First, you do realize this is absolutely, positively not a remake, right?! Or so Herzog is saying. After all, Herzog doesn't even know who Abel Ferrara is (tip to Herzog: Try IMDb.com).

Turns out Ferrara's angry at Herzog & Co. for daring to make another version of his 1992 film. Again, screeches Herzog, "NOT A REMAKE, Ferrara! Sheesh. Some directors are sooooo full of themselves." Unlike Herzog, of course, who is not at all the arrogant madman that he appears to be.

The burning question about this movie isn't whether Herzog can make as good a film as Ferrara (he surely can), but whether Cage can do anything but pale in comparison to Harvey Keitel's fine performance in the '92 version. After all, Cage is the guy whose recent films have included National Treasure: Book of Secrets and Ghost Rider (which Mendes also starred in, for those keeping track at home).

This could end up being either the biggest mistake of Herzog's career or a refreshing step in the right direction for Cage and Mendes. Either way, the Ferrara-Herzog feud will make it all worthwhile. After all, Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood can't claim all of Hollywood's petty in-fighting fun.