57-Year-Old Actor Nicolas Cage Opens Up About Possibly Playing ‘Joe Exotic’ In New Series — Says It Isn’t Happening And ‘No Longer Relevant’

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Actor Nicolas Cage confirmed that he will not be playing Joe Exotic after all, according to Fox News. Cage was reportedly tapped for an eight-part series about the life of ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic on Amazon.

Cage was an “obvious choice,” Fox reports. Cage suggested that Amazon Studios is removing the project, possibly because the excitement and hype surrounding Netflix’s “Tiger King” has largely passed. Exotic was an Oklahoma zookeeper and he’s currently serving time in prison for orchestrating a failed murder-for-hire plot against his rival, Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin.

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“We should clear the record,” Cage told the outlet. “I read two excellent scripts, which I did think were excellent, but I think Amazon ultimately felt that it was material that had become past tense because it took so long for it to come together. They felt at one point that it was lightning in a bottle, but that point has since faded into the distance and it’s no longer relevant.”

Fortunately for those who were hoping to see Nicolas Cage take on the now infamous role, sources told the outlet that Imagine and CBS Studios, which were producing the series, are keen to shop it around to other streaming platforms or networks… However, that could end up being a tall order given that there’s already another “Tiger King” project in the works at Peacock starring Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell as Baskin and Maldonado-Passage respectively. The latter was photographed for the first time in full Joe Exotic attire during a PDA-filled scene in front of a pet shop in Brisbane on Sunday.

In the event that the Nicolas Cage version of Joe Exotic makes its way to TV screens, it will mark the Oscar-winning actor’s first foray into the world of television. Unfortunately, despite his name recognition and storied Hollywood career, Cage was not on the real-life Joe Exotic’s shortlist of actors to portray him in film or TV… “He would like Brad Pitt or David Spade to play him,” Rebecca Chaiklin, one of the filmmakers behind “Tiger King,” previously told The Hollywood Reporter. “He doesn’t refer to David Spade as David Spade — he refers to him as ‘Joe Dirt.'”


NEXT STORY: BREAKING: After 13 Years Of Conservatorship Controlling Her Life, Here’s What to Expect From Britney Spears’ Upcoming Court Appearance

The next step in Britney Spears’ legal battle to end her controversial conservatorship will be on Wednesday afternoon, according to Fox News. Spears made “dramatic comments” in court that condemned the conservatorship that has controlled her life for 13 years. “I just want my life back,” Spears said.

A Los Angeles judge with convene for a hearing on Wednesday to “deal with the aftermath,” Fox reported. Spears is not expected to speak again. During the hearing on June 23rd, Spears said she was being forced to take medication and use an intrauterine device for birth control. Spears added that she was not allowed to marry her boyfriend and said she wanted to own her own money.

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Spears’ comments marked the first time she’s spoken out publicly about ending her conservatorship, which is largely controlled by her father, Jamie Spears. The explosive speech led to the resignation of her court-appointed lawyer, the withdrawal of an estate-management company that was supposed to oversee her finances as well as a volley of accusations between her father and a professional conservator over who’s to blame for the legal circumstances Spears said are “abusive” and need to end…

She was harshly critical of her father, who serves as conservator of her finances, and had more measured criticism for Jodi Montgomery, the court-appointed professional who serves as conservator of her person, overseeing her life choices.

James Spears said in a legal filing that the court needs to investigate the allegations and Montgomery’s role, pointing out that his daughter’s personal life has been beyond his control since he resigned as conservator of her person in 2019, a role he played for 11 years. He opposed Montgomery’s request for money to hire security because of recent death threats, saying he has been subjected to similar threats for years.


NEXT STORY: ‘This Is A Mistake’: George W. Bush Criticizes Biden, Says Withdrawal of U.S. Troops Will Have ‘Unbelievably Bad’ Consequences

Former President George W. Bush ripped Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, according to Fox News. Bush added that the consequences will be “unbelievably bad.”

“This is a mistake,” Bush said during an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. “They’re just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart.” Bush believes Afghan women and girls would “suffer unspeakable harm.” Biden, on the other hand, told reporters, “In this context, speed is safety.” Biden also stated, “The United States did what we went to do in Afghanistan – to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and to deliver justice to Usama bin Laden. We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build.”

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During an exclusive interview with Fox News in May, Bush said he did not think withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan was “necessary,” telling Fox News that he is “deeply concerned” that a “vacuum” will be created without a U.S. presence in the region.

“I’ve always warned that no U.S. presence in Afghanistan will create a vacuum, and into that vacuum is likely to come people who treat women as second class citizens,” Bush, who was president during the 9/11 attacks, told Fox News.

“I’m also deeply concerned about the sacrifices of our soldiers, and our intelligence community, will be forgotten,” Bush told Fox News.

“And you know, was it necessary? I don’t think so,” he continued. “But the decision has been made, and we now need to pray and hope that it is the right decision.”


NEXT STORY: Shameful: A Look Back At Bernie Sanders’ Long History Of Praising Cuba’s Regime Over Decades Of Communist Rule

Senator Bernie Sanders has a long history of praising Cuba’s regime, according to Fox News. The Cuban regime is recently currently cracking down on protesters. The protesters are demanding freedom after decades of communist rule. Now Sanders is up against serious criticism for “initially remaining silent on the protests,” Fox reports. Bernie later issued a statement late Monday night, which suggested the government should not use violence.

In the past, Sanders defended his praise for deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. During a “60 Minutes” interview, Sanders said, “We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba but, you know, it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad. You know? When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing? Even though Fidel Castro did it?”

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Video footage unearthed last year showed Sanders recalling his excitement for the communist revolution during a speech in the 1980s… “I remember, for some reason or another, being very excited when [former Cuban dictator] Fidel Castro made the revolution in Cuba,” he said, while speaking at the University of Vermont in 1986. “I was a kid … and it just seemed right and appropriate that poor people were rising up against rather ugly rich people.”

During that speech, Sanders said he almost had to “puke” when he saw former President John F. Kennedy push his opponent at the time, former President Richard Nixon, to be tougher on Cuba. “For the first time in my adult life, what I was seeing is the Democrats and Republicans … clearly that there really wasn’t a whole lot of difference between the two,” he said.