[Pinsky:] Nicolas Cage once raked in $40 million a year, and he now faces serious money and personal problems. Over the weekend, he was charged with domestic abuse and disturbing the peace, apparently after a fight with his wife. Here to talk about this are Dylan Howard, "Star" magazine senior executive editor, and Mark Haushalter. He is back with us. He is a criminal defense attorney. I want to ask Dylan first about what seems to been be an escalating series of problems for our Mr. Cage. What`s going on there?
[Dylan Howard, Sr. Executive Editor, "star" Magazine:] Yes. Dr. Drew, he returned to the set of his current project in New Orleans today, but he`s facing three very serious criminal charges.
[Pinsky:] What did he do?
[Howard:] Well, he was involved in an altercation with his wife, his third wife, around about midnight, the early hours of Saturday morning.
[Pinsky:] This is in New Orleans, right?
[Howard:] In New Orleans, at the French Quarter. He was noticed by some eyewitnesses as being involved in a confrontation with his wife which actually escalated to the point where he tried to, according to eyewitness, dragged her into a property he believed that they were renting. Of course, they weren`t. It was somebody else`s property.
[Pinsky:] I see.
[Howard:] They were involved in an incident then with a taxi driver. Nicolas Cage then was confronted by police. He goaded them and suggested that if they wanted to arrest him, then they should. And, of course
[Pinsky:] They did. They obliged him.
[Howard:] the New Orleans police, they obliged, and they did. And now he`s facing public drunkenness, disturbing the peace, and also domestic violence charges.
[Pinsky:] There`s some TMZ video right now. I guess he showed up partway along the way in a tattoo parlor. That was part of the escapades of that evening. But we sort of get the big picture here. My question is, he`s now had very, very serious financial problems. We see something going on behaviorally here, where he`s now starting to have legal consequences. Does anybody know what`s going on with poor Nicolas Cage?
[Howard:] Well, you know, just a month ago, at a New Orleans restaurant, he was escorted home by police after something happened and a window ended up getting broken. So I think we`re seeing the signs here of a career imploding. He was once a bankable star, as you mentioned at the top of the program, who was earning $40 million a year. And now he has mounting tax debts and he`s had homes foreclosed, some six or seven homes foreclosed.
[Pinsky:] But what is that we`re watching? For the average viewer at home, and for myself included, you look at that and you go, he made $40 million a year, he had all these assets, and he couldn`t manage that? Or did he squander it? I mean, what was that?
[Howard:] Well, he says it was a former business adviser who he`s currently embroiled in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with. But, on the other hand, the former adviser says that he squandered the money and was frivolous with the money. But it`s very interesting that, clearly, those incidents are being fueled by alcohol use.
[Pinsky:] Do you think? Do you people I don`t know Nicolas Cage. You don`t know Nicolas Cage. But are people worried about his alcohol use?
[Howard:] In Hollywood, absolutely. People are very concerned. But he`s gone from being a bankable star to no longer being a bankable star. His current films have been flops, and he`s really gone away from the likes that won him an Academy Award. So there is genuine concern for him.
[Pinsky:] Mark, is he in big legal trouble? And what does he need to do what would you do to defend him?
[Haushalter:] Well, I`ll tell you, a few things pop out at me right away, is, one, if the police didn`t want to arrest him initially, it sounds like he just failed the attitude test and the police decided to arrest him.
[Pinsky:] That`s exactly right.
[Haushalter:] And now
[Howard:] He had a bad attitude.
[Haushalter:] And now we have got the media
[Pinsky:] Is that a problem from a
[Haushalter:] It seems like the problem for him right now. But he failed the attitude test. If he was doing something, such illegal conduct, and he was battering his wife, why didn`t the police act sooner? Why didn`t the police immediately arrest him? And right now we`re saying, oh, he kept pushing the police, he kept taunting them.
[Pinsky:] So he`s got to and God knows, in New Orleans, people sometimes so he has a defensible position. We have 10 seconds.
[Haushalter:] He absolutely has a defensible position. One, I don`t think there`s any marks.
[Pinsky:] OK. Last word, Dylan.
[Howard:] She doesn`t want charges laid, but the cops will push at this.
[Pinsky:] All right. When we come back, you asked for it, you get it. More on our debate, can you pray the gay away? Your comments, your questions for our guests, coming up next.