10 Bonkers Theories Roger Ebert Had About Famous Movies
3. Nic Cage Only Chooses The Best And Worst Scripts
What Ebert Said
Ebert had a lot of affection for Nic Cage, calling him "good in good movies and essential in bad ones", but he also had a theory that the actor only chooses scripts at the extreme end of the quality spectrum. He won't choose anything middling, only true brilliance or something truly terrible (which perhaps explains his take on him being essential in poor movies).
The Reality
He probably just says yes to everything, to be honest (though Cage does say he's in on the joke). It certainly looks like it. And the suggestion that he has never made a mediocre film is utterly wrong. Rage is mediocre. The Sorceror's Apprentice is mediocre. Windtalkers is mediocre.
Sure, there are lots of great and lots of terrible films on his CV, but his is a very richly spread spectrum of quality (with more films towards the lower end than the top).