'Next,' Nixed; Whither Nic Cage?



Has Oscar-winner Nic Cage finally Jumped the Shark? Has Cage, like Johnny Blaze, sold his Damned Ass to the Devil?

What was once a fine actor -- as opposed to a self-obsessed "Star" -- has descended precipitously into the briny depths of formulaic Hollywood tripe. To wit: "The Ghost Rider (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)". His latest foray into films that can only be properly construed as helping to pay for California real estate ended with a resounding thud at the box office this weekend, compared to his earlier, more independently spirited works. From Variety:

"Overall B.O. was way off pace from last weekend: The combined total of the top 10 pics plunged roughly $11.5 million.

"The wave of new movies failed to generate much traction with auds.

".. Nicolas Cage, who had luck earlier this year with the superhero vehicle 'Ghost Rider,' couldn't weave his magic once again: His latest pic, 'Next,' about a small-time magician who sees into the future, conjured only $7.2 million in its debut.

"Par pic landed at No. 3."

We'll refrain out of politelness from saying anything particularly citric about the authors use of the word "weave" in combination with Nicolas Cage (Said in a tone of restrained laughter). The "luck" that Cage had with "Ghost Rider" unfortunately didn't extend to the saucer-eyed chumps who naively spent their hard-earned ducets to actually see that baleful stinker of a filmeroo (The Corsair sips, discretely a glass of 1999 Chateau Mageaux Premiere Grand Cru Classe). We shall mourn in silence at the death of the fine young actor turned "Hollywood ho" who used to pick his projects -- Think: "Wild at Heart" -- with the jeweler's eye. (VarietY)