Nicolas Cage a nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and of actress Talia Shire, and the cousin of directors Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola, film producer Gian-Carlo Coppola, and actors Robert Carmine and Jason Schwartzman. Cage's two brothers are New York radio personality Marc "The Cope" Coppola and director Christopher Coppola. He attended Beverly Hills High School, which is known for its many alumni who became entertainers. He aspired to act from an early age and also attended UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. His first non-cinematic acting experience was in a school production of "Golden Boy". He said he started
Vincent Ward (director) epic, "The Last Samurai" was a film inspired by a project developed by Ward. The film was in development for nearly four years and after approaching several directors, including Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Weir, he became executive producer. In the end, the job of director went to Edward Zwick. In 2005 he returns to New Zealand and recovers his more immediate history, that of the bloody British colonization during the second half of the 19th century. All the constants of Ward come back here with greater force, condensed in the "modern" formation of a country with a deep "primitive"