Why One Scene in Nicolas Cage’s New Movie Was Completely Re-Shot

Nicolas Cage and a co-star had to re-film one of the early exchanges in ‘Dream Scenario.’

February 25, 2024, 4:47pm

TORONTO, ONTARIO – SEPTEMBER 09: Nicolas Cage attends the "Dream Scenario" premiere during the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival at Royal Alexandra Theatre on September 09, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario.

Dream Scenario gets a release on physical media this week, and one of the draws of the Blu-ray is the included commentary from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli. He discusses the making of the A24 film, including a reveal of a behind-the-scenes mishap. It turns out that the crew had to re-shoot one of the first scenes in the movie completely.

The Toronto-filmed scene in question, which you can actually watch in A24’s official online preview below, features Nicolas Cage’s character confronting a former colleague (Paula Boudreau) at a restaurant. In the audio commentary from Borgli, he reveals that a faulty zoom lens caused the first version of the scene to be unusable.

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“We’re shooting film, so we can’t see it on the day, so when the film comes back, we notice that this whole day we shot is out of focus at a certain depth of zoom,” Borgli says in the home release, which you can pre-order here.

The original restaurant was unavailable for the re-shoot so the team had to scramble to find a new relocation. Plus, there were the nerves involved in trying to “recreate the magic” of the first shoot. Despite the “nightmare” situation, the re-shoot went well and the resulting scene works fine alongside the others in Dream Scenario.

Borgli goes on to say they had continued frustrations with the equipment used on-set, saying, “There was like a ghost in the camera.” The focus issue popped up again, even after the faulty lens was removed from the rotation. Despite all the issues, Borgli, who previously made the 2022 movie Sick of Myself, intends to keep shooting on film.

“This is one of the risks of shooting film, which I will keep doing, becuase I just really love the look of it,” the director says. “But I will have to [overcome] this film trauma that I went through.”

How to order Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage

If this movie sounds like something you’d like to see or gift to a loved one, Walmart is offering Dream Scenario right now so the movie can be in your hands as soon as it releases. Or you can purchase/rent the digital version of Dream Scenario and watch it right now.

The movie is all about how a university professor randomly starts appearing in strangers’ dreams, giving him fame and notoriety. But it all comes with a cost. The cast includes Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker, Kate Berlant, Lily Bird and Jessica Clement.

A24, the studio behind the film, calls Dream Scenario, a “wickedly entertaining comedy.”

Dream Scenario is available on Blu-ray combo pack, and as a digital purchase.