Reluctant to pursue projects which would necessarily entail front-office controls , the director cautiously rejected the script for '' Face/Off '' several times until it was rewritten to suit him . ( The futuristic setting was changed to a contemporary one . ) Paramount Pictures also offered the director significantly more freedom to exercise his speciality : emotional characterisation and elaborate action . A complex story of adversaries — each of whom surgically alters their identity — law enforcement agent John Travolta and terrorist Nicolas Cage play a cat-and-mouse game , trapped in each other 's outward appearance . '' Face/Off '' opened in 1997 to critical acclaim and strong attendance . Grosses in the United States exceeded $ 100 million . '' Face/Off '' was also nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Effects Editing ( Mark Stoeckinger ) at the 70th Academy Awards
70th Academy Awards
70th Academy Awards
John Woo