You’d be absolutely correct if you were to say that Nicolas Cage seems to be working more than usual these days. The actor has had three films in theaters this year, and could have as many as six next year. And there’s a reason for this — the eccentric star ran into major financial problems a few years ago, with several of his many homes being foreclosed on, following the discovery of a substantial tax bill owing to the I.R.S.
As such, he’s taken an “anything I’m offered” policy towards picking his roles. If it’s the new Charlie Kaufman movie, “Frank and Francis,” then that’s great. And if it’s some pre-sale-funded thriller that skips into theaters for a few weeks before playing on basic cable until the end of time, like “Trespass” or “Justice,” then that’s fine too, so long as the check clears on time. Cage is currently filming the based-on-fact serial killer tale “The Frozen Ground,” alongside his seemingly randomly assembled co-stars, John Cusack, Vanessa Hudgens and 50 Cent, but he’s just signed on for something else to follow that, to help keep the taxman at bay.
Screen Daily reveals that Cage will star in “Black Butterfly,” a thriller that marks the first project from German conglomerate Bavariapool International Coproductions. The film is a remake of a French TV thriller named “Papillon Noir,” which starred former footballer Eric Cantona, and will involve Cage playing a writer who offers shelter to a drifter “with unforeseen consequences.” Really? Because we bet we can foresee a thing or two about what’s going to happen…
Veronica Ferres (“Schtonk!,” “Adam Resurrected“) co-stars, and the film is directed by Brian Goodman, who previously made “What Doesn’t Kill You” in 2008, with Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo. In other news, Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo apparently made a movie called “What Doesn’t Kill You” in 2008. Shooting on the $13 million film will start in Germany early next year, so look for it going straight to DVD to arrive in theaters along with the other three dozen movies Cage has planned between now and the end of 2013.
