Filmmaker Ridley Scott knows why people flock to films about conmen.

"The victims [in the conmen movies] are not really victims," he told reporters in Toronto where his conmen saga Matchstick Men premiered.

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"They kind of deserved it," he said with a chuckle. "Imagine what many of them do for a living," the director continues. "It is pretty seedy."

Scott, whose hit movies include the sci-fi thriller Alien, the gory psychological thriller Hannibal, and Gladiator, the period drama celebrating courage and fortitude, has, for the first time in his three-decade career, made a film about conmen.

The 66 year-old filmmaker, who works mostly in his home country England, is one of Hollywood's highest paid directors. He earns about $5 million for a film with a handsome backend deal on many projects.

An offbeat comedy with big twists, Matchstick Men stars Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman and Sam Rockwell. It opens in North America on September 12.

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Cage and Rockwell play the conmen (called matchstick men in underground slang) whose plans for a big con game undergo a big change when suddenly Cage's teenage daughter turns up. She not only wants the affection of her newly discovered father but also wants to be part of his professional life.

"I have never had as much fun making a film since Thelma & Louise," Scott said. That was over 12 years ago. Starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, the hit road movie with a tragic overtone was about two women who become outlaws because of unforeseen circumstances.

Scott loved working with Cage and the other artistes so much that he would love to do another film with them. "I can see a sequel," he said a bit dreamily.

Why was Scott showing the film at a film festival, a reporter asked. Isn't the film mainstream? It is, Scott admitted. Yet, Matchstick Men is quite different from what he has done, and a non-competitive festival like Toronto is a good place to spread the word.

He recalled how his cult film Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, was dismissed initially by the audience in 1982 because it came soon after his all-out sci-fi thriller Alien. "But Blade Runner was a thinking person's film," he recalled. "We suffered a lot because people expected it to be like Alien." Had it gone around a few film festivals, expectations could have been a bit different, he mused.

Photograph: Getty Images

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