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Nicolas Cage Loses Homes To Tax Troubles

Emma Renda — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Nicolas Cage has made a LOT of movies, so realistically, he should have enough money in the bank to afford the entire city of New Orleans. But according to People.com, Cage owes $6.3 million in back taxes and now he is blaming it on his business manager.

Samuel J. Levin is now facing a lawsuit from Cage himself, but has not released any statements.

The lawsuit stated Levin “lined his [own] pockets with several million dollars in business management fees while sending Cage down a path toward financial ruin.” Cage is now apparently forced to sell major assets in order to cover the tax liabilities, according to the lawsuit.

His two houses in the French Quarter of New Orleans were auctioned for a collective $4.5 million on Friday, about one-third of their appraised value.

Earlier this year, Cage sold his Bavarian castle to Konrad Wilfurth, a lawyer and his German advisor.

The sale of his New Orleans homes was partially due to Regions Bank’s foreclosure on Hancock Park Real Estate Co., which owns Cage’s properties and now faces $5.5 million in unpaid mortgage debts on them according to People.

This isn’t the only financial trouble Cage has faced, though. The U.S. government placed a tax lien on his real estate holdings after finding $6 million in unpaid taxes from 2007, as well as another $350,000 from 2002-2004 uncovered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Los Angeles Superior Court also received a claim from East West Bank that Cage hadn’t paid a $2 million loan that was extended in August.

Although he’s not talking, Cage is taking the defensive. The lawsuit clearly places the blame on Levin, stating “relied on Levin to handle his financial affairs to ensure that he and his family would have a financially secure future built on the foundation of the substantial monies Cage earned through years of hard work.”

Movie Review: Astro Boy

Ilan Mester — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:34:08 +0000

If you can sit through corny lines such as “everyone has their destiny,” “Astro Boy” isn’t too shabby. While it doesn’t live up to Pixar standards, the movie is quite an engaging family-friendly action flick.

The animated film tells the story of a robotic boy who first emerged in the 1950’s as part of a Japanese manga series. Astro Boy then ventured into television in the ‘60s and today, he can be seen on the silver screen with upgraded CGI animation.

The film starts with Toby (voiced by Freddie Highmore), a brilliant, curious kid who’s the son of an even more brilliant scientist (Nicolas Cage). Unfortunately, he dies in a freak lab accident and his father, stricken with grief and guilt, creates a robot that looks exactly like Toby (memories included).

However, he realizes shortly after bringing the robot home that no one — or in this case nothing — can replace his son. He abandons the robot, who later takes on the name Astro and leaves the gleaming Metro City in order to find a place where he belongs (I apologize for the cheesiness, but that’s literally how he feels).

There’s one catch, Astro is powered by Blue Core energy, a crystalline nugget that’s extremely powerful and that the government, mainly the vicious president, wants to get its hands on.

While the plotline may not appear simple on paper, it’s easy to follow on screen. As a film, “Astro Boy” is quite simple and doesn’t offer much innovation to its animated-action genre. But, it isn’t a completely passive movie. The war-obsessed fictional President in the film (voiced by Donald Sutherland) is an obvious political allusion anyone who sees the movie will pick up on within seconds. Also, the treatment of robots is quite cynical.

As far as the animation goes, it isn’t necessarily realistic per say, but it’s well done — to the point that you really get into the action. One thing the film deserves kudos for is its cast. While Summit Entertainment is relying on big names — including Samuel L. Jackson, Charlize Theron, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, among others — to draw in the audience, it pays off, because for the most part, their voices suit their respective characters — including Highmore who brings Astro to life.

Director David Bowers (“Flushed Away”), who penned the movie’s screenplay alongside Timothy Harris (“Space Jam”), clearly borrowed certain concepts from films like “WALL-E” and “Robots,” to create this movie. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make “Astro Boy” unique from them.

‘Knowing’ Defeats Challengers At Box Office

Joelle Tomlinson — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:17:32 +0000

What started as a close and unpredictable race to box office supremacy wound up an easy win for Nicolas Cage’s latest sci-fi flick, Knowing, reports ew.com. The film, which grossed $24.8 mil this weekend, trumped challenges from the comedic I Love You, Man and the Julia Roberts-Clive Owen thriller Duplicity.

In Knowing, a teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son’s elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions — some that have already occurred and others that are about to — that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

In the end, the battle wasn’t nearly as close as predicted. Cage scored his third consecutive No. 1 opening in the past year and a half, drawing a diverse crowd that was evenly divided between men and women and about two-thirds over the age of 25. For indie distributor Summit, meanwhile, Knowing’s debut marks a second big win after last fall’s Twilight.

Nic Cage’s Stalker Sentenced

andPOP Staff — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:43:47 +0000

After a crazed intruder broke into his family home in Newport Beach this past October, actor Nicolas Cage didn’t need to think twice before pressing charges.

Cage stumbled upon 46 year old Robert Dennis Furo Jr. one night, as Furo crept through Cage’s kitchen, wearing nothing but Nic’s leather jacket.

The intruder pled guilty to one count of felony stalking in court this week. His attorney argued that Furo had been in a “drug induced daze” at the time of the crime, but that didn’t stop the Orange County courts from sentencing Furo to time served in the Orange County jail, as well as 6 months of mandatory drug rehab.

In addition, Furo has been ordered to abstain from making any form of contact with Cage or his family, and must remain a minimum of 100 yards away at any given time.

Charges of theft with a prior conviction were dismissed.

House of Cage on the Market for $35 million

andPOP Staff — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 03:51:06 +0000

The Los Angeles home of actor Nicolas Cage has hit the market with a steep pricetag of $35 million U.S.

The asking price is five times higher than what Cage paid for the mansion in 1998, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Located in the posh Bel-Air neighbourhood, the 11,000-square-foot house boasts seven bedrooms, a games room, a custom wine cellar, a theatre and an Olympic-sized pool. The house was built in 1940, with only a brick wall standing between it and Sunset Boulevard.

Previous owners include singers Tom Jones and Dean Martin.

Nicolas Cage Donates $2 million to Amnesty

andPOP Staff — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 16:30:35 +0000

Actor Nicolas Cage is donating $2 million US to charitable organization Amnesty International to help former child soldiers.

The donation will help support rehabilitation shelters, medical services, and psychological and reintegration programs, reports the BBC.

According to Amnesty, some 300,000 children worldwide — as young as 7 years old — are involved in armed conflicts.

“Think about the nine months it took for your child to be born; think about all the care you put into teaching him how to cross the street and look both ways, or to read a book, or to simply have good manners,” said Cage in a video statement. “Then imagine a warlord dropping a gun into his hand and forcing him to kill someone.”

The actor has been working with Amnesty International USA for two years.

The organization collaborated on the 2005 film “Lord of War,” in which Cage plays an international arms dealer. The film also deals with the terrifying reality of children involved in warfare.

Nicolas Cage Gives Birth to Superman

andPOP Staff — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 12:37:03 +0000

Kal-el, which is Superman’s Krypton name, may come in handy when the real life baby boy is trying to fend off tabloid photographers.

Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage’s third wife (whom he married in July 2004), Alice Kim, has given birth to the couple’s first child on Monday. The couple named the baby Kal-el.

The name may have derived from the fact that Cage was once linked with playing Superman onscreen.

Annett Wolf, publicist for Cage, said: “They are healthy and happy and it’s quite lovely.”

This is not Cage?s first child; he has another son with actress Kristina Fulton.

So What?

Alice Kim received a pretty large tip when Cage asked her for her hand in marriage.

If I were a former waitress I?d be poppin? out a baby to keep child support coming too (just in case). I mean, Cage doesn?t exactly have a great track record with wives (considering Kim was number three). Hey I guess third time could be the charm or it could be strike three. Either way, now Kim has is made– just a regular working girl moving on up!

Nicolas Cage to Star in Film About 9/11

andPOP Staff — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 19:31:16 +0000

Nicolas Cage is set to star as a police officer in the one of the first Hollywood films about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to Paramount Pictures.

Oliver Stone will direct the untitled movie, which will tell the tale of Sgt. John McLoughlin and William Jimeno, the last two men to be pulled out of the rubble of the World Trade Center.

The two Port Authority officers sold their life rights to Paramount, providing the basis for the original screenplay by Andrea Berloff.

Cage, who once won an Academy Award for his role in Leaving Las Vegas, will play McLoughlin. No other casting decisions have been made at this time.

Paramount apparently gave producers the green light to begin work on the film in the hopes of getting a leg up on another 9/11 film in development at rival Columbia Pictures.

Nicolas Cage and Will Smith Team Up

Max Whiteside — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:20:26 +0000

A new comedy in the works will star Nicolas Cage and Will Smith, according to reports. And it won’t take much to be a better film that Cage’s “National Treasure.”

The film will be called “Time Share,” and will see Cage and Smith playing two fathers booked into the same time share vacation.

They will also both be producers.

This will be the first time the duo work together.

DVD Review: National Treasure

Adam Gonshor — Fri, 06 May 2005 14:14:25 +0000

The ridiculousness of National Treasure is summed up by one Nicolas Cage line: “The dollar bill is trying to tell me something.”

I’m prepared to suspend my beliefs while watching any movie, including this one, but there’s a certain point that makes me shake my head. The absurdity of this film takes away from everything that’s good?and there are many good things about this movie.

It’s an adventure from start to finish, and sure you can guess how it will end after watching the trailer, but it’s still entertaining.

Nicolas Cage stars as Ben Gates, who follows clues, leading him to an invisible treasure map on the back of the United States Declaration of Independence. Seriously.

It would be a stretch to say Cage is at his best in National Treasure, though he isn’t bad. He always seems nervous but has the confidence to continue the trek and almost make it believable (almost). The character is cursed however since he is forced into a love plot with Abigail Chase, played by Diane Kruger, though they barely have any convincing scenes together and have no screen time to show the audience that this relationship is properly built up.

The bonus features give this DVD some credibility. Included is an hour’s worth of material, such as deleted scenes, an alternate ending, featurettes, and an interactive puzzle.

2.5*