How Did This Get Made?

The Wicker Man w/ Jonah Ray (HDTGM Matinee)

October 7, 2025

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  • The discussion on *How Did This Get Made?* regarding *The Wicker Man* heavily focuses on the bizarre, often nonsensical dialogue and Nicolas Cage's wildly fluctuating performance, which guest Jonah Ray suggests felt like taped rehearsals followed by a sudden burst of energy. 
  • The hosts and guest dissect the film's illogical plot points, such as the opening scene featuring Aaron Eckhart having no bearing on the rest of the movie and the confusing timeline regarding the missing girl, Rowan. 
  • The episode reveals that the theatrical cut of *The Wicker Man* significantly differs from the unrated version, omitting scenes like a bar encounter with James Franco and Jason Ritter, and graphic torture involving broken legs. 
  • The MPA forced significant changes to the violence in *The Wicker Man* (2006), specifically censoring the brain removal scene by requiring the brains to look "sci-fi" (glowing red and blue) instead of realistic. 
  • A subplot involving the main character's pregnancy and David Zayas's character being a "traditional Catholic badass" was cut because the studio did not want to deal with abortion themes. 
  • Liam O'Donnell, a writer for *Skyline*, discussed his upcoming project, *War of the Ages*, which he described as "Bill and Ted meets 300," involving historical conquerors in an epic battle royal. 

Segments

Opening Movie Setup
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The episode opens with ads before summarizing the premise of The Wicker Man involving Nicolas Cage on a pagan island.
  • Summary: The podcast begins with advertisements for Claude AI and Xfinity. The hosts introduce the film The Wicker Man (2006) starring Nicolas Cage, noting his character investigates a missing girl on a pagan island. Guest Jonah Ray is introduced as the expert for this episode.
Opening Scene Analysis
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(00:01:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The opening scene featuring Aaron Eckhart in a coffee shop is completely disconnected from the main plot.
  • Summary: The hosts immediately question the opening scene where Aaron Eckhart appears in a coffee shop, noting the dialogue felt like a high school play. Cage’s character, a motorcycle cop, is commended for an accident he caused, which involved an empty, exploding car. This initial sequence is deemed irrelevant to the rest of the film.
The Letter and Cage’s Performance
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(00:06:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Nicolas Cage’s performance shifts dramatically from sleepy to manic, mirroring the film’s sudden shift into horror.
  • Summary: Cage receives a letter from an ex-fiancée claiming they have a kidnapped daughter, which he reacts to with extreme melodrama. The hosts observe that Cage’s early performance is lethargic, suggesting director Neil LaBute may have suppressed his energy until the final 30 minutes when he was allowed to go ‘mental.’
Arrival on the Pagan Island
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(00:09:11)
  • Key Takeaway: The islanders immediately exhibit bizarre behavior, including offering mead and being evasive about the missing girl, Rowan.
  • Summary: Cage bribes a seaplane pilot for $150 to reach the female-run, honey-making pagan island, featuring a notably poor green screen shot. Upon arrival, locals offer him mead and react strangely to his city slang, while simultaneously carrying a wiggling, bleeding bag that Cage incorrectly guesses contains a shark.
Cage’s Ineffective Investigation
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(00:11:09)
  • Key Takeaway: Cage acts as if he has jurisdiction where he clearly has none, treating every islander as a hostile witness.
  • Summary: The islanders repeatedly inform Cage that he has no jurisdiction, being an officer from California on their private island. He aggressively interrogates kindergarten students, demanding to know what a phallic symbol represents, and later erases their blackboard work to write his own name.
Hallucinations vs. Reality
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(00:15:41)
  • Key Takeaway: The film deliberately blurs the line between Cage’s hallucinations and actual events, such as finding the red sweater multiple times.
  • Summary: The hosts debate whether Cage’s experiences are hallucinations or reality, noting he hallucinates finding a dead girl, only to find one later. The islanders are terrible at hiding clues, as Cage easily finds evidence like the burnt doll in a grave, suggesting they want him to follow the path to the Wicker Man.
The Third Act Escalation
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(00:29:29)
  • Key Takeaway: The film’s third act descends into full-blown absurdity, including a karate fight and Cage stealing a bear costume.
  • Summary: Cage engages in a bizarre karate fight with Lily Sobieski, who passes out in an unnaturally long sequence. He then steals a bear costume to infiltrate the harvest festival procession, a scene notable for being one of the few that doesn’t heavily feature Cage.
Unrated Cut Revelations
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(00:31:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The unrated version of The Wicker Man contains significantly more graphic content, including James Franco and Jason Ritter in the ending tag scene.
  • Summary: The hosts discuss deleted scenes and differences between cuts, noting that James Franco and Jason Ritter appear in the unrated version’s tag scene, where the island women plan to sacrifice the two men next. The unrated cut also features Cage having his legs violently broken with mallets before being burned alive.
Nicolas Cage’s Reaction
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(00:40:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Nicolas Cage admits that while he now understands the film was meant to be absurd, he felt it was important not to reveal that intention to the audience beforehand.
  • Summary: A clip of Nicolas Cage is played where he discusses the film’s intent, stating that while he now sees it as absurd, he had to let the audience connect with it organically. He suggests that acknowledging the absurdity too early would have ruined the movie’s life.
Call from Skyline Writer
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(00:41:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Liam O’Donnell, writer/producer of Skyline, called in to explain the film was rushed into production due to frustration with the slow studio development process.
  • Summary: Liam O’Donnell explains that Skyline was written in a month and shot quickly because they already had investment and resources, driven by ambition and naivete. He confirms that the main character was based on director Greg Strauss, and certain plot points, like the camera ownership, were cut for time by the MPA.
MPA Cuts to Violence
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(00:48:01)
  • Key Takeaway: The MPA mandated that the realistic brains in The Wicker Man be altered to look “sci-fi” (glowing red and blue) and limited the duration of violence, such as David Zayas beating a drone.
  • Summary: The original head-ripping scene was reportedly better before MPA intervention, showing the head being ripped off in a wide shot followed by a close-up. The MPA objected to the realistic appearance of the brains, forcing the addition of a glow effect to differentiate them, which resulted in the confusing red/blue color scheme. Additionally, prolonged violence, like David Zayas’s fight sequence, was cut down.
Cut Pregnancy Subplot
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(00:49:19)
  • Key Takeaway: A significant subplot involving the main character’s pregnancy, which created tension between her and David Zayas’s traditional Catholic character, was removed due to studio aversion to abortion themes.
  • Summary: The pregnancy reveal was a reshoot because the original plan was uncertain about whether the pregnancy would be kept. This subplot explained the tension between the main couple and Zayas’s character, who was written as a traditional Catholic figure. The studio ultimately cut the abortion-related material entirely, potentially reducing the depth of David Zayas’s role.
Writer’s Future Projects
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(00:50:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Liam O’Donnell is involved in producing a “creepy” found footage movie directed by Barry Levinson and is developing War of the Ages, a concept described as “Bill and Ted meets 300.”
  • Summary: O’Donnell is involved in a project with Barry Levinson, primarily handling visual effects, which is described as the next step in epic found footage cinema. His most exciting upcoming project is War of the Ages, where historical emperors and conquerors like Genghis Khan and Napoleon engage in an epic battle royal. O’Donnell shared an anecdote about pitching this concept to Keanu Reeves, who responded enthusiastically.
Show Wrap-up and Credits
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(00:51:49)
  • Key Takeaway: Jonah Ray directed listeners to his website (jonaray.com), Twitter (@JonahRay), and his work on The Nerdist podcast and The Soup.
  • Summary: The hosts thanked Jonah Ray for appearing on How Did This Get Made? and provided his contact information and current projects. Paul Scheer reminded listeners about NTSF:SD:SUV! airing on Adult Swim on Thursdays at (12:15) AM. The episode concluded with standard sign-offs and a plug for Bob Duca’s Twitter account.