This article was corrected on April 1, 2002.
John Woo is courting Nicolas Cage to star with Chow Yun-Fat in “Men of Destiny,” the director’s epic look at the 19th-century construction of America’s railroads.
The project, a Tom Vaughan script that was a pitch by “Face/Off” scribes Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, puts Woo in reach of joining his Hong Kong star Chow with Cage, who starred in Woo’s Hollywood films “Face/Off” and the upcoming MGM WWII drama “Windtalkers.”
“Destiny” is a plum project of Bill Mechanic’s Pandemonium, which recently signed an exclusive distribution deal with Disney.
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Cage would play an Irish immigrant who at first clashes and then bonds with his Chinese co-worker when they find common ground in the immigrant struggle for the American dream.
Cage’s participation in the film has been rumored since last fall, though the complexities of Mechanic’s overall financing deal kept such talk in the speculation category until recently.
The actor, who made his directing debut on the indie drama “Sonny,” had expected next to be working on the superhero drama “Constantine,” but that film got grounded when its director, Tarsem, ankled.
Cage has several other options, including a revived attempt to mount “Ghost Rider,” an adaptation of the Marvel Comics character. That project was grounded at Dimension when director Steve Norrington left the project, but it appears Dimension will put it in turnaround, and that it likely will be set up elsewhere as a potential vehicle for Cage.
