“First look” production photos were dropped Tuesday of Nicolas Cage starring in “Madden,” a new film about John Madden, the legendary Oakland Raiders head coach-turned broadcaster who spent much of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area and died here in 2021 at age 85.
Much of the chatter about these photos centers on whether Cage, the famously eccentric but dedicated film actor, can carry off a resemblance to Madden, who, in his own way, was a larger-than-life figure in American culture. The Daily Mail published photos of the one-time Oscar winner with shaggy, reddish brown hair, which could have been a wig and appears meant to approximate Madden’s own style, circa 1977, when he coached the Raiders to their first Super Bowl title. In the photos, Cage also appears to be wearing padding beneath a vintage blue T-shirt tucked into high-waisted pants to emulate Madden’s husky build.
But the Daily Mail photos also revealed that “Madden” is being filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, which raises questions about how authentic the movie can be to the spirit of its subject, regardless of whether the 61-year-old Cage can deliver a decent impression of Madden, especially a Madden in his 40s.
Principal photography for “Madden” began in the Georgia city in late April, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It’s not known if much or all of “Madden” will be shot in Georgia. Sadly, the Bay Area, as well as Hollywood, continue to lose lucrative film and TV productions to other states or countries, including the U.K. and Canada, which offer more generous incentives to filmmakers. Georgia’s 30% credit on film and TV production costs has been used to subsidize hundreds of productions and transformed Atlanta into a major production hub, according to Variety.
Perhaps there will at least be some effort to do exterior shots at iconic Bay Area locations, such as the Oakland Coliseum. Madden certainly spent a lot of time at the Oakland Coliseum, while serving as an assistant coach and then as head coach, starting in 1967 before he retired in 1978. He also was a longtime resident of Pleasanton, where he lived with his wife, Virginia, and their two sons.
FILE – TV sports personality and former Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden enjoys the comforts of his custom-made bus while in New York June 10, 1987. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnette, File)
But even before Madden became a famous football coach, his Bay Area roots went way back. The son of an auto mechanic, he grew up in Daly City, where he played football and baseball at Jefferson High School. He also briefly attended the College of San Mateo before transferring Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he played offensive tackle. While drafted by Philadelphia Eagles, his career ended with an injury in his first season, and he soon showed his gift for coaching and eventually made his way back to the Bay Area to work for the Raiders.
This film about Madden’s “unusual” life and career journey is a product of Amazon MGM Studio, and it co-stars the always chameleonic Christian Bale as Al Davis, Deadline reported. The director is the famously difficult and controversial David O. Russell, whom George Clooney once called “a miserable (expletive).”
Russell also wrote the screenplay, which doesn’t sound like its following the standard birth-to-death biopic. Instead it appears to focus on a crucial period in Madden’s life, when he had to walk away from coaching, at the pinnacle of his career, because the intense demands of the job were jeopardizing his health and his relationship with his family.
The film focuses on when Madden “found new purpose” in lending his name, voice and expertise to the Electronic Arts gaming company to create his eponymous series of football video games, Deadline reported. Though Madden himself had never played video games, the “lifelong teacher of football strategy” helped shaped the player moves on screen and provided a voiceover to help players develop a better understanding of the game. He told Grantland in 2012 that his Madden NFL games were meant to be “a way for people to learn the game (of football) and participate in the game at a pretty sophisticated level.”
If “Madden” focuses on the intersection of professional sports and the marketing a best-selling consumer product, it could be following in the footsteps of “Air,” the 2023 Ben Affleck-directed sports film about Nike pursuing a business deal with rookie NBA player Michael Jordan to create the successful line of Air Jordan shoes.
However “Madden” treats the John Madden story, it arguably could be better served by doing filming some scenes locally. Meanwhile, Cage has a lot riding on how well he pulls off his own interpretation of Madden. As the Daily Mail said, his “epic transformation” into the body and mind of Madden offer his next shot at winning his second Oscar.
