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    Nicolas Cage to star as Joe Exotic in limited TV series

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1793 Views
    This combination photo shows actor Nicolas Cage at the premiere of "Mandy" during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. on Jan. 19, 2018, left, and a booking mug of provided by the Santa Rosa County Jail in Milton, Fla., shows Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as "Joe Exotic." Cage will portray Maldonado-Passage in a new limited series produced by Brian Grazer. (AP Photo, left, and Santa Rosa County Jail via AP)
    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    The Joe Exotic phenomenon keeps growing, with Nicolas Cage to star in a TV miniseries about the colorful wild animal owner made famous by the "Tiger King" docuseries.

    The TV series is the first for Cage, who has played a range of characters in movies including "Leaving Las Vegas," for which he won an Oscar, "Moonstruck" and "National Treasure."

    Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios are among the producers of the limited, eight-part project.

    It will explore how Joe Shreibvogel became Joe Exotic and detail his effort to keep his Oklahoma zoo open "even at the risk of losing his sanity," the producers said in a statement Monday. It's based on the Texas Monthly magazine article "Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild" by Leif Reigstad.

    Dan Laguna, who with producer Paul Young optioned the article, will write and executive produce the series, which will be seeking a distribution deal soon, producers said.

    Netflix's "Tiger King" has made Joe Exotic an object of fascination and controversy. He is now known as Joseph Maldonado-Passage and is serving a federal prison sentence for his conviction in a murder-for-hire plot and for animal abuse.

    Tags:CBS Television StudiosImagine Television StudiosJoe ExoticNicolas CageTiger King



    DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

    DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.

    The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.

    The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.

    DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.

    "While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.

    The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.

    The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.

    DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More

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