Nicolas Cage will star in a television series about flamboyant US zookeeper Joe Exotic, the star of hit documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
The Oscar-winning American actor will also executive produce the show based on a magazine article about Exotic, who recently shot to fame as the subject of the wildly popular docuseries, Cage’s publicist said on Monday, May 4.
The surreal story of Exotic – a mullet-wearing private zoo owner now in prison for a murder contract – has become a cultural phenomenon following the release of the Netflix documentary.
Tiger King was watched a reported 34 million times in only 10 days following its release in March, as the world went under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cage’s series will be his first major foray into television, and is the second show known to be in the works about Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage.
According to Variety magazine, the eight-episode series will be created by CBS and Imagine's Brian Grazer, the Oscar-winning producer of A Beautiful Mind.
The show will explore how Maldonado-Passage “became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation”, the Hollywood trade publication said.
Another television series based on a podcast about Exotic is in development.
Cage, who won the Best Actor Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas in 1995, has starred in numerous box-office hits including Face/Off, Con Air and National Treasure.
Maldonado-Passage, 57, was handed a 22-year prison sentence in 2019, for animal abuse and plotting to kill business rival Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue.
Joshua Dial, Exotic’s former campaign manager, said the zoo owner is enjoying his new-found fame following the documentary’s release.
"He is communicating with some of his old fans, and he is having them run Facebook pages. So he is getting all the messages people are sending," Dial said in The Tiger King and I, a 40-minute special that was released last month.
“All the money people are raising for him, he is getting all that. He is in the loop on this and he is loving every minute of it.”
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Price, base / as tested: Dh173,250 / Dh178,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 395hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 555Nm @ 2,750rpm
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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What is biodiversity?
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
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It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
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