Nicholas Cage Saves Fan From Vince Neil In Motley Crue Assault [Video]

Nicholas Cage has had troubled times in recent years, and unfortunately for the National Treasure star, it has all been documented in the media. Once again, Cage is in the news, but this time Nicholas is playing the hero, saving a fan from Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil. Mr. Cage jumped in, as he witnessed Neil assaulting a fan, who was merely seeking an autograph.

Nicholas Cage Saves The Day For One Unfortunate Fan

The incident occurred Thursday, April 7, just as Cage and Vince were leaving the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. A young woman spotted Mr. Cage and, rushing toward him, asked for his autograph, at which point the Motley Crue singer grabbed the woman by her hair and wrestled her to the ground. In a video first released by TMZ, 52-year-old Cage can be heard yelling at Neil, as he pulls the singer away from the woman.

“Stop this s–t now,” Cage shouts at Neil.

Laura Meltzer, a public information officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, issued a statement that Motley Crue singer Vince Neil was issued a citation for misdemeanor battery following the incident but added that Neil was not taken into custody. The fan, who has so far remained unnamed, did file a complaint against Mr. Neil, detailing the events and describing the Motley Crue singer’s assault against her, including pulling her hair and forcing her down on the ground.

Attorney for Vince Neil, David Chesnoff, issued a brief statement declaring he’s looking into the allegations and added that the public shouldn’t judge the situation before all of the facts are known.

Nicholas Cage Is Comfortable Playing The Monster In The Trust

While Cage may be just the sort to run to someone’s rescue in real life, he reveals a much darker side in the onscreen roles he chooses for himself. In the Alex Brewer and Benjamin Brewer directed crime thriller, The Trust, Nicholas Cage and Elijah Woods play two shady law enforcement officers who team up to rob a vault, but unlike many police dramas, the temptations of corruption and crime are made that much more tense with a bit of dark humor and some unexpected twists. The Brewer brothers revealed that they sought out insight from real police officers in the creation of this story, but they added their own brand of “armchair psychology” to the information gleaned from their sources.

Cage acknowledges that it was this level of commitment and passion to their work that led the National Treasure star to take on the role of Jim Stone in The Trust. Cage says that he was looking for younger filmmakers with whom he could work in the hopes of jump-starting his stalled career. Nicholas says the Brewers’ passion for The Trust was contagious, leaving him with an invigorating feeling that he’s not often felt in many other projects.

“The script provided a character, for me, that was full of surprises. I thought that I could make him the nicest guy in the world, and all of a sudden, he turns into a monster. It’s those kinds of characters – that are both funny and scary at the same time – that I find compelling,” says The Trust‘s Nicholas Cage. “It’s the sort of role that I’m comfortable with.”

Cage adds that another selling point in taking on his role in The Trust was the news that he would be co-starring with Elijah Wood. Nicholas says he’s always been a fan of Wood and, as his character in The Trust idolizes Wood’s character, the admiration seen on film was genuine for Cage.

Nicholas also reveals that the Brewers allowed Wood and Cage to go off script in their performances, though they were still expected to adhere to the script in other areas. Cage says this helped them to add the dark humor seen in The Trust.

“You want to get the scenes down where the script is serviced,” says Cage. “But once you have that, y’know, let’s ‘find the jazz.’ We would go off-book. I think that’s where a lot of the humor in the movie came from.”

The Trust hits theaters on May 13.

[Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]