Nic Cage Buys a Pyramid: Look On His Works, Ye Mighty, and Despair!

Nicholas Cage, who can be seen on screens this weekend in the new comic book movie Kick Ass, has -- I kid you not -- purchased a pyramid. TMZ reports that Cage bought the pyramid, a 9-foot-tall tomb in a New Orleans cemetery. This is eccentric even for Nic Cage, whose weirdness has been steadily increasing over the past couple years, and has undoubtedly made us wonder if he isn't just plain old crazy.

Despite a hilarious cameo as Fu Manchu in Grindhouse's Werewolf Women of the SS, Cage's madness doesn't seem to have much method. He has been in some of the most head-scratchingly bad movies of the last couple years (do I need to post a link to Wicker Man's bear punch scene to prove this? Yes I do), while also being the subject of unflattering reports of tax evasion, bankruptcy, and his absurdly lavish lifestyle (complete with yachts and dinosaur skulls... best rap video ever).

But even with this recent onslaught of bad movies and bad publicity, he remains a major money maker for studios. Ghost Rider, despite a 26% "rotten" rating on movie review site Rotten Tomatoes, made $45 million it's opening weekend. The National Treasure movies have made over $800 million in box office worldwide (neither of them cleared 50% on Rotten Tomatoes).

Indeed, there seems to be a strong positive correlation between Cage's badness and his marketability. Remember Cage playing twin brothers in Adaptation? Remember his revelatory performance in Leaving Las Vegas, for which he won an Oscar? I can't blame you if you don't. Neither of those movies' total box office was more than the opening weekend of National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Heck, even Wicker Man made more money than either Adaptation or Leaving Las Vegas.

So why do we love him? It doesn't take too much poking around on the internet to find a fan site (my favorite being "Nic Cage as Everyone" from which the above photo of Nic Cage as Nefertiti was taken). Granted, most of these sites recognize the irony of deifying such a bad actor, but even if his success is propelled by our collective recognition of his badness, we can't look away.

And in case you missed it, neither can Japan:

So kudos to you, Nic Cage. You've found your niche, and I say you're good at it.

--Alice Wade

Comments

[Carson Patrick]

That is one of the greatest commercials of all time.