Last Friday afternoon the news came out that Nicolas Cage owed $6.3 million in back taxes to the US Government, which had placed liens on most of his luxury properties. Cage owns a 40 acre island in the Bahamas, and homes in Rhode Island, Lousiana, Nevada, and California. He also owns a castle in England and recently sold a castle in Germany. He failed to pay $6 million in taxes starting in 2007, and owes another $350,000 in taxes from 2002 to 2004. To add to his money woes, Cage has defaulted on a $2 million bank loan.

Someone is timing the release of information about Cage’s money problems so that the news comes out later on Fridays when it’s least likely to get repeated. This Friday the news came out that Cage is suing his former business manager for making risky real estate investments and essentially squandering his money on property that lost value. The lawsuit seems to allege that Cage had no idea that he was overextended and that it’s all his accountant’s fault:

Nicolas Cage sued his former business manager for $20 million on Friday, claiming bad advice and mismanagement led him toward financial ruin.
Cage filed the lawsuit against Samuel J. Levin and his firm.

“Instead of protecting and preserving Cage’s wealth during one of the greatest economic periods in the country’s history, Levin placed Cage in numerous highly speculative and risky real estate investments, resulting in Cage suffering catastrophic losses,” the lawsuit states.

Levin served as Cage’s business manager from 2001 to 2008 and collected millions of dollars in management fees, court documents state.

Cage, 45, relied on Levin’s statements and advice and couldn’t have known about the financial trouble he was facing until after he hired new management, according to the lawsuit.

A phone message left for Levin at his firm Levin & Co. Management Inc. was not immediately returned.

Public records show Levin has been a licensed certified public accountant in California for nearly 25 years and has no public record of disciplinary actions.
An Oscar-winning actor, Cage is known for his dramatic roles in films such as “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Adaptation” as well as action turns in “The Rock” and the “National Treasure” films.

[From The Huffington Post]

I might be able to buy this explanation if 2007 was the first time that Cage owed back taxes, but he also owed $350,000 from 2002 to 2004. Did this business manager/accountant hide all that from Cage and continue to buy properties without telling him he couldn’t afford it? I bet that Cage just wanted to own a bunch of properties, his accountant didn’t tell him it wasn’t a wise idea, and he ended up in debt. If this is what happened it is partially the accountant’s fault, but Cage should have been checking up on his money. It’s hard to believe he didn’t sign off on these property acquisitions and that it’s all someone else’s problem, especially since the accountant has never been accused of something like this before.

Unlikely action star Nicolas Cage, 45, owes over $6.3 million in back taxes to the US government. He wasn’t involved in some tax scam, like Wesley Snipes, it just sounds like he is seriously overextended. Cage owns luxury properties throughout the world, including a castle in England, a 40 acre island in the Bahamas, and homes in Rhode Island, Lousiana, Nevada, and California. He recently sold a castle in Germany. Real estate has proven a lousy investment lately, and Cage has taken a serious hit. The US Government has placed a $6.3 million lien on his property, most of which is for sale, to collect unpaid taxes dating back to 2007. He has also defaulted on a $2 million bank loan:

On screen, he has battled everything from hardened convicts to vast conspiracies. Now Nicolas Cage is tangling with what may prove to be his toughest foe: the IRS.

The government has placed a tax lien on his vast real estate holdings because of $6 million in unpaid back taxes dating from 2007, the year of the 45-year-old actor’s box office hits Ghost Rider and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, according to court papers.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Service has yet another lien for over $350,000 in unpaid taxes dating from 2002 to 2004.

The larger tax lien, which was first filed in July, comes as Cage has begun liquidating his many legendary multimillion-dollar properties. He sold his castle in Germany, and has placed on the market his homes in California, Las Vegas, and New Orleans.

Cage is dealing with more than the tax collector. East West Bank filed a breach of contract complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming he had failed to repay a $2 million loan that was extended this past August.

His reps didn’t immediately comment.

[From People]

I kind of find it fascinating when people who have more money than entire municipalities somehow manage to squander it all away on crap they’ll never need or use. Michael Jackson was a prime example of this, with his exotic animal zoo, amusement park, and all the strange, useless expensive junk he collected. His estate was said to have been worth 1/2 a billion when he died, but he was living in a rented home and training rigorously for a series of concerts he probably never would have agreed to if he had money saved. In Cage’s case he collected property and it lost value. Maybe he wouldn’t be in this situation if he would have taken a pass on a house or two.

My husband can’t stand Nicolas Cage and will find some schadenfreude in this news. Cage doesn’t really register for me and I find him kind of harmless, but my husband calls him “a talentless arrogant actor” who is decent at action films, but “sucks when playing character roles.” I thought he was ok in those National Treasure movies, which are enjoyable enough historical fluff. Whether Cage’s acting is worth tens of millions of dollars is up to question, but his films make bank.

According to IMDB, Cage has four films coming out next year, one in 2011, and five in development. He’ll manage to pay off the IRS if he can downsize a little. The spoiled, arrogant jerk. (That was for you, honey.)

Nicolas Cage is shown at a press conference for Bad Lieutenant in Toronto on 9/15/09. Credit: WENN.com

You know it’s a bad economy when movie stars start selling their castles. Nicolas Cage bought his German one, Schloss Neidstein, in 2006, and has spent millions of dollars to renovate the 11th century property. The castle has 28 rooms and is surrounded by nearly 400 acres of meadows, forests and fields. Sounds nice.

People always make fun of Nicholas Cage, and I’m not sure why. Once upon a time, he was one of the best actors out there, although he’s spent the last dozen years making the same brainless action movie over and over again. But he makes the studios a lot of money, and he’ll always get work. And he’s amassed quite the savings account in the process too. The German castle was only one part of his vast real estate portfolio:

Oscar winner Nicolas Cage is selling his 11th century estate called Schloss Neidstein in Etzelwang, Germany, after he bought it in 2006 and set about restoring the castle to its former glory.

The actor, whose mother Joy Vogelsang is from Germany, purchased the estate for some £1.6 million, but is understood to have spent that twice over since in renovating the castle.

Schloss Neidstein sits on a hill with a stunning view of 395 acres of forest, meadows and fields. The 9,688-square-foot castle has 28 rooms, including 10 bedrooms and five bathrooms.

But he was only seen visiting the estate once, in 2008. “He didn’t have his heart in it,” said Roman Berr, the local mayor. And now the “Leaving Las Vegas” star has sold the property to a lawyer, according to Mr Berr.

But the nephew of legendary Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola still has a considerable property portfolio, including homes in Los Angeles, Louisiana and another castle, the 18th century Midford Castle on the outskirts of Bath.

In a recent interview with British radio station Heart, the actor spoke of his love for his English retreat, saying, “The castle is in a process of restoration and hasn’t been finished yet. It’s a long process. It’s from the 1700s and it needs quite a bit of love.”

“It’s more like a castle of the imagination. It’s more of a Lewis Carroll-type castle actually; quite fantastical and all that.”

[From The Telegraph]

That’s nice. He has a new castle to renovate. I was worried for a second. I already knew he had a big house in New Orleans and lots of property in Hollywood, but The Telegraph doesn’t mention that Cage also owns at least one private island in the Caribbean. Who needs a German castle when you’re got your own tropical island?

Here’s Nicolas Cage on the set of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ in New York City on Monday. Images thanks to WENN .

It used to be that no other actress could open a movie quite like Julia Roberts. It’s the reason why she was, at one time, the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. But not so much anymore. Julia’s new movie, “Duplicity,” co-starring Clive Owen, failed to claim the top spot this weekend at the box office. In fact, the film finished in third place behind the Paul Rudd comedy “I Love You, Man.” Oh, how the Pretty Woman has fallen!

Audiences knew what they wanted this weekend: Nicolas Cage and the apocalypse.

Summit Entertainment’s supernatural thriller “Knowing,” which stars Cage as an astrophysics professor who figures out how to predict monumental catastrophes, debuted as the No. 1 movie at the weekend box office with $24.8 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

“Knowing” easily foiled “I Love You, Man” and “Duplicity,” the other films opening in wide release. “I Love You, Man” was second with $18 million and “Duplicity” was third at $14.4 million.

The victory was another affirmation for Summit Entertainment, the small studio behind the vampire saga “Twilight,” which opened last year with more than $69 million and went on sale Saturday on DVD after fans lined up at midnight.

Richie Fay, the studio’s president of domestic distribution, said there are several reasons for the studio’s successes.

“We’ve got great creative talent at the studio, veterans on the marketing side and I’ve got a few years under my belt on the distribution side,” said Fay. “It’s the right people coming together at the right time. We’re lean and mean, but we pack a punch. We can deliver on all levels. With the DVD coming out so well, we’re obviously a fully functioning studio.”

The “bromantic” comedy “I Love You, Man” attracted equal numbers of men and women, according to the studio. It stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel

“I think the movie debuted at expectations,” said Don Harris, Paramount’s vice president of distribution. “We had the advantage of opening at the beginning of college and high school spring break, so the audience for this film is going to continue to be available. We think the movie will have good legs. There are no other comedies coming out for the next couple of weekends, so that bodes well for the film.”

[From Huffington Post]

It’s a sad day when more people want to spend their money on another bad Nicolas Cage action flick than the always-delicious Clive Owen. Seriously, what was the last really good movie Nicolas Cage did? “Leaving Las Vegas”? And Cage as an astrophysicist? Ha! I’ll bet he can’t even SPELL astrophysics. “Duplicity” got good reviews, although it did seem to be a bit of a “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” knock-off, while “Knowing” was pretty much reviled by every major critic. But perhaps recent stories about Julia Roberts’ nasty personality turned off some movie goers. As for being bested by “I Love You, Man” all I can say is, never underestimate the hotness of Paul Rudd!

Here’s Julia Roberts at the premiere of “Duplicity,” trying to put on her best “I’m not a bitch” face. Photo credits: Fame.

It seems Kathleen Turner has finally smartened up a bit. Turner infamously accused actor Nicolas Cage of some crazy stuff back in the day – everything from saying he was arrested twice for DUIs to stealing a Chihuahua. Most of this was mentioned in the context of their working relationship while filming “Peggy Sue Got Married” in 1986. Imagine if one of your old coworkers from twenty years ago publicly accused you of stealing tiny purse dogs. It’d be hard to know how to react. Cage filed a libel lawsuit against Turner in the UK, and today she and her publisher apologized to the actor.

Cage’s UK solicitor Simon Smith said the Oscar-winning actor was “extremely pleased” with the outcome of the case “since he has never been arrested for drink driving, dog theft or anything else. As an actor who stars in many family-friendly films and who has a young child and teenager of his own, Mr Cage was understandably upset at having been wrongly depicted as condoning that sort of reckless, dangerous and criminal behaviour.” The actor, he continued, was “gratified that the defendants have done the right thing by acknowledging their errors and making amends”.

The actress, UK publisher Headline and Associated Newspapers, which extracted the book in the Daily Mail, have also made a substantial donation to charity. The donation will be made to the National Adult Protective Services Foundation, a US charity which benefits vulnerable adults. The Daily Mail has agreed to publish an apology and remove the article from its website. Headline [UK publisher] has also agreed to insert a correction and apology into copies of Turner’s book.

[From the BBC]

So we know that Kathleen Turner has officially apologized to Nicolas Cage in the UK, as have her UK publishers. I wonder if Cage will seek similar amends here, or if Turner’s general apology is enough. I’m still shocked that Turner’s publishers agreed to let her write that. Obviously they got a lot of press for it and increased sales, but I can’t imagine that would outweigh the cost of potential litigation. On the one hand, I can’t imagine a relatively sane adult thinking it’s a good idea to just make up random stories. On the other… why in the world would Nicolas Cage steal a Chihuahua? Turner has struggled with some drinking issues of her own; perhaps her memory of the time is a bit shaky. No matter what, it’s good that Cage has cleared his name, though I’m not sure many people gave the accusations much credence.

Matt Lauer interviewed Kathleen Turner on “The Today Show” this morning and the 53 year-old actress looked less than sober. She licked her lips repeatedly and slurred her words, bobbing her head and gesturing with her hands.

Turner was on the show to promote her upcoming biography, “Send Yourself Roses” in which she talks about her life and loves and dishes on her leading men including Burt Reynolds, Anthony Perkins, and Nicholas Cage. Cage is suing her for her claims she made about him in the book. She says he was difficult on the set of their film Peggy Sue Got Married, and that he stole a chihuahua and was arrested twice for drunk driving. Cage says he’s never been arrested nor has he ever dog napped, and that his former co-star’s claims are damaging to his reputation.

In her biography Turner talks about her battle with alcoholism and says that she turned to vodka to cope with the pain from rheumatoid arthritis. She said that she preferred that people thought that her problem was drinking and not a disease, because auto-immune disorders were still largely misunderstood and kept secret. From the looks of her in this video, she’s still having some issues with either alcoholism or prescription medication. Get well soon, Kathleen. You’re sounding and behaving like Paula Abdul.

Update: Many commentors have pointed out that Turner could be showing signs of her debilitating rheumatoid arthritis or the medication she legitimately takes for it and that it is unfair to judge her based on this. Others says she does look drunk and they recognize the signs. Whatever is going on with her, she is awesome for writing this book and promoting it.

It looks like Kathleen Turner’s tell-all memoir, Send Yourself Roses, is ruffling a few feathers in Hollywood, especially those of her former co-star, Nicolas Cage. In the book, Kathleen says that Cage was deliberately difficult during the filming of their hit movie, “Peggy Sue Got Married,” and that the actor drank excessively and stole a chihuahua.
Nicolas Cage caught wind of Kathleen’s story. I am sure someone told him about it rather than him, you know, actually reading the book. First, he denied the story by telling TMZ, “I have never been arrested for anything in my life, nor have I stolen a dog. I am reaching out to my fans — many of whom are children — so they know that I do not condone drunk driving or theft. The reason why you’ve never seen a mug shot of me is because it does not exist.” Wait, his fans are children? They must have really enjoyed his work in “Leaving Las Vegas” and “8mm.”

Apparently, a simple denial wasn’t enough for the action star. Now, Cage is fighting back– Hollywood style– with a libel lawsuit.

Nicolas Cage is suing Kathleen Turner over comments she made about him in her autobiography Send Yourself Roses.

The actress accused Cage of causing problems on the set of 1986 comedy Peggy Sue Got Married in a bid to prove that he had not won the role because director Francis Ford Coppola was his uncle.

She also said he was arrested for drunk-driving and stealing a chihuahua.

Cage spoke out to dismiss the allegations and has since issued libel proceedings against her at the High Court in London.

A spokesman said: “The libel action follows false allegations that appear in the forthcoming autobiography. As legal proceedings have been commenced, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

[From Digital Spy UK]

This feud suddenly got very ugly– and very interesting. In fact, this may be the most interesting thing that Nicolas Cage has done since “Valley Girl.” If this case makes it to trial, it’s going to be difficult to prove anything on either side of the argument, since the alleged incident happened in 1986. How does one prove or disprove that another person stole a chihuahua, anyway?

Picture note by Celebitchy: Nicholas Cage is shown at the premiere of World Trade Center on 8/3/06. Kathleen Turner is shown at the Monster House premiere on 7/17/06, thanks to PRPhotos.

Note by Celebitchy: Both Helen and JayBird covered this, so here’s Helen’s take on it, followed by JayBird.

Robert Furo was charged with residential burglary and remanded to jail on 100,000 dollar bail, after allegedly breaking into Cage’s oceanfront home in NewPort Beach, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of here, said the local district attorney’s spokeswoman Farrah Emami.

“The defendant, Mr Furo, is accused of breaking into the home of the victim, Nicolas Cage … and wearing Mr. Cage’s jacket” early Monday, she said.

Inquirer.net

Nick escorted the intruder into his backyard, and when he got there he discovered the guy was wearing his jacket. It must have been a nice jacket. Nick Cage likes them action movies, so I’m guessing he’d have a really nice home entertainment unit, you might steal that first. Or even his cell phone. Or some cash you found lying around. Not so for this intruder, not when you can have a nice jacket instead.

The intruder will appear in court on 10th October. He’s listed his occupation as ‘tailor’, so either he’s not so crazy and recognises the amusement of stealing only a jacket, or it was really a very lovely jacket and he simply recognised that as part of his profession.

Written by Helen, JayBird’s version to follow

I’m sure being a celebrity isn’t all sweetness and light. I know we all would like to be famous, or at least rich, and most of the famous people we talk about here sought out their fame, and thus chose it, with all the good and the bad that comes with it. Still, there’s some freaky elements to deal with, like… stalkers! Now they say you’re no one in Hollywood until you have your very own stalker, and while it’s nice to know you’ve arrived, it’s probably not so nice to realize it when someone’s trying to slash your tires… or your throat. Nicolas Cage got a little bit of the weirdo action when he woke up on Monday morning to find a man in his house… wearing his coat. I gotta tell you, if I were to break in to a rich person’s house, trying on their clothes would not be my first order of business. Which makes me think this dude is likely crazy. Or just obsessed with couture who knows.

“Sweet dreams aren’t made of this. An Orange County man has since been arrested and charged with burglary after Nicolas Cage woke up early Monday morning to find the guy shuffling around his Newport Beach home. Cage reported seeing a strange male in his home to his community’s gate guard, who in turn called the cops.

“Newport Beach police told “E! News” that Robert Furo Jr. was wearing Cage’s jacket when the actor spotted him shortly before 1:30 a.m. The Oscar winner then escorted Furo outside, where officers took him into custody without incident a few moments later.

“Police said that there was no sign of forced entry and Furo didn’t give them, or Cage (minus the trauma factor) any trouble. The Ghost Rider star’s wife, Alice Kim, and their son Kal-El, who turns two on Wednesday, were also asleep in the house at the time.

“Furo pleaded not guilty to felony burglary Tuesday and is currently still behind bars. Bail was set at $100,000 and the defendant, who identified himself as a tailor, is due back in court for a pretrial hearing Oct. 10.”

[From E! News]

Well at least it sounds like this Robert Furo Jr was one of your nicer, better behaved crazies. There’s a sliding scale of crazy: the bottom being the guy who stands outside your house with binoculars, the second being the guy who walks inside, takes his pants off and sits on all your furniture, and the third being the guy that stabs you in the kidney. There is nothing between the pants-off guy and the stabbing guy. So considering that rule, it sounds like Cage’s crazy guy was right in the middle – the report doesn’t mention the sate of Furo’s underwear, so I’m going to assume it was around his ankles. I’m glad Nicolas Cage and his family are alright, though I’d recommend they purchase a top of the line steam upholstery cleaner, just to be safe.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Nicolas Cage is shown on the set of “National Treasure 2″ in London on 8/3/07. Thanks to PRPhotos.

Leonardo DiCaprio is proving his geek credentials – getting into a fight with Nicholas Cage about a dinosaur head.

The bidding war between the two Hollywood stars was intense as the price soared for the 67 million-year-old dinosaur skull.

Only when it reached $276,000 did Leonardo DiCaprio blink – and Nicolas Cage walked away from the Beverley Hills auction with a ferocious-looking addition to his fossil collection.

As this recent battle of the celebrities for the head of a tyrannosauras [sic] bataar — the Asian cousin of T-rex — proved, dinosaur bones are emerging as the new, collectible must-haves for the multi-millionaires of Hollywood, Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

Daily Telegraph

Apparently these are the new must-have accessory, although I guess more for geek boys than fashion conscious ladies. Hopefully this doesn’t translate to fashion – I’m thinking the Flintstones here!

Dinosaur bones are a new form of wall art, an alternative to a Monet or Picasso. It must be cool to have one of these.

“Dinosaur bones and all sorts of fossils are increasingly hot right now. Hollywood heavy-hitters and the mega-rich types from the Middle East love this stuff,” said Josh Chait, operations director of the family firm (auctioneers IM Chait).

“When you already have a Warhol or a Monet on the wall, you tend to want a change from traditional artwork and people are turning to natural history for that.”

Daily Telegraph

This is a great trend for Hollywood to get into. Hopefully when they turn into old bones themselves, or even just tire of the trend, they’ll donate the bones to a museum. A Chicago museum recently paid $8.3million for a dinosaur skeleton, so if they could get some for free, everybody wins!

Picture note by Celebitchy: Composite picture includes an illustration of the Tarbosaurus bataar, also known as Tyrannosaurus bataar. It was one of the last surviving dinosaurs, and lived in the Gobi desert in southern Mongolia. It was a carnivore and is a close relative of the T-Rex. Thanks to Dinosaur-World for the picture and description.