Nicolas Cage has paid tribute to director David Lynch and told an anecdote about their time together while accepting an award.
The star was at The 2025 Saturn Awards to accept both Best Actor for his film Dream Scenario, as well as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in horror Longlegs. While at the podium he paid tribute to Lynch, who died January 15 age 78. The pair had worked together on 1990 thriller Wild At Heart.
“The enthusiasm in this room is not like any other award show and you remind me of one of my greatest collaborators, David Lynch,” Cage remarked. “When I was doing Wild at Heart, I was a very serious, young actor and I said, ‘David, is it okay if I have fun on this movie?’ He said, ‘Buddy not only is it okay, it’s necessary’”.
The Oscar winner would also go on to criticise AI, saying: “The job of all art in my view, film performance included, is to hold a mirror to the external and internal stories of the human condition through the very human thoughtful and emotional process of recreation. A robot can’t do that. If we let robots do that, it will lack all heart and eventually lose edge and turn to mush. There will be no human response to life as we know it. It will be life as robots tell us to know it”.
He concluded: “I say, protect yourselves from AI interfering with your authentic and honest expressions”. He was one of many to celebrate victory at The Saturn Awards, a full list of winners can be viewed here.
Lynch has been fondly remembered by a number within the film industry. Recently, Cage’s co-star in Wild At Heart, Laura Dern, shared a picture of her with the director on what would have been his 79th birthday.
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