It looks like everybody’s favorite debt-ridden thespian, Nicolas Cage (sorry, Wesley Snipes!) has a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week.
With the help of a few – or rather, a ton — of recent movie roles, the Oscar-winner/action star/Hollywood freak-out king was recently able to take another $600,000 off the bill he owes to Uncle Sam. As fans of the “Leaving Las Vegas” star will recall, he got into trouble with the Internal Revenue Service a few years back. After switching business managers, the star estimated in January of 2010 that he owed the IRS some $14 million.
Last April, the 48-year-old actor forked over $6.25 million to help pay off the back debt. Unfortunately, even with this latest payment it is estimated that Cage still owes about $6 million.
The IRS claims that the actor owes this money in property and income tax from 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007. Nicolas Cage’s tax problems have led to some high-profile news stories in the past few years, including a lawsuit against his former business manager for negligence and fraud, as well as the sale of his Bavarian castle, Schloss Neidstein.
The actor’s lavish, borderline-insane lifestyle has been well-documented over the years. From a fleet of 9 Rolls Royces to a private Bahamian island, from one of the world’s greatest comic-book collections to castles in Bavaria and England to a pyramid tomb and shrunken head collection, the guy’s credit cards have seen more action than both “National Treasure” movies combined.
But the truth is that people love Nicolas Cage for the same reason they love him in movies. He walks a fine line between fantasy and reality, and isn’t afraid to go off the rails every now and then. Come on, who wouldn’t like to imagine that when Cage first found out about his IRS problems, his reaction went something like this:
If there’s a silver lining for his fans, it’s that the actor still owes more back taxes, so we may still have plenty of sequels to look forward to in the future. Earning himself the title of Hollywood’s James Brown, the hardest working man in movies has put out – in just recent time, since these tax debts took over – everything from “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” to “Knowing” to “Astro Boy” to “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.” Of course, none of these films were very good, but each seems like it would have been a pretty good payday – and the man has blessed us with enough classics to burn a few every now and then.
Upcoming projects include sequels to “Kick-Ass” and “National Treasure,” as well as the Dreamworks animated feature “The Croods.” Cage is slated to star in 12 films (!) scheduled for release in the next 24 months.
It’s not too late for “The Rock 2” or “Face/Off/Again,” right? We love Nic and want to see him back on his feet – and with a little more box office mojo, he might not even have to sell any more castles!