It appears that Nicolas Cage will no longer be appearing as Joe Exotic in a series based on the life of the "Tiger King" star, whose name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage.
The actor was initially tapped to play Maldonado-Passage in an eight-part dramatization about his life, but in an interview with Variety, Cage hinted that Amazon had shelved the project as there was no longer hype surrounding "Tiger King."
"We should clear the record," he said. "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."
Another production based on Maldonado-Passage's life is already in the works at Peacock starring Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell as Carole Baskin and Maldonado-Passage.
"I’m thrilled to take on the role of this modern folk antihero," Mitchell said when news of his role was first announced, according to Fox News. "Joe and I are the same age and like him, I grew up queer in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas so I feel like I know a little bit about this guy and his desperate attempt to conquer an inhospitable world."
Maldonado-Passage was recently honored by the Social Media Superstar Awards and the reality TV star said he was grateful for the opportunity to be seen for who he truly was.
"I would like to say thank you for this award and thank you to the millions of people around the world who saw through the editing, the agenda and the paid interviews to see the real Joe Exotic – the real guy who has compassion and love for his animals, for the homeless and for the sick, but most of all, for humanity as a whole," Maldonado-Passage said from prison, where he is serving out a 22-year sentence for violating federal wildlife laws and for his role in a failed murder-for-hire plot targeting Baskin.
Maldonado-Passage further stated that his conviction was a "conspiracy" and an "obstruction of justice."
"What has been done to me puts a black cloud over our entire justice system in America and our leaders of this great country should be ashamed that our own Department of Justice can take part in kidnapping me for a political agenda to only end big cats in America," he said in an audio recording obtained by The Sun.
Exotic added that he would "use his new platform" to "speak for justice and prison reform" as well as for the "thousands of men and women in this country who have been wrongfully convicted or over sentenced" for no reason "other than for profit."
"To all of the people in the streets of America trying to end racism; slavery is very much alive in America, folks. It is camouflaged by prison walls," he continued. "Please ask President Biden to make history and sign every pardon on his desk and every compassionate release at the beginning of his term, not at the end."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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