Maybe Mitzi Fabelman was right. Maybe films are dreams you never forget, imagination unbound and projected wide at 24 frames per second. And yet, the reverse trajectory can happen, too. From dreams becoming movies to dreams made from movies– who hasn't been lost in some oneiric reverie with one or two elements borrowed from a cinematic favorite? I know I have on multiple occasions, and sometimes it's not even the pictures themselves but the faces that shine brightly within the frame. Movie stars can feel bigger than life, already a step removed from reality with a foot planted in myth, making them perfect fodder for the unconscious mind.
In Dream Scenario, soon in theaters, Nicolas Cage stars as Paul, a hapless man manifesting across strangers' slumbering fantasies. He's a nobody whose unlikely place in other people's dreams transforms him into somebody. He's a star of sorts, just like the man playing him…
Now, if I could choose, I'm not sure I'd pick Cage as the star I'd most want to invade my personal dreamland. As much as I love him, he can be pretty unsettling, and I'd be terrified of nightmares metastasizing around his very presence. The same goes for the likes of Isabelle Huppert, who I adore as an actress but would probably cower away from if she were a fantastic shade traipsing through my unconscious. A comforting presence could be the way to go, like the lovely Laura Linney or Julie Andrews in magical nanny mode. Michelle Yeoh could probably guide me through some action-packed dreams with an Oscar at the end of the road. That sounds fun!
Pardon the bizarreness cum inanity of these musings, but when confronting Dream Scenario's strange premise and Cage's weaponized stardom, these are the sorts of things one's mind conjures. And, with that, I'm turning to you, dear reader. Which star would you want to haunt your dreams?