Have you ever struggled with the question, “Which Nicolas Cage movie do I watch?” We have an answer. Thomas Donahue, a senior majoring in computer science, has come up with the perfect solution to the problem you didn’t know you’ve always had.
Introducing cagewheel.com, a website with one goal only: to help you pick the perfect Nicolas Cage movie. You are met with exactly what you’d expect: a Cage wheel. Click on said wheel for a choice of 24 movies, all starring or featuring the actor in question.
According to Donahue, the spinner works by first spinning 360 degrees, and then choosing a random number of degrees between 0 and 360 to spin again. The final result is a random Nicolas Cage film to enjoy.
Donahue has been a Cage fan since the end of his high school career, and out of every Nicolas Cage movie that Donahue has seen — which he claims is all but a few — his favorite is 1997’s “Face/Off.”
What’s so great about this website is the variety it brings to the table. How much Cage you get is all up to chance. Will he star or just make a cameo? The wheel will choose for you. And you aren’t limited to the 24 movies you see on the first wheel. Click below on the small pictures of Cage to switch between three unique wheels. Don’t want to pick between the three? The question mark button allows the site to choose between all of its 72 film options.
Once you have your movie selected, the site provides trailers and a link to watch the movie online. For the movies where Cage only appears for a small scene, a clip of that scene is posted so you don’t have to waste time watching movies that are not saturated with the actor’s presence. The site also has Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus links so you can make a status featuring a movie quote from the movie that Cagewheel chose for you.
Donahue currently has a few projects under his belt, including a website for Engineers Without Borders and a website for resumes. And while this isn’t Donahue’s first time developing online, he said that it’s the most popular website he has ever created.
And popular is right. Since July 7th, 2015, the page has had around 100,000 visitors, and not just in the U.S. Cagewheel has been used in 152 different countries, including Canada, Morocco, the Republic of Serbia, Mozambique and Zambia, truly legitimizing the words “world wide web.”
The website gained traction after Donahue posted it to Reddit under the subreddit r/OneTrueGod, a thread entirely dedicated to the idea that Nicolas Cage is the superior deity. On the Reddit page description, it states that “those who follow the faith of Cagenism are usually referred to as Cagenists or Nicolites, although any title that properly professes devotion to Him is permissible.” The page is also has numerous “Cagenism” posts, as well as Nicolas Cage-themed scripture.
“I think if I posted it on any other subreddit, it wouldn’t have taken off like that,” Donahue said.
But what’s next for Donahue? He’s hoping to pursue a profession in web development, so this is only the beginning. One thing is for sure: This website is definitely a National Treasure.