Monday, November 2, 2009

And I Thought I Had It Rough...








Okay, so I'm unemployed. But I'm not looking at the kind of trouble Nicolas Cage is facing (hint: it's not just running from explosions and having your head turn into a flaming skull):
In a lawsuit filed Oct. 16 in Los Angeles, the National Treasure star, 45, claims that his longtime business manager, Samuel J. Levin, "lined his [own] pockets with several million dollars in business management fees while sending Cage down a path toward financial ruin."
How bad is it?
In April, Cage bid farewell to his Bavarian castle, selling it to his German advisor, lawyer Konrad Wilfurth. Now, he has placed other homes on the market in California, Las Vegas and New Orleans....

"He is now forced to sell major assets and investments at a significant loss and is faced with huge tax liabilities because of Levin's incompetence, misrepresentations and recklessness," the lawsuit alleges.(Interestingly, Cage sold off his rare comic-book collection for more than $1.6 million in 2002, a year after hiring Levin.)
I'm already one step ahead of the guy -- I don't need a business manager (and I don't have to worry about finding day help for that Bavarian castle).

To Cage's credit, he may be the hardest working man in show business.
Since 1982, and his first role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cage has appeared in over 60 films -- he's averaging over two films a year. For the past 20 years, he seems to have been in contention for every leading man role (for heaven's sake, he was slated to be Superman; he was going to be "The Wrestler" before Mickey Rourke got the part).








Sure, he's related to somebody famous.
As the story goes (the Wikipedia version):
In order to avoid the appearance of nepotism as the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, he changed his name early in his career from Nicolas Coppola to Nicolas Cage, inspired in part by the Marvel Comics superhero Luke Cage.
(With Cage, it's inevitable -- another comic book connection.) But, again, you've got to give it to him -- he's busted his behind. He's earned his place in the industry... and a "best actor" nod from the Academy for Leaving Las Vegas (which answers that age-old question: "What does a guy have to do to get an Oscar? Die?").

What's more -- he's a brand. Nobody can do Nicolas Cage like
Nicolas Cage. The arched eyebrow, the shameless mugging, the unhinged, wild-eyed, lunatic ranting. Who, honestly, has that glib style, those touching mannerisms?

So, if this guy's in demand, if he always has a movie in the theater, you'd think -- even at entry-level wages -- he'd be able to recoup his losses. Well, as long as he makes better career decisions than financial ones. As long as he stays out of howlers like The Wicker Man.


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