Prepare yourself for Nicolas Cage's incredible John Madden voice as he stars in a biopic of his life and videogame.

"I love it when a fat guy scores."

Why's that, John?

"Because you first get a fat man spike, and then the fat man dance!"

John Madden was an excellent football player, coach and announcer. But his ability to play himself has been underrated. The lines above from his role in football flick The Replacements starring Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, and a somehow-constantly-foaming-at-the-mouth Jon Favreau have lived rent-free in my head for at least 20 years. Even if John Madden was reading someone else’s script, every line he said came out as a John Madden one, a trait that he shares with Nicolas Cage. I can't think of a more exciting casting for the John Madden biopic.

Cage was announced today to be playing the late announcer of a film which is, at least in part, "the origin story for Madden NFL - one of the most popular videogame franchises ever," according The Hollywood Reporter. It could work, honestly. The usual sports biopic is all about the glory, and I really don't think we need two hours of teens/twenties/thirties Madden becoming the Master of Football before a final scene where he dramatically dons a headset and steps into the announcer's booth--cut to black over the roar of the crowd. A film about the making of a videogame would be just as sneer-worthy as the last year's movie about Air Jordans. Maybe meeting in the middle can result in something that is not entirely conventional, and not a pure Ode To Brand.

Cage is the kind of actor who knows better than to try a perfect impression. He'll come up with some wild take on Madden's voice and an embodiment of Madden's oversized personality that feels right, whether or not it is "accurate." He's not the type of actor to try to do a perfect impression. He'll come up with a wild take on Madden’s voice and an embodiment that feels right whether or not it is "accurate." Cage is very good at portraying himself. He has done so twice in recent years, once in his film The Unbearable Weigh of Massive Talent and again in Dead By Daylight.

I'm certain he'll bring the same dedication to a sequence in which he shows a group of computer geeks how to make an Apple II football tackle feel authentic. When he unleashes a surprise BOOM, they'll all do a little jump. They'll all jump a bit. It won't even be in the script, he will just feel it.

I wish someone else had directed this movie for Cage instead of David O. Russell. He's been accused over the years of some pretty gross things and bad behavior on film sets. George Clooney recently called Russell a "miserable fuck" in an interview without prompting, so it's clear that he is still bitter about the film they made 25 years ago. To be honest, it's not the kind of film I would expect from Madden.

Russell announced the casting of Nicolas Cage as John Madden, a beloved national legend. "Cage, one of America's greatest and most original actors will portray the best American spirit of fun, determination, and originality in which anything is achievable," Russell said. "Together, with the ferocious focus, and inspired individualism, of Al Davis, owner the underdog Oakland Raiders in the 1970s, the feature film will be about the joy and genius of John Madden, in a wildly innovative, cool world."

I would guess that the film will be released in late next year.