Nicolas Cage’s New Portland-Based Truffle Hunting Movie Begins Production Today

Actor Nicolas Cage has been spotted around Portland recently, and the reason is likely out: Production began today for his upcoming film about an Oregon culinary pastime — truffle hunting.

Portland’s own celebrity-spotter and man-about-town Byron Beck posted to his Instagram account on Sunday that Cage was spotted downtown shopping. Then, earlier today, Oregonian food and drink editor Michael Russell took time out of his busy reporting job to get to the bottom of it, tweeting the synopsis for the Cage film that started production today in Portland.

In Pig, the Oscar-winning actor will play a truffle hunter living in the Oregon woods who is forced to return to Portland (and his past) when his truffle-hunting hog is pignapped. Other details about the film are scant, except that it co-stars Hereditary‘s Alex Wolff, it’s written by newbie filmmaker Michael Sarnoski, and it is in no way related to Babe 2: Pig in the City. Mushroom foraging and kidnapped pigs certainly seems like an appropriately whimsical setup for a Nicolas Cage film set in Portland.

• What has Nicolas Cage been doing in Portland? [The O]
• Nicolas Cage & Alex Wolff Team For Truffle Hunter Pic ‘Pig’ [Deadline]