Eccentric, wild man, charismatic, completely out there, unpredictable, enthralling.
These are just some of the words that can be used to describe a man that has become an Internet darling, a human meme, and one hell of an interesting person. Oh yeah, he's also an Oscar-winner.
No, Joe Exotic didn't win an Academy Award for his role in Leaving Las Vegas, or star in The Rock, Con Air, and Face-Off (could you imagine if he did?), but Nicolas Cage certainly did and after weeks of speculation, it's finally official.
In what could be the best casting decision in recent memory, a new scripted series about Tiger King’s Joe Exotic will star Nicolas Cage in the lead role.
Variety are reporting that the TV show is being developed by Amazon and that they'll produce it along with CBS TV Studios and Imagine TV.
The series is based on the Texas Monthly article 'Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,' by Leif Reigstad.
The report states that: "The story revolves around Joe Shreibvogel (Cage), a.k.a. Joe Exotic, an eccentric exotic zookeeper in Oklahoma who fights to keep his park - even at the risk of losing his sanity. The series will live in the lion’s den with Joe, explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation."
Of course, Netflix viewers are extremely familiar with Joe Exotic's bizarre story, his history of animal abuse, his long-running feud with Carole Baskin that took a criminal turn, and the litany of strange twists that his life took.
As for Cage's involvement, the role marks the first regular television role of his career and in our opinion, it seems like the perfect fit for him.
Should the project get ordered to series, it would be the second scripted series that's set in the Tiger King world. A few weeks ago, another TV show that focuses on Joe Exotic's rival, animal activist Carole Baskin, which has Kate McKinnon producing and starring, was also commissioned.
There's going to be plenty of new content for all you cool cats and kittens to get stuck into.
Nicolas Cage + Joe Exotic = win.
Bring it on!
