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From the popularity of “Tiger King’s” documentary, Amazon took the chance to cash in on the hype. Perhaps a little too late, since the latest news on the series production seems to have come to a halt.
The production of the new “Tiger King” series would have capitalized on the success of the documentary of Joe Exotic. However, reportedly, the length of time it took for the eight-part series to come into fruition, the project felt like it had become “past tense.”
Nicholas Cage, who originally was in line to be cast as Joe Exotic before it was shelved, told the public “I read two excellent scripts, which I did think were excellent, but I think Amazon ultimately felt it was material that had become past tense because it took so long for it to come together.”
If the series had followed through, Nicholas would play the mulleted, self-proclaimed Tiger King as he fights to keep control of his Oklahoma zoo. Wrangling with numerous exotic cats and potentially practicing not-so-safe wildlife procedures.
At the time of the series, the idea originated from a documentary detailing Joe Exotics’ seedy journey as a wild cat breeder, exotic zoo owner, and gaudy fashion wearer. All-in-all, the roller coaster of oddly exciting drama and central murder plot led to the documentary’s overnight success. Accompanied with the fact that Joe’s breeding of wild cats was one of the biggest shelters that sold over a thousand of these exotic animals to other handlers was involved in the plot to kill Carole Basken, an animal advocate, only intrigued audiences more as they followed Joe’s real-life trial for more drama.
Now with the length of time that has passed since the documentary’s hype and the famous Joe Exotic now serving 22 years in prison, the show’s bright light has dimmed.
But fans do not have to give up hope yet as NBC Universal’s Peacock streaming service has picked up on Amazon’s idea and put their own “Tiger King” project in the works. Instead, John Cameron Mitchell will be in the starring role as Joe Exotic and Kate McKinnon staring as Carole Baskin.
When asked about Mitchell’s opinion on Joe, he told reporters he “understood” where Joe came from — especially as an outed gay male in that environment.
“…you hate yourself because everyone hates you,” he stated. “And his way of dealing with it was to imitate his oppressor. Get a gun and say, ‘I’m more of a f–king a–hole than you are. I’ve got my hand in a tiger’s mouth. My other hand around my three boyfriends.’ So in some way, you do admire this kind of pathetic desire to outdo his oppressor.”
Since the announcement of NBC’s series, this version of “Tiger King” is currently still being filmed with no release date in sight.
Written by Brielle R. Buford
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Engadget: Amazon scraps plan for a Joe Exotic drama starring Nicholas Cage; by Jon Fingas
People: See John Cameron Mitchell as Joe Exotic on Set of Upcoming Series About the Tiger King Figure; by Benjamin VanHoose
Out: Here’s a First Look at John Cameron Mitchell As Tiger King Joe Exotic; by Mey Rude
The New Daily: Why Nicholas Cage won’t be playing Tiger King zookeeper Joe Exotic; by Louise Talbot
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of United Nations Photo’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of ~Pawsitive~Candie_N’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License