Nicolas Cage will play John Madden in Amazon's biopic, and I'm here for it

Boom! I'm about to steal the Declaration of Independence! Variety is among the many sources reporting that Academy Award winning actor Nicolas Cage will portray legendary coach John Madden in a biopic helmed by David Russell. Amazon MGM is backing the project.

Cage reportedly beat out Will Ferrell and Hugh Jackman for the coveted role. Since we're on Gamesided here, I'm going to skip the part where an entertainment site would tell you who John Madden was. It's not an exaggeration for me to say his video game has changed my life. I've been playing it since the Super Nintendo era, and creating content for it for several years now.

In addition to writing, I do a little bit of acting from time to time. Nicolas Cage is one of my all-time favorite performers, so one of my heroes is playing another one of my heroes. Excited doesn't begin to describe my feelings about this project.

I don't doubt that Ferrell or Jackman would have done an excellent job. Jackman probably would be the closest physical resemblance once they apply the aging makeup and/or prosthetics. But Cage is the best fit to manage Madden's manic energy.

There have been attempts to make a movie specifically about the Madden video game. Not that they have asked me, but many of the pitches I've reported on sounded bad. For example, one was specifically about the Madden Curse. But it wasn't about an athlete, it was a pro Madden player who had somehow been selected for the cover and battled the curse.

This is far and away the best idea for any Madden-related movie I've heard about. It just speaks to how influential Madden's career was. If he had stopped at being a Hall of Fame football coach, he'd have been a legend. Then he revolutionized the way the game was broadcasted. Then he helped create, in my opinion, the best sports game series ever.

There won't ever be another John Madden, or another Nicolas Cage. I can't wait to see this movie.