ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602130135
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: MAL VINCENT LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
As Nicolas Cage, clutching his new Golden Globe award, came backstage, a member of the press yelled, ``Oh, NO! Nicolas Cage! Of all people!''
Unaccustomed to being an ``establishment'' figure, Cage was clearly taken aback. His image is more that of the sullen, unhinged eccentric who specializes in playing lowlife sleazeballs - edgy oddballs who live on society's outer limits.
He was the Elvis-worshipping petty criminal in ``Wild at Heart'' and the ex-con who responded to his wife's maternal needs by kidnapping a baby in ``Raising Arizona.'' For his role as a psychotic vampire in ``Vampire's Kiss,'' he ate a real roach.
Cage's doleful eyes and hangdog expression have earned him a cult following of fans who find his over-the-top portrayals as unpredictable as they are passionate.
Things changed, in perception if not in substance, with ``Leaving Las Vegas,'' which opened Friday at the Salem Valley 8 and Valley View Mall 6. He portrays yet-another sullen misfit, but this time everyone (especially the critics) is taking it seriously.
Cage plays Ben Sanderson, a failed Hollywood writer who burns all his possessions and takes off for Las Vegas - to drink himself to death. Somewhere on the downward spiraling tract, he meets an equally depressed but lovable prostitute. She is played by Elisabeth Shue.
``It just goes to show that I should go by my instincts,'' Cage said. ``I feel more encouraged than ever to take chances. Everyone advised me not to do this film. But the book stayed with me. I thought it was a great book, and, after all, my decision wasn't about money. All of us took less than our usual salary to do this. To me, it was a chance to play a completely loose and liberated man. I mean, here is a man who was not afraid of death. A man who is not afraid to die can really do anything. He is free.''
The movie is the Cinderella flick of 1995. The New York and Los Angeles critics' associations named it best picture of the year. Cage and Shue have received accolades. Not since Sally Field's ``Norma Rae'' blitz has an actor gone into the Oscar race with such favorable odds. It only remains to see if the Oscar voters will go along with this oh-so-dark treatise on alcoholism-to-the-end.
``I'm being very Zen about it,'' Cage said about the upcoming Oscar nominations. ``What I'm so encouraged about is the fact that my fellow actors are saying `good job.' That's enough.''
Director Mike Figgis discovered ``Leaving Las Vegas'' three years ago at a second-hand book store and managed to track down the author, John O'Brien. He told Figgis that the the alcoholic writer was based on his own life. Two weeks before the movie went into production, O'Brien committed suicide.
In preparation for the role, Cage watched and re-watched a number of famous movie alcoholics: Ray Milland in ``The Lost Weekend,'' Albert Finney in ``Under The Volcano,'' Dudley Moore in ``Arthur'' and Jack Lemmon in ``Days of Wine and Roses.''
``I liked Finney's performance the best,'' said Cage, 32. ``He was so natural. I was also greatly impressed by Dudley."
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB