Paul dream. It's...
- 9/25/2023
- by Matt Donato
- Slash Film
The 2023 Montclair Film Festival, one of the Northeast’s top regional fall fests, announced Wednesday that the Nicolas Cage film “Dream Scenario” will serve as this year’s opening night feature, while new films from Alexander Payne, Roger Ross Williams, Todd Haynes, and Matthew Heineman will also screen during the annual event.
“Dream Scenario,” due out in November via A24, premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and won rave reviews for Cage. The feature will kick off the 2023 Montclair Film Festival on October 20 followed by a conversation with writer-director Kristoffer Borgli.
“Stamped from the Beginning,” Williams’ documentary, will serve as the 2023 Mff Documentary Centerpiece screening. That event takes place on October 22, and Williams will attend for a post-screening Q&a.
“The Holdovers” – Payne’s top awards contender following its splashy showing at the Telluride Film Festival and in Toronto, where it was runner-up for the TIFF audience...
“Dream Scenario,” due out in November via A24, premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and won rave reviews for Cage. The feature will kick off the 2023 Montclair Film Festival on October 20 followed by a conversation with writer-director Kristoffer Borgli.
“Stamped from the Beginning,” Williams’ documentary, will serve as the 2023 Mff Documentary Centerpiece screening. That event takes place on October 22, and Williams will attend for a post-screening Q&a.
“The Holdovers” – Payne’s top awards contender following its splashy showing at the Telluride Film Festival and in Toronto, where it was runner-up for the TIFF audience...
- 9/20/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
A24 has launched the trailer for the surreal comedy featuring Nicolas Cage, ‘Dream Scenario.’
The movie follows a hapless family man and an inconspicuous academic named Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage).
Paul finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams and he is thrust into the spotlight. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
From writer/director Kristoffer Borgli and starring Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker.
Also in trailers – Nicolas Cage stars in trailer for ‘Butcher’s Crossing’
The movie hits cinemas on November 10th.
The post “Have you been dreaming about me” Trailer drops for A24’s ‘Dream Scenario’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The movie follows a hapless family man and an inconspicuous academic named Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage).
Paul finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams and he is thrust into the spotlight. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
From writer/director Kristoffer Borgli and starring Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker.
Also in trailers – Nicolas Cage stars in trailer for ‘Butcher’s Crossing’
The movie hits cinemas on November 10th.
The post “Have you been dreaming about me” Trailer drops for A24’s ‘Dream Scenario’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 9/20/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Nicolas Cage faces off with admirers and angry mobs in the latest dark comedy from A24, Dream Scenario.
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and produced by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid), Cage plays a professor who finds himself in the midst of celebrity after he begins to appear in the dreams of strangers.
The trailer, set to hit Nineties hit single “Dreams” by the Cranberries, sees Cage’s Paul Matthews sifting through hundreds of messages, doing his best Edward Scissorhands impression for media photoshoots, and claiming,...
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and produced by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid), Cage plays a professor who finds himself in the midst of celebrity after he begins to appear in the dreams of strangers.
The trailer, set to hit Nineties hit single “Dreams” by the Cranberries, sees Cage’s Paul Matthews sifting through hundreds of messages, doing his best Edward Scissorhands impression for media photoshoots, and claiming,...
- 9/20/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Meet Nicolas Cage — the man of your dreams — in the official trailer for “Dream Scenario”.
The actor, 59, stars in the preview for the upcoming razor-sharp comedy, which recently had its world premiere at TIFF.
A never-better Cage stars as a hapless family man named Paul Matthews who “finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams,” as per the official synopsis. “But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom, in this wickedly entertaining comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (“Sick of Myself”) and producer Ari Aster.”
Read More: TIFF Reveals First-Look At Nicolas Cage In ‘Dream Scenario’, Announces Movie As Platform Programme Opener
The trailer sees Paul react to his strange sudden fame, in which he quickly becomes the talk of the country, transforming from an ordinary college professor who doesn’t like attention...
The actor, 59, stars in the preview for the upcoming razor-sharp comedy, which recently had its world premiere at TIFF.
A never-better Cage stars as a hapless family man named Paul Matthews who “finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams,” as per the official synopsis. “But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom, in this wickedly entertaining comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (“Sick of Myself”) and producer Ari Aster.”
Read More: TIFF Reveals First-Look At Nicolas Cage In ‘Dream Scenario’, Announces Movie As Platform Programme Opener
The trailer sees Paul react to his strange sudden fame, in which he quickly becomes the talk of the country, transforming from an ordinary college professor who doesn’t like attention...
- 9/19/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Nicolas Cage, balding and wearing wool sweaters, is a meek husband, father and academic who suddenly becomes a viral sensation when he seeps into the dreams of random strangers in the new trailer for Kristoffer Borgli’s A24 satirical comedy Dream Scenario.
The pic, which bowed at the Toronto Film Festival ahead of a Thanksgiving release, sees Cage play Paul Matthews, whose newfound stardom becomes a nightmare when his nighttime appearances complicate the lives of those around him.
“I’m not actually doing anything to them,” Matthews pleads at one point in the trailer as the comedy takes a dark turn when the role he plays in people’s dreams undermines his celebrity status. Dream Scenario also stars Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker.
Norwegian filmmaker Borgli wrote and directed his English-language film debut after the breakout success of the black comedy Sick of Myself,...
The pic, which bowed at the Toronto Film Festival ahead of a Thanksgiving release, sees Cage play Paul Matthews, whose newfound stardom becomes a nightmare when his nighttime appearances complicate the lives of those around him.
“I’m not actually doing anything to them,” Matthews pleads at one point in the trailer as the comedy takes a dark turn when the role he plays in people’s dreams undermines his celebrity status. Dream Scenario also stars Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker.
Norwegian filmmaker Borgli wrote and directed his English-language film debut after the breakout success of the black comedy Sick of Myself,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It feels like Nicolas Cage is kind of everywhere these days. We’ve had the meta-Cage of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and the vampiric Cage of Renfield, not to mention the unexpected CGI Super-Cage of The Flash. And now, we’re about to see Cage in his more dialled-back, intimate indie-drama form, as the first trailer has just dropped for A24’s new comedy-drama Dream Scenario, in which the Cage-naissance spreads into the world’s subconscious. Watch it below:
Cage plays the mild-mannered and really quite dorky college professor Paul Matthews, the kind of guy who never makes much of a splash, no matter where he goes. Until, out of nowhere, he starts appearing in people’s dreams. First it’s just a few, then it’s more and more, and he’s up to all sorts: sometimes he’s just in the background, other times he’s creeping people out,...
Cage plays the mild-mannered and really quite dorky college professor Paul Matthews, the kind of guy who never makes much of a splash, no matter where he goes. Until, out of nowhere, he starts appearing in people’s dreams. First it’s just a few, then it’s more and more, and he’s up to all sorts: sometimes he’s just in the background, other times he’s creeping people out,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Tom Nicholson
- Empire - Movies
Just last week, JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to watch the surreal comedy Dream Scenario at the Toronto International Film Festival, giving the film a 7/10 review you can read at This Link. Now A24, which will be giving Dream Scenario a theatrical release on November 10th, has unveiled a trailer for the film – and you can check it out in the embed above!
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli from his own screenplay, Dream Scenario was produced by Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid director Ari Aster and stars the legendary Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, a hapless family man who finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
Cage is joined in the cast by Julianne Nicholson, who recently won an Emmy...
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli from his own screenplay, Dream Scenario was produced by Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid director Ari Aster and stars the legendary Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, a hapless family man who finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
Cage is joined in the cast by Julianne Nicholson, who recently won an Emmy...
- 9/19/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
One of the buzziest titles to debut at the Toronto International Film Festival has a new trailer.
On Tuesday, A24 debuted the first teaser for “Dream Scenario,” a new comedy starring Nicolas Cage that earned the former Best Actor winner some of his best reviews in recent memory.
Cage stars as a man named Paul Matthews in the new film, an average guy who gains global attention after he mysteriously starts appearing in people’s dreams. Here’s the official plot summary from A24:
Hapless family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom, in this wickedly entertaining comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and producer Ari Aster.
In addition to Cage, the film stars Julianne Nicholson,...
On Tuesday, A24 debuted the first teaser for “Dream Scenario,” a new comedy starring Nicolas Cage that earned the former Best Actor winner some of his best reviews in recent memory.
Cage stars as a man named Paul Matthews in the new film, an average guy who gains global attention after he mysteriously starts appearing in people’s dreams. Here’s the official plot summary from A24:
Hapless family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom, in this wickedly entertaining comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and producer Ari Aster.
In addition to Cage, the film stars Julianne Nicholson,...
- 9/19/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Up next from Nicolas Cage is the A24 dark comedy Dream Scenario, which has released its official trailer this morning. From director Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself), A24’s Dream Scenario will release in theaters on November 10, 2023. Watch the trailer below.
Of particular note, the film was produced by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar).
In Dream Scenario…
“A hapless family man Paul Matthews (Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.”
The promise of a “nightmarish turn” in this one suggests it’ll be one that horror fans will want to check out. Kristoffer Borgli proved with previous movie Sick of Myself that he’s more than comfortable blending genres into uniquely singular cocktails, as the 2022 film was something of a drama-comedy-body horror hybrid.
Of particular note, the film was produced by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar).
In Dream Scenario…
“A hapless family man Paul Matthews (Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.”
The promise of a “nightmarish turn” in this one suggests it’ll be one that horror fans will want to check out. Kristoffer Borgli proved with previous movie Sick of Myself that he’s more than comfortable blending genres into uniquely singular cocktails, as the 2022 film was something of a drama-comedy-body horror hybrid.
- 9/19/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Nicolas Cage can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. A24 has released the first trailer for its new dark comedy “Dream Scenario,” from “Sick of Myself” writer-director Kristoffer Borgli. The film stars Cage as a college professor who becomes famous after he inexplicably begins to appear in the dreams of strangers, though his celebrity status faces complications once the world’s visions of him become terrifying.
“Why me? Uh, I don’t know! I’m special, I guess,” Cage’s Paul Matthews tells the world in an interview on television. Through the trailer, set to The Cranberries’ perennial ’90s anthem “Dreams,” the family man is met with applause, admiration, impersonators and angry mobs.
In addition to Cage, the R-rated comedy’s ensemble features Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker and Kate Berlant. “Beau Is Afraid” director and A24 mainstay Ari Aster serves as a producer,...
“Why me? Uh, I don’t know! I’m special, I guess,” Cage’s Paul Matthews tells the world in an interview on television. Through the trailer, set to The Cranberries’ perennial ’90s anthem “Dreams,” the family man is met with applause, admiration, impersonators and angry mobs.
In addition to Cage, the R-rated comedy’s ensemble features Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker and Kate Berlant. “Beau Is Afraid” director and A24 mainstay Ari Aster serves as a producer,...
- 9/19/2023
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
Have you been dreaming of Nicolas Cage? That's the question that Kristoffer Borgli's R-rated dark comedy "Dream Scenario" is asking. Cage plays a hapless, unassuming educator named Paul Matthews who might as well be the image next to the dictionary definition of "average, middle-aged white man." He wears sensible sweaters over collared shirts, there's a bit more salt than pepper in his beard, and his hairline hasn't been visible from the front for many, many years.
And yet, millions of strangers from all across the globe are starting to see him in their dreams. Sometimes he's a hero. Sometimes he's a bystander in the crowd. Paul's newfound stardom was exciting at first, but now he has to reckon with the reality that his presence is unwelcome and deeply traumatizing for countless people. Because sometimes, Paul is an absolute nightmare, invading people's dreams as if Freddy Krueger were a suburban dad.
And yet, millions of strangers from all across the globe are starting to see him in their dreams. Sometimes he's a hero. Sometimes he's a bystander in the crowd. Paul's newfound stardom was exciting at first, but now he has to reckon with the reality that his presence is unwelcome and deeply traumatizing for countless people. Because sometimes, Paul is an absolute nightmare, invading people's dreams as if Freddy Krueger were a suburban dad.
- 9/19/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Nicolas Cage is finding that his dreams are truly stranger than fiction in Kristoffer Borgli’s TIFF breakout film “Dream Scenario.”
Cage stars as hapless family man Paul Matthews whose life is turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
“Sick of Myself” filmmaker Borgli writes and directs the A24 film, which is produced by Ari Aster, along with lead star Cage, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, and Jacob Jaffke.
The cast additionally includes Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker, and Kate Berlant.
Cage spoke about the meta quality of “Dream Scenario” across his decades of fame, most recently (and virally) as memes, which the Oscar winner similarly parodied in 2022 film “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”
“What happened to me, I think I...
Cage stars as hapless family man Paul Matthews whose life is turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.
“Sick of Myself” filmmaker Borgli writes and directs the A24 film, which is produced by Ari Aster, along with lead star Cage, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, and Jacob Jaffke.
The cast additionally includes Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker, and Kate Berlant.
Cage spoke about the meta quality of “Dream Scenario” across his decades of fame, most recently (and virally) as memes, which the Oscar winner similarly parodied in 2022 film “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”
“What happened to me, I think I...
- 9/19/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
An entire horror franchise is dedicated to Freddy Krueger, a boogeyman who corners his prey in their own dreams to seek revenge against their parents for his murder. A24’s Dream Scenario, written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself), uses that familiar concept to spin a nightmare comedy that examines cancel culture in the modern world. Instead of a vampy dream demon, though, it’s Nicolas Cage’s oafish professor who finds himself thrust into the spotlight thanks to a bizarre phenomenon. Raucous comedy gives way to a different variety of horror as unsettling reflections of reality set in, to mixed results.
Paul Matthews (Cage) lives a rather ordinary life. He’s in a loving marriage with his long-time wife, Janet (Julieanne Nicholson). He has two precious daughters, lives in a nice neighborhood, and has a comfortable gig as an evolutionary biologist professor. Never mind that he has...
Paul Matthews (Cage) lives a rather ordinary life. He’s in a loving marriage with his long-time wife, Janet (Julieanne Nicholson). He has two precious daughters, lives in a nice neighborhood, and has a comfortable gig as an evolutionary biologist professor. Never mind that he has...
- 9/15/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
The ever-evolving nature of fame and infamy gets examined in Dream Scenario, Kristoffer Borgli’s follow-up to his dark comedy Sick of Myself. It’s the Norwegian director’s first feature in America, and with it comes the confident backing of A24, producer Ari Aster, and a starry cast led by Nicolas Cage. It all sounds promising, and for a time Borgli rises to the occasion with a compelling, satirical high concept. But most of the goodwill Dream Scenario builds in its first half goes away once Borgli degrades the story into a facile, reactionary attack against cancel culture.
Cage plays Paul Matthews, an evolutionary biologist and tenured professor who lives in a large home with his wife Janet (Julianne Nicholson) and two daughters. At first glance his life is successful, although Paul doesn’t see it that way. He’s awkward, deeply insecure, and aggrieved over his inability to...
Cage plays Paul Matthews, an evolutionary biologist and tenured professor who lives in a large home with his wife Janet (Julianne Nicholson) and two daughters. At first glance his life is successful, although Paul doesn’t see it that way. He’s awkward, deeply insecure, and aggrieved over his inability to...
- 9/14/2023
- by C.J. Prince
- The Film Stage
Nicolas Cage has become enmeshed in our collective cultural consciousness in a way that few stars have, particularly over the last decade as his distinctive meme-ready brand has grown. So it only seems natural for him to play a character who suddenly starts popping up in people’s dreams. Indeed, Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario presents a perfectly absurdist setup that allows Cage to flex his singular acting muscles in increasingly hilarious directions.
Mind you, this isn’t another “crazy Cage” role that the actor has become synonymous with in recent years. In Dream Scenario, he plays the defiantly unremarkable Paul Matthews, a schlubby professor of evolutionary biology at the fictional Osler University. Despite holding academic tenure and having an agreeable home life with his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and two daughters, Sophie (Lily Bird) and Hannah (Jessica Clement), Paul longs to be noticed on a grander scale. It’s...
Mind you, this isn’t another “crazy Cage” role that the actor has become synonymous with in recent years. In Dream Scenario, he plays the defiantly unremarkable Paul Matthews, a schlubby professor of evolutionary biology at the fictional Osler University. Despite holding academic tenure and having an agreeable home life with his wife, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), and two daughters, Sophie (Lily Bird) and Hannah (Jessica Clement), Paul longs to be noticed on a grander scale. It’s...
- 9/12/2023
- by Mark Hanson
- Slant Magazine
Nicolas Cage, after more than 100 credits, finally has his dream role, at least as comedy fans are concerned. He knocks it out of the park as a schlubby, balding college professor who suddenly starts appearing in people’s dreams, first his daughter’s, then an old girlfriend’s, and soon millions of people around the globe are seeing this ordinary looking, very plain guy walking through their slumber in rather non-descript ways no matter what the situation. He becomes a phenomenon, until it reverses and the whole thing turns into a literal nightmare.
This is the inspired comic premise of Dream Scenario, perhaps the most ingenious screen idea Woody Allen never had, although it might have been interesting if he did (think a twisted Zelig). Instead it comes from the mind of Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, whose main claim to fame before this film, which had its world premiere at...
This is the inspired comic premise of Dream Scenario, perhaps the most ingenious screen idea Woody Allen never had, although it might have been interesting if he did (think a twisted Zelig). Instead it comes from the mind of Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, whose main claim to fame before this film, which had its world premiere at...
- 9/10/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Over the span of his 120-plus film career, Nicolas Cage has been a lot of things — but he may have never been as flat-out hilarious as he is in Dream Scenario.
Sporting a balding pate, a gray woolly beard, dated wire-rims and a closetful of dad sweaters, he’s a schlubby sight to behold as Paul Matthews, a tenured college professor who, for some bizarre reason, starts popping up in random dreamers’ nightmares. Much to his chagrin, his presence amounts to that of a casual onlooker, never intervening to rescue them from assorted catastrophes or chase away the monsters.
And that’s just the leap-off point for this gleefully dark social satire, which savagely skewers our click-driven world of insta-celebrities and cancel-culture righteousness. Marking an auspicious English-language film debut for Norwegian director-writer Kristoffer Borgli, whose last film was black comedy Sick of Myself, the production gives us a Cage character...
Sporting a balding pate, a gray woolly beard, dated wire-rims and a closetful of dad sweaters, he’s a schlubby sight to behold as Paul Matthews, a tenured college professor who, for some bizarre reason, starts popping up in random dreamers’ nightmares. Much to his chagrin, his presence amounts to that of a casual onlooker, never intervening to rescue them from assorted catastrophes or chase away the monsters.
And that’s just the leap-off point for this gleefully dark social satire, which savagely skewers our click-driven world of insta-celebrities and cancel-culture righteousness. Marking an auspicious English-language film debut for Norwegian director-writer Kristoffer Borgli, whose last film was black comedy Sick of Myself, the production gives us a Cage character...
- 9/10/2023
- by Michael Rechtshaffen
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nicolas Cage was on hand for the TIFF premiere of his latest film, “Dream Scenario”, in which he plays Paul Matthews, an ordinary guy who becomes a reluctant celebrity when he mysteriously begins appearing in the dreams of other.
Et Canada’s Jed Tavernier spoke with Cage on the red carpet ahead of the film’s world premiere on Saturday night and asked about his portrayal.
“I actually had gone through an experience that was not unlike Paul’s experience.”
“Well, you said on the record that this was one of the furthest roles away from yourself that you’ve played in a while,” Tavernier noted.
“Well, see, that’s interesting if I said that, because I actually had gone through an experience that was not unlike Paul’s experience,” he explained.
Read More: TIFF Reveals First-Look At Nicolas Cage In ‘Dream Scenario’, Announces Movie As Platform Programme Opener
“Someone had made a video,...
Et Canada’s Jed Tavernier spoke with Cage on the red carpet ahead of the film’s world premiere on Saturday night and asked about his portrayal.
“I actually had gone through an experience that was not unlike Paul’s experience.”
“Well, you said on the record that this was one of the furthest roles away from yourself that you’ve played in a while,” Tavernier noted.
“Well, see, that’s interesting if I said that, because I actually had gone through an experience that was not unlike Paul’s experience,” he explained.
Read More: TIFF Reveals First-Look At Nicolas Cage In ‘Dream Scenario’, Announces Movie As Platform Programme Opener
“Someone had made a video,...
- 9/10/2023
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Think about some of the weirdest dreams you’ve ever had. Maybe you were perched on a dining room table while hungry alligators slithered toward you. Or the one where you’re sitting by a swimming pool as various objects fall from the sky. Or that nightmare where a tall, terrifying man in tattered clothes slowly stalks you in the woods, while you seem to be stuck running in slow motion. Got one in mind? Good.
Ok, now picture a schlubby, middle-aged man casually strolling through that dream. He’s not really doing anything,...
Ok, now picture a schlubby, middle-aged man casually strolling through that dream. He’s not really doing anything,...
- 9/10/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Just when you thought Nicolas Cage’s filmography couldn’t get any weirder, along comes Kristoffer Borgli’s “Dream Scenario” to mess with your head.
Cage plays a character you probably wouldn’t notice in real life: Paul Matthews. Schlubby, balding, in rumpled pants and brown leather loafers, he’s a tenured professor at a university you’ve never heard of, droning on year after year about collective consciousness and the wisdom of the herd. And then something weird happens. Paul starts to appear in people’s dreams, either standing around or just strolling through, and suddenly this all-but-invisible man has people paying attention to him. What does Paul do? What would you do in those terrible shoes of his?
A Norwegian helmer making his English-language debut for A24 (by way of Ari Aster’s production company), “Sick of Myself” director Borgli takes this surrealist premise and approaches it in...
Cage plays a character you probably wouldn’t notice in real life: Paul Matthews. Schlubby, balding, in rumpled pants and brown leather loafers, he’s a tenured professor at a university you’ve never heard of, droning on year after year about collective consciousness and the wisdom of the herd. And then something weird happens. Paul starts to appear in people’s dreams, either standing around or just strolling through, and suddenly this all-but-invisible man has people paying attention to him. What does Paul do? What would you do in those terrible shoes of his?
A Norwegian helmer making his English-language debut for A24 (by way of Ari Aster’s production company), “Sick of Myself” director Borgli takes this surrealist premise and approaches it in...
- 9/10/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
With “Dream Scenario,” Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli continues his thematic preoccupations with envy, sudden fame, marketing and reversals of fortune. Working in English with an American studio and a Hollywood star onboard, his work readily invites comparisons with the high- concept ethos of Charlie Kaufman.
Nicolas Cage and a few other cast members surprisingly took the stage at the film’s world premiere on Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival, where actors have been largely absent amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. The movie’s studio, A24, has signed the interim SAG agreement.
Cage, who memorably portrayed Kaufman (and his fictional twin) in the Kaufman-penned “Adaptation,” similarly deglamorizes himself here to play Paul Matthews, college ethology professor. Though tenured, Paul still craves recognition. His grad school classmate Sheila (Paula Boudreau) is about to publish a paper based on an idea he shared three decades ago, and deny him credit for it.
Nicolas Cage and a few other cast members surprisingly took the stage at the film’s world premiere on Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival, where actors have been largely absent amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. The movie’s studio, A24, has signed the interim SAG agreement.
Cage, who memorably portrayed Kaufman (and his fictional twin) in the Kaufman-penned “Adaptation,” similarly deglamorizes himself here to play Paul Matthews, college ethology professor. Though tenured, Paul still craves recognition. His grad school classmate Sheila (Paula Boudreau) is about to publish a paper based on an idea he shared three decades ago, and deny him credit for it.
- 9/10/2023
- by Martin Aubert Tsai
- The Wrap
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