Dream Scenario movie storyline. Nicolas Cage stars as Paul Matthews, a listless family man and tenured professor with an affinity for evolutionary biology and anxiety regarding his own anonymity. One day, he discovers he has begun to appear in other people’s dreams at an exponential rate. As in life, his presence in these dreams is banal and non-intrusive – he’s simply there, staring indifferently at the fantasies and nightmares of strangers.
Nonetheless, he becomes an overnight celebrity, and is soon showered with the attention he has long been denied. But when Paul encounters a dreamer whose visions of him differ substantially from the norm, he finds himself grappling with the Faustian bargain of fame as his dream-selves start inexplicably becoming violent within their respective subconsciousnesses.—Studio
Dream Scenario is an American comedy film written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli. It stars Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula and Dylan Baker. It is produced by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg banner, alongside Cage, Jacob Jaffke and Tyler Campellone.
Principal photography commenced in Toronto in October 2022 and wrapped that November. Dream Scenario is set to premiere as the opening film in the Platform Prize program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2023. It was released by A24 on November 10, 2023.
About the Story
Sophie, a teenage girl, has a dream in which a man is raking leaves by a swimming pool. As Sophie starts floating up to the sky, she cries for help from this man whom she calls Dad. This man, Paul Matthews, is a biology professor who begins appearing in the dreams of random people, many of whom do not know him. In the dreams, calamity occurs or the dreamers ask for help, but Paul is passive or emotionless and does not intervene.
When Paul learns a former colleague is writing an article on a topic he had many years earlier discussed with her, he seeks to confront her but instead begs her for some recognition. Paul’s journalist ex-girlfriend, Claire, spots him with his wife, Janet, and tells him he appears in her dreams. With his permission, she writes an article about the experience. Soon, hundreds of strangers recognize him from their dreams. While Paul enjoys the media coverage this brings, he is frustrated by his depiction in the dreams as passive and uninteresting.
Paul’s wife, Janet, asks why he does not appear in her dreams. She describes her fantasy: Paul rescues her while wearing the oversized suit worn by David Byrne in the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense. A mentally ill man sees Paul in his dreams and breaks into the house with a knife, raising concerns about the risks of his fame.
Paul meets with a public relations firm, hoping to get a book deal, but they attempt to convince him to advertise Sprite on social media. After an assistant at the firm tells him about her erotic dreams about him, he attempts to reenact them for her, but he suffers premature ejaculation and flatulence, and he leaves, humiliated.
Paul is enraged to learn that the former colleague has published a paper on the subject he was thinking of writing his book about. His presence in people’s dreams becomes violent and sadistic, and he becomes vilified. He is placed on leave after students refuse to attend his classes. Bystanders begin to notice Paul in public and are bothered by his presence, resulting in a brawl in a diner. After Janet’s career is affected, she asks Paul to make a public apology, but he angrily refuses.
After Paul has a nightmare in which he is hunted and killed by a version of himself with a crossbow, he releases a self-pitying apology video. Humiliated, Janet throws him out of the house. Paul forces his way into his daughter’s school play, but accidentally injures a teacher in the process and is restrained. He becomes further vilified.
Dream Scenario (2023)
Directed by: Kristoffer Borgli
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker, Kate Berlant, Jessica Clement, Sofia Banzhaf, Jennifer Wigmore, Domenic Di Rosa, Lily Bird
Screenplay by: Kristoffer Borgli
Production Design by: Zosia Mackenzie
Cinematography by: Benjamin Loeb
Film Editing by: Kristoffer Borgli
Costume Design by: Natalie Bronfman
Set Decoration by: Brittany Morrison
Art Direction by: John O’Regan
Music by: Owen Pallett
MPAA Rating: R for language, violence and some sexual content.
Distributed by: A24 Films
Release Date: September 9, 2023 (TIFF), November 10, 2023
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