Entertainment
Amazon Abandons Plans for Joe Exotic Drama Series
During the initial stages of COVID-19-induced lockdowns and solitude, online series played a significant role in maintaining the mental well-being of the population, providing us with frivolous topics to discuss rather than plunging into existential gloom. One of the prominent offerings in the pandemic-era streaming landscape was Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, narrating the tale of the self-styled Joe Exotic, his zoo business centered around tigers, and his intense rivalry with tiger advocate Carole Baskin. It was a complete chaos of a show, thrusting Exotic, who is currently serving prison time for allegedly plotting against Baskin, into the limelight.
A few months back, Amazon had shown an inclination towards crafting a dramatic series depicting Exotic’s life and adventures, aiming for more of a biographical approach compared to Netflix’s more factual documentary. Nicolas Cage was selected by Amazon to portray the fictionalized character of Exotic, a concept that promised excitement with his portrayal amidst a backdrop of tigers. Regrettably, as time passed, it appears that both Amazon and Cage have become less enthusiastic about the project.
The Amazon executives came to the realization that producing this series would essentially mean offering unpaid promotion for Tiger King on Netflix, one of their primary streaming rivals. The fervor surrounding Tiger King has significantly waned in the year since its initial release. Cage shared a similar sentiment, lacking the spark he had hoped for when reviewing the preliminary scripts.
Nicolas Cage confirms he’s no longer portraying Joe Exotic for Amazon’s Tiger King project after the company seemingly loses interest. https://t.co/7CT5SYMnar pic.twitter.com/fPm1id8AbK
— IGN (@IGN) July 14, 2021
“I read two marvelous scripts, which I found to be outstanding, but I believe Amazon eventually thought that the content had become outdated due to the prolonged development process,” Cage shared with Variety. “At one point, they considered it to be a stroke of luck, but that moment has now passed and the relevance has faded away.”