By Anita Bennett

-Actor allegedly pushed wife during altercation last night while 'heavily intoxicated'
-He was taken into custody this morning before posting $11,000 bail
-Oscar-winner charged with domestic violence and public drunkenness
-Cage and his wife were apparently fighting over where they lived

Arrested: Nicolas Cage was jailed this morning in New Orleans, Louisiana and charged with domestic abuse


Police in New Orleans Louisiana took Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage into custody after what they describe as a 'public fight' with his wife Alice Kim.

According to the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, the 47-year-old actor was arrested early this morning, after witnesses saw him 'arguing with his wife' on the streets of New Orleans while apparently 'heavily intoxicated'.

Onlookers even told officers they saw Cage 'push' Alice during the alleged dispute in the popular French Quarter of the city, which is lined with bars and nightclubs.

Happier times: Cage and wife Alice Kim pictured together at a movie première in New York City this past July


New Orleans Police Officer Garry Flot told Mail Online the incident happened late on Friday, just before midnight.

A police statement goes on to describe the incident saying Cage 'and his wife were standing in front of a residence that he insisted was the property the couple was renting.

'She disagreed, and Cage grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her to what he believed was the correct address.'

Temporary home: Cage spent several hours at the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Department in New Orleans

His saving grace? Blair's, New Orlean's self proclaimed #1 bail bond company, played a role in getting the actor out of jail


A few minutes later, as the actor tried to get into a taxi, concerned onlookers flagged down a passing police car.

An officer drove up on the couple and ordered Cage out of the cab, but the actor allegedly refused.

The officer wrote in his report that Cage started 'arguing' with him, and he responded by taking the actor into custody.

Busy day: The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Department was overwhelmed with media requests for information about Cage


The police report also reveals the officer 'immediately observed that Cage was heavily intoxicated' and his wife showed 'no visible signs of injury.'

Cage was charged with one count of domestic violence and one count of public drunkenness.

He was released from custody today at about 1.00pm local time, with celebrity website Radaronline reporting he posted $11,000 bail.

Radar interviewed a dispatcher at United Cabs, the company that sent a taxi to pick Cage and his wife up last night before the arrest.

'Its a real shame,' said the dispatcher, who asked that his name not be used.

Before the fight: A few hours before his domestic violence arrest, Cage was snapped filming his latest movie Medallion in New Orleans

Busy at work: Cage plays a former thief frantically searching for his missing daughter in Medallion


'Nicolas is one of our best clients and normally such a gentleman. He is a big tipper and always very kind... His arrest is quite shocking to me because I like him a lot.'

Radar is also reporting that bounty hunter-turned-reality star Duane 'Dog' Chapman's company 'wrote' the bond for the $11,000 that got Cage out of Jail, by working through a local New Orleans company called Blair's Bail Bonds.

Chapman's wife, Beth, even took to Twitter to boast about their company's role in the incident, and possibly to drum up future business.

'My guy just walked out of the jail damn new Orleans 8 hours holy cow that's a lot of time to process one guy,' Beth tweeted.

She threw in the advertisement, 'Yes we write nation wide Bail Bonds we can get anyone out in any state right from right here in Hawaii.'

Cage is in New Orleans filming his latest movie Medallion, about a former thief, frantically searching for his missing daughter, who has been kidnapped and locked in the trunk of a taxi.

The action thriller, helmed by British director Simon West, is scheduled to be released sometime next year.

Although he is one of Hollywood's highest paid actors, Cage had a series of financial and legal problems.

In 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filed a federal tax lien against one of actor's home, saying he failed to $6.2 million in federal income taxes.

His other wives: Nicolas Cage was married to actress Patricia Arquette from 1995 to 2001. After their divorce, he wedded Lisa Marie Presley in 2002


In response to his mounting tax troubles, Cage, whose birth name is Nicolas Kim Coppola, filed a $20 million lawsuit against his business manager, Samuel J. Levin, alleging negligence.

But Levin did not let Cage's allegations go unanswered and filed a counter-complaint stating he had warned the actor that he was living beyond his means and urged him to spend less.

Levin's filing also stated that 'instead of listening to Levin, cross-defendant Coppola spent most of his free time shopping for high ticket purchases, and wound up with 15 personal residences.'

According to Forbes Magazine, Cage earned $40 million in 2009.

Before marrying Alice Kim, who is his third wife, he was married to actress Patricia Arquette from 1995 to 2001.

After they divorced, he married Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley in 2002, but they divorced two years later.



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