Time was when nobody had ever heard of the Sundance Film Festival. Time was when Nicolas Cage was unknown.
Times have changed."The first year we had to stand out in the street and find people to come in," festival founder Robert Redford said Saturday morning at his annual news conference promoting the event.
Nowdays the festival is the biggest single American stage for movies produced outside Hollywood's studio system, an occasion covered en masse by the international media. The 10-day affair plays host to the low-budget film, the little-known director, the obscure performer.
But it honors famous people, too, and shortly after Redford talked to reporters at his Sundance resort, Nicolas Cage was fielding questions 40 miles away at the Yarrow Hotel in Park City.
Cage, in town to receive the festival's Piper-Heidsieck Tribute to Independent Vision, epitomizes the side of Hollywood that walks a thin line at times, often doing films that lie somewhere beyond the mainstream.
"Original vision is something I think should be celebrated," said Cage, known for his often-startling but usually captivating performances in movies that include "Moonstruck," "Raising Arizona," "Red Rock West," "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Honeymoon in Vegas" and "Birdy."
In its fourth year, the Piper-Heidsieck tribute has previously honored Gena Rowlands, Denzel Washington and John Turturro, and Cage said the prize is important.
"I wish the Academy Awards had an award (like this)," he said.
The actor, who said he modeled his career after James Dean and designed it early on to create an image of an outlaw with tendencies for "ketchup-bottle throwing and airplane hijackings" has long-since mellowed.
"The problem is I'm 31 now," laughed Cage, who said his on-screen inspiration often comes from an inner voice rather than the fashion of the day.
"The temptation is there to make $10 million movies and be a big action star," he said, adding that his goal is to "stay true to myself and create something that lasts."
His advice to young performers: "There's a danger in over-anal-yzing (because) thinking destroys knowing."
And this: "Actors who have been through something have a certain weight . . . a certain depth. I think (life) experiences can sharpen your sword."
Redford said the festival's progress has been a dream come true, reminding his listeners that the Sundance Institute was established in 1981 to nourish young filmmakers and that the festival itself was the first step in seeing wider distribution of such works.
But festival director Geoffrey Gilmore told the morning crowd that much of what's screened in Park City during the last 10 days of January never makes it into wide release.
"We have a lot of work to do," said Gilmore.
Cage, asked about his formative acting experiences, said an unforgettable one came whan a director cautioned him not to let his character take things too hard, something somebody might've said to Redford when the Sundance festival floundered in its early years.
"You're hurt but you're not defeated," said Cage. "It's stayed with me ever since."