Nicolas Cage Honored

Though he was not in attendance at the Catalina Film Festival this year, Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage was on the receiving end of a big honor during the Festival when he was awarded the Charlie Chaplin ICON Award. The award, which is part of the 100 Year Celebration of Charlie Chaplin's legendary career and advent of his iconic Tramp character, is presented every year to an actor or filmmaker whose work embodies Charles Spencer Chaplin's qualities of realism, diversity and courage within his craft. Cage accepted the award and thanked the audience from the set in Toronto, where he is filming his next project. He then introduced festival-goers to his latest film, Left Behind prior to a special red carpet screening of the project.

While Cage wasn't there for the night's festivitees, several other cast members were. His co-stars, singer Jordin Sparks, who plays Shasta Carvell in the film, and Cassi Thomson, who plays Cage's daughter Chloe Steele, both walked the red carpet with Nicky Whelan, Alec Rayme, Georgina Rawlings, Jerry B. Jenkins (the co-Author of the "Left Behind" book series), Randy LaHaye (grandson of co-author Tim LeHaye), Director Vic Armstrong and Producer Michael Walker.

Left Behind tells the story of Rayford Steele (Nicolas Cage) who is piloting a commercial airliner during the Rapture. When millions of people around the globe suddenly disappear, Steele and his remaining passengers are thirty thousand feet over the Atlantic. Rayford is faced with a damaged plane, terrified passengers, and a desperate desire to get back to his family. On the ground, his daughter, Chloe (Cassi Thomson) is the only family member left. One of those left behind, she is forced into a world of madness as she searches for her lost mother and brother.

The movie is based on the New York Times best-selling book series of the same name, co-authored by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. Based on the Bible and published in 32 different languages, the series has sold more than 65 million copies and is one of the best-selling fiction series of all time. In 2000, Left Behind, starring Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Gordon Currie and Clarence Gilyard. It wasn't very successful at the box office, grossing a little over $4 million. According to Christian Film News, LaHaye sued Namesake Entertainment and Cloud Ten Pictures in order to get the rights for future releases and/or sequels back. In 2008, Christian Cinema reported that the suit had been settled. He said then, "My dream has always been to enter the movie theater with a first-class, high-quality movie that is grippingly interesting, but also is true to the biblical storyline -- and that was diluted in the first attempt. But Lord willing, we are going to see this thing made into the movie that it should be."

Now, six years later, with a blockbuster cast and and veteran filmmaker, Vic Armstrong (Thor, Amazing Spider-Man, War of the Worlds) in the director's chair, that day has come. The film will open nationwide on October 3, 2014.

Tags

Jordin Sparks