Ever since Nicolas Cage told an interviewer that his best friend is his cat Merlin, the internet has become obsessed with it. Now artists are coming together at CatCon to commemorate this love affair through art.
It all started when Cage was asked who his best friend was during a promotional interview for the movie “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”
He explained that his “very unusual” cat, Merlin, is his best friend. Cage said Merlin is a very sweet, affectionate cat that loves contact and will jump into Cage’s bed to hug him.
Nicolas and Merlin = BFF
Sometimes, he thinks it’s his wife, but it’s actually just Merlin. Since Merlin is so sweet and loving, he won first place as Cage’s best friend.
The internet just ran with that once they caught wind of the interview. It turned into a “Nicolas Cage loves cats” whole thing that inspired lots of memes.
The internet is now filled with images of Cage and cats, Cage Photoshopped onto cats or vice versa.
At its best, it’s pretty weird. At its worst, it’s straight nightmare fuel. It’s gone so far that the 2022 CatCon theme will be dedicated to Cage and his love of cats.
CatCon is a two-day event, essentially a ComicCon for cat people, started by Susan Michals.
Michals told Yahoo that she has “loved Nicolas Cage forever” and was inspired by his interview when deciding the 2022 theme.
“You never know what to expect with Nicolas Cage. And that’s very much the same to me in the personality of a cat. Dogs, they’re trained — they love you, love you, love you, love you, love you — will do whatever you want. Cats can be apathetic and then loving within a 10-second time period. You can rub my stomach but… not that spot. I thought, ‘I want to honor Nicolas Cage, honor his love of cats, honor the fact that… he does things the way that he wants to, much like cats,” Michals told Yahoo.
Genius cat art
Michals reached out to a few artists she works with for her semi-regular Cat Art Show and asked them to put together pieces for CatCon’s “Uncaged: The Unbearable Weight of Genius Cat Art” exhibit.
Seven pieces of work on display will be available for sale in person and online that are inspired by Cage and Merlin’s friendship.
Featured artists include Vanessa Stockard, Danial Ryan, Matt McCarthy, Brian Hoffman, Michael Caines, Brenda Chi, and Laura Keenados.
Pieces range in price from $300 to $5,000. Michala says she has her fingers crossed that Cage will attend. You can learn more about CatCon at catconworldwide.com.