“The real estate market crashed, and I couldn’t get out in time,” said the “Renfield” actor. Nicolas Cage defends even his “terrible” films, which helped him pay off his staggering debts.
The Oscar-winning actor disclosed on “60 Minutes” that he was $6 million in debt following the real estate collapse.
“My real estate investments were excessive. “The real estate market collapsed, and I was unable to escape in time,” Cage explained. “I repaid everyone, but it cost approximately $6 million. I never filed for insolvency.”
Cage continued,
“It was dark, to be sure,” but he acknowledged that working nonstop distracted him.
“Work was always my guardian angel,” stated the “Renfield” actor. “It may not have been of the highest quality, but it was still labor. Even if the movie turns out to be terrible, they know I’m not mailing it in and I always care.”
Cage previously reflected on his numerous direct-to-video films during that era, telling GQ in 2022,
“When I was doing four movies a year, back-to-back-to-back, I still had to find a way to give them my all. All of them were unsuccessful. Some of them were excellent, such as ‘Mandy,’ but others did not succeed. However, I never faxed it in. Therefore, if there was a misunderstanding, it was this. That I was doing it without concern. I was concerned.”
Cage also reflected on the roles he could have played in abandoned sequel ventures.
“The telephone ceased to ring. It was like, ‘What do you mean we’re not making “National Treasure 3”? It’s been fourteen years. Why shouldn’t we?’ Well, “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” failed, and “Ghost Rider” hardly sold any tickets.
“And “Drive Angry,” that just came and went,” said the actor from “Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” “I have numerous creditors and the Internal Revenue Service, and I’m spending $20,000 per month to keep my mother out of a mental institution, but I can’t. It was all occurring at once.”
Additionally, Cage disclosed his debts in a 2019 New York Times Magazine cover story.
“I cannot discuss specifics, percentages, or ratios, but money does play a role. I will be completely straightforward about that. Cage stated at the time, “There’s no excuse not to be.”
“It’s no secret that I’ve made errors in the past that I’ve tried to correct. Due to the implosion of the real estate market, the vast majority of my earnings were essentially wiped out. However, I had no intention of filing for bankruptcy.
Sharon Stone recently disclosed that she lost “half” of her financial resources due to a botched “banking thing.” Matt Damon and Ben Affleck also revealed that they went through their $600,000 paycheck after selling the “Good Will Hunting” script and were “broke in six months” during the production of their first major motion picture.
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