Nicolas Cage will star in a television series about flamboyant US zookeeper Joe Exotic, the star of hit documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
The Oscar-winning American actor will also executive produce the show based on a magazine article about Exotic, who recently shot to fame as the subject of the wildly popular docuseries, Cage’s publicist said on Monday, May 4.
The surreal story of Exotic – a mullet-wearing private zoo owner now in prison for a murder contract – has become a cultural phenomenon following the release of the Netflix documentary.
Tiger King was watched a reported 34 million times in only 10 days following its release in March, as the world went under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cage’s series will be his first major foray into television, and is the second show known to be in the works about Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage.
According to Variety magazine, the eight-episode series will be created by CBS and Imagine's Brian Grazer, the Oscar-winning producer of A Beautiful Mind.
The show will explore how Maldonado-Passage “became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation”, the Hollywood trade publication said.
Another television series based on a podcast about Exotic is in development.
Cage, who won the Best Actor Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas in 1995, has starred in numerous box-office hits including Face/Off, Con Air and National Treasure.
Maldonado-Passage, 57, was handed a 22-year prison sentence in 2019, for animal abuse and plotting to kill business rival Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue.
Joshua Dial, Exotic’s former campaign manager, said the zoo owner is enjoying his new-found fame following the documentary’s release.
"He is communicating with some of his old fans, and he is having them run Facebook pages. So he is getting all the messages people are sending," Dial said in The Tiger King and I, a 40-minute special that was released last month.
“All the money people are raising for him, he is getting all that. He is in the loop on this and he is loving every minute of it.”
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
