Nicolas Cage believes James Franco stole Spring Breakers’ character from him

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

A new interview with Seth Rogen in "GQ Magazine" has unearthed a Nicolas Cage story that sounds so very Nicolas Cage that it really shouldn't surprise you once you hear it. In the same interview where Rogen revealed why Emma Watson walked off the set of This Is The End, the actor reveals that Nicolas Cage thinks that James Franco may have stolen his idea for what would become Franco's character and role in 2012's Spring Breakers.

Apparently, this all goes back to Cage's pitch about playing a villain in The Green Hornet as a "white Jamaican." Screenwriter Evan Goldberg and longtime creative collaborator with Seth Rogen says that he "spoke to Nicolas Cage about him possibly playing the Russian crime boss villain in ‘The Green Hornet,’ only for Cage to inform them he wanted to play him as a bald man, with hair tattooed on, large prosthetic lips and a voice like Edward G Robinson. They later met Cage in person and he informed them that, actually, he wanted to play him as a ‘white Bahamian,’ with a thick Caribbean accent, and proceeded to act out a scene in which he would be dumping pigs’ blood on Rogen’s ‘Green Hornet’ in a ‘creepy voodoo ritual.'”

As the story unfolds, it's revealed that Cage did not get the part but he did recently request a meeting with Rogen where he asked him if he had told James Franco about his idea because he suspected Franco stole his pitch for what would become the character of Alien in Spring Breakers. Even though the character does fit the description of a "white Jamaican" or "white Bahamian", many believe that Franco actually got the inspiration for the role from the rapper Riff Raff. If you're familiar with his look and his demeanor, it seems more in line with what Franco was going for. Check out a side-by-side photo of James Franco as Alien and Riff Raff below to get a better idea of what most likely was the inspiration for the character.

Spring Breakers was written and directed by Harmony Korine and in addition to Franco, starred Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine. The film follows four college-aged girls on their spring break in Florida where they meet an eccentric drug dealer (Franco) who helps them in a time of desperation, and their eventual descent into a world of drugs, crime, and violence. Spring Breakers is one of those love it or hate it movies (I LOVE it) but it was relatively well-received by critics, holding a 67% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was also a hit in relation to its $5 million budget, grossing $31.7 million worldwide.

As for the villain role in The Green Hornet, it ultimately went to Christoph Waltz who definitely didn't take it in the direction that Nicolas Cage was trying to pitch. Rogen went on to say about Cage that the actor actually confronted him about the Franco connection before the pandemic. Rogen says "The second part actually just happened before the pandemic. I mean, he already doesn't like me, is the point. So he'll continue not to like me."

Just another case of Nicolas Cage being Nicolas Cage. What are YOUR thoughts on Cage's assertion that Franco may have stolen his idea for his Spring Breakers' character?