Nicolas Cage wins United Nations humanitarian award

[ima_sinnic]

Source: BBC News

Hollywood film star Nicolas Cage has been given an award for his humanitarian work by the United Nations in New York.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon presented the 45-year-old Oscar winner with the Global Citizen of the Year award for humanitarian endeavours.

<snip>

The star said his role would be "to shine a spotlight on the need for global justice".

<snip>

Cage, an Amnesty International advocate, has already donated $2 million (£1.2m) to establish a fund to help former child soldiers and also led a campaign around his film, Lord of War, to raise awareness about international arms control.





Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8396880.stm

[Vidar]

1. Good for Cage.

[GreenStormCloud]

12. Lords Of War is a really good film.

It is rare that a social conscious film will also be an entertaining one too. Usually they come of as boring and preachy. Good for Cage to put his money where his mouth is. So many only talk a good game.

Unfortunately, as Cage points out in the film, if the warlords and dictators are willing to buy the guns, somebody will sell them.

[PatSeg]

26. One of my favorite films

I've watched four or five times.

"According to Andrew Niccol, the filmmakers worked with actual gunrunners in the making of the film. The tanks lined up for sale were real and belonged to a Czech arms dealer who had to have them back to sell to another country. They used a real stockpile of over 3,000 AK-47s because it was cheaper than getting prop guns."

"Before shooting the scene where tanks were lined up for sale, the filmmaker had to warn NATO, lest they think a real war was being started when they see satellite images of the set."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/trivia

[paulsby]

39. i agree . i contrast lords of war

with THAT awful film (the name escapes me ) with rachel weisz and feinnes that takes place in africa. that was preachy, pukey and annoying as hell.

lords of war was excellent.

[endless october]

2. didn't know this about him.

makes me like him even more.

i've enjoyed many of his films.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Saw him last night watching "The Rock"

I like Nicholas Cage very much. One of the most underrated and talented actors. :)

[itsrobert]

4. One of the most overpayed, most untalented actors

But good for him on this.

[PatSeg]

13. It depends on the role

He was extraordinary in Lord of War, Adaptation, Matchstick Men, and The Weather Man. He takes some really bad roles and some crappy movies though. Lord of War is one of my favorites and was difficult to get financed. They had to go overseas to get backers.

[CrispyQ]

23. Years ago I read an interview with Donald Sutherland.

It was after the release of some critically acclaimed movie he'd been in. The interviewer mentioned that some of his more recent roles had been less than stellar. Sutherland replied, 'I'm an actor. It's what I do. I can't just sit around & do nothing while I wait for the perfect role."

I didn't realize they couldn't get backing for Lord of War in the states. It figures, though, huh?

:hi:

[PatSeg]

25. Evidently the movie was based on true events

and real people. Guess it was considered too risky for American backers.

Sometimes big stars take the crap roles so they can afford to do the less profitable independent films or they make a deal with the studio to do some blockbuster if the studio will finance a less profitable small film. Even Johnny Depp has done it.

[Hissyspit]

34. Some directors do that, too.

[murray hill farm]

5. Good for him!

Very cool.

[earcandle]

6. Thanks Nicholas. Sorry you have to spend your money on trying to reverse the damage America causes.

And am glad there are people out there like you who are paying
attention. 

[itsrobert]

11. He needs to spend on paying his taxes

Don't you think?

[Alameda]

19. Well aren't you Mr. Sour Grapes?

As for me, it's nice to read Cage is so socially responsible. Thumbs up for Cage!

[itsrobert]

21. A socially responsible persone pays his taxes

Taxes do some great work in this country.

[cali]

20. uh, he's spending his bucks on helping former child soldiers.

Much as you may wish that's America's fault, it isn't. And yes, I know I'll get a response from someone who will use tortured logic to explain to me why it- along with every other ill on the face of the planet- really is America's fault.

[proteus_lives]

27. How is America responsible for African child soldiers?

[McCamy Taylor]

35. US government is behind the never ending war in the Congo. See my old DU journal

here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4904803

If we wanted it stopped, it would stop. But we want to rape Africa and its natural resources instead.

[paulsby]

41. because america is responsible for all ills in the world

haven't you kept up? it's the DU mantra. american exceptionalism 101.

the movie, for example, makes numerous references to AK-47's, which OBVIOUSLY do not come from america. lots of countries are complicit in the arms trade. but of course to the american exceptionalists, it's "we suck we suck"

[paulsby]

40. it's not about the damage america causes

(yet more uninformed american exceptionalism). as the movie (and any study of international arms trade) makes clear, america is but one of many contributors. here's a hint: ak-47's don't come from america.

[NikRik]

7. Wish more would be like Cage !

I believe all of those blessed with either a God given talient or a learned ability and are lucky enough to make it big in a industry that is full of those who never have the kind of sucess Nicholas Cage and others have had would repay their good fortune by helping the needy. I have enjoyed some of his movies so for me his paying back for his talient comes in the way of entertaining the masses ,however those living on the streets who cannot afford to go see a movie or have the comforts of a home with a TV ! Mr Cage has made a noble decision in helping them with his monetary ability , i hope those at the recieveing end will appreciate his generousity !

[mnhtnbb]

8. Good for him.

[No Elephants]

9. Did not realize he was socially conscious. Good on him for this.

[Bitwit1234]

10. Isn't if odd

some people that have it, look out for the have nots in this world. And then some just want to squeeze more out of the public for themselves like the a**hole republicans.

By the way did Palin, or any of the Fox gang ever donate to a charity.

[paulsby]

42. uh, just for the record

obama's tax returns showed a VERY low donation to charity before he started amping up his run for president. this aint a repub/dem thang.

a study posted here last year showed that repubs donate a higher percentage of their income than dems do to charity. now, of course some of those "charities" are fundie churches, but them's the facts.

[jgraz]

14. Did he get this for agreeing not to make National Treasure IV?

:hide:

[mrbarber]

15. He's also a huge Superhero nerd and loves Superman.

So this doesn't come as a surprise to me at all, considering who he looks up to.

Good for him!

[JDPriestly]

16. Thank you, Nicolas Cage.

[Triana]

17. I can think of more deserving people and the award makes no sense in light of them but..

...good for him.

EDIT: What I mean is, they chose the WRONG ex-husband of Lisa-Marie Presley for this award. $300 Million is a hella lot MORE than $2 million, if we even just look at mere dollars - not to mention other humanitarian efforts. :wtf:

[proteus_lives]

28. Maybe someone at the UN decided....

"Let's not give awards to albino surgery-fetishists who are constantly accused of child abuse and pedophilia."

[graywarrior]

18. I started liking him when I read that he took a year off to backpack around the US by himself.

I thought that was cool.

[BrklynLiberal]

22. I am impressed. I did not know he was so involved.

[winyanstaz]

24. I am glad for him...he is a good man.

We need more Americans like Nicolas Cage in the world.
And for all you mealy-mouthed never did nothing for anyone else bashers in the world...why don't you learn from a good man and actually DO something besides bash the people you are jealous of?

[Egnever]

37. hmm you sure bout that?

He may not even be able to pay this commitment. He has a spending problem and is bankrupt currently and the IRS is after him for not paying his taxes.

He likes to spend money to be sure but he seems to spend it even if he doesn't have it.

[winyanstaz]

44. It is not my place to stick my nose into his tax problems...

And I will wait until after he fails before I judge him.
At least he is trying to do something.

[proteus_lives]

29. Good for Cage.

Lord of War is a great film. He's underrated as an actor. Plus, he's a comic-book fan so he's aces in my book!

[TheCML]

30. Don't let them see The Wicker Man

They might take it back.

[valerief]

31. I thought all he did was spend tens/hundreds of millions of dollars on castles.

I didn't know he made donations.

[RedCloud]

32. Now don't go starting a gung ho approach to war to disprove your award!

[Peace Patriot]

33. Thank you, Nicholas Cage, for "Raising Arizona" and "The Rock"--and for having a conscience!

I LOVE those two movies!

I thought "Lord of War" was a noble effort--and Cage brings it off well enough as (gulp) "entertainment" (an unapologetic, cold, cynical, world arms dealer--so extreme and so deadpan at the same time, you have to laugh). I really, REALLY appreciate somebody taking this subject on. Arms dealers like the one depicted in "Lord of War" are the hidden evil behind SO much other evil, and rarely if ever get spotlighted. And the ending is right on--illicit arms dealers are a "convenience" to world powers, including the U.S., when they favor one side or the other in a local war and don't want to get their hands dirty.

But I thought the movie could have used more of the crazy unpredictability of Cage's two acting masterpieces, mentioned above ("Raising Arizona," "The Rock"). Writing a "message" movie (or book) is a VERY tricky business. You are upfront violating the first rule of good story writing: you know what the story means BEFORE you start, and thus you have to be a real magician of a writer--a Shakespeare, a Dickens--to pull it off. Andrew Niccol tries to get around this by starting with the ending debacle shootout in which arms dealer Yuri's brother is killed, after which Yuri is finally arrested--thence to the coda in which he is released from prison to continue his work for major world governments (rather than minor dictators). His release is a bit of a surprise, though also a bit pat. The "message" needed to go up to this higher rung of weapons proliferation accountability--for sure--but the story needed something else--some kind of change in Yuri, redemption for Yuri, or alternative to Yuri. And I don't mean soppy, contrived "happy ending." I mean personal ending--because, all along, we have been pulled into a personal story, one that is even narrated by Yuri. His story isn't worth telling unless he is changed in some way. But he is exactly the same at the end as he was in the beginning. That is because he stands for "arms dealer"--not Yuri. The character has become a mere prop in the movie. We cease caring about him even as an interesting bad guy. He needed to become either more evil, personally (it's difficult to believe that someone in this awful trade would remain as "clean" as Yuri is--no sadistic tendencies, no cruelty, no perversions or addictions, no other kinds of crime--and no contrary tide either, like maybe he spends time in a monastery somewhere and self-flagellates?), or maybe he just needed to develop a facial twitch (harbinger of a conscience). Or to have some intimation of his own mortality. Something!

A good character story requires this. "Lord of War" is a character story without a satisfying ending. And the message even suffers, and gets turned around, by this failure of the ending: The message becomes "get fabulously rich selling arms and you will get away with it." Just be shallow, and real good at your "job." That is not what the filmmakers intended.

The character story failure is particularly disappointing because Cage is quite capable of portraying a character-in-motion (a character change). He did so very well in the movies I mentioned--although he did have great actor counterparts in those films (Holly Hunter and Sean Connery, respectively) to play off of, and there is no one of that strength in "Lord of War" (nor scripts like those).

[AnnieBW]

36. It certainly wasn't for "Ghost Rider"

I'm glad that he got some kind of award, though.

[GreenStormCloud]

46. I like "Ghost Rider". Have DVD, watched it several times. N/T

Fonda's is only a bit part, but he does a great job in it too.

[onehandle]

38. He's only 45? You couldn't tell by the bad die jobs and makeup in his last few films.

Mr. Cage. Let it go natural.

[neshanic still]

43. Dos that award come with a couch? I think he will need one to sleep on.

[pleah]

45. K&R