The last time Paul Schrader and Nicolas Cage teamed up it was for last fall's critically-panned crime thriller Dying of the Light, a film both protested because Lionsgate basically took the film away and edited it themselves. And despite a contractual obligation not to say anything disparaging, Schrader still found a way to make his disgust known. So for his next film, which will again star Nicolas Cage, Schrader has made sure he's got the final say on everything.
Schrader and Cage will team-up once again for Dog Eat Dog, a crime thriller based on the novel by Eddie Bunker that is set in the Los Angeles underbelly. Penned by Schrader and Matt Wilder, the story follows a "trio of ex-cons hired for a kidnapping. When the abduction goes awry and gets completely out of control, the cons find themselves on the run, vowing to stay out of prison at all costs. "
And Schrader, obviously still bitter about his prior situation, took the opportunity on Facebook to get one more dig in while revealing he'll have final cut this time...
"AND THIS TIME I HAVE FINAL CUT. After the debacle of "Dying of the Light," a film I wrote and directed which Nic starred in, a film which was taken from me, recut, scored and mixed without my input, then dumped by a division of Lionsgate appropriately named Grindstone, an experience marked by demeaning behavior, duplicitousness, venality, artistic vulgarity and flatout stupidity, Nic and I spoke. "If it is possible in our lifetimes we should make this right," I said. "We should work together again and get it right." "Absolutely," he replied. Well, that opportunity arose and this time I'm with people I trust and who respect me and have given me final cut. And what an opportunity! A high octane script by Matt Wilder from a Ed Bunker novel described by the Evening Standard as "the angel dust of crime fiction." It's on us now. Stay tuned."
Filming on Dog Eat Dog begins this October. [Deadline]
