Nicolas Cage arrived in Western Australia on Monday to shoot his new film in the region.
And the first thing the Hollywood star did after he landed was pick up some food for himself and his family.
The 59-year-old headed to the small town of Busselton, near Margaret River, where he will be filming his latest film, The Surfer.
Cage and his his wife, Riko Shibata, 28, stepped into Busselton Food of Asia with their baby girl, August, and picked up $400 worth of Asian goods, including Japanese sauces, kimchi and fried rice, as well as eggs.
Speaking to Daily Mail, Busselton Food of Asia owner Annie Liban said she was starstruck when she spotted Cage and wasn’t sure it was him at first.
Nicolas Cage arrived in Western Australia on Monday to shoot his new film. The first thing the Hollywood star did after he landed was pick up some food for himself and his family. The 59-year-old headed to the small town of Busselton, near Margaret River. Pictured at the store
Cage and his his wife, Riko Shibata, 28, stepped into Busselton Food of Asia with their baby girl, August, and picked up $400 worth of Asian goods
‘We still can’t get over it. We didn’t actually notice him at first. We’re used to getting lots of tourists’ she said.
‘He came in with the wife, baby and the nanny. We thought ”wow, rich one” due to so many tourists coming to the area,’ she continued.
‘He was wearing boots and jackets at the same time. I said to one of my staff, ”He looks like Nicholas Cage”‘.
‘We couldn’t contain ourselves. I saw he was wearing Prada sunglasses. I thought, lots of men around here don’t wear Prada.’
Speaking to Daily Mail, Busselton Food of Asia owner Annie Liban said she was starstruck when she spotted Cage and wasn’t sure it was him at first
Liban explained that Cage paid in American cash as he had not yet picked up any local currency.
Nic said to her: ‘”I’m so sorry I didn’t have the chance to get Australian dollars, I only have US dollars.”‘
Liban went on: ‘We said, “you do look like Nicholas Cage” at the counter and he said “I am”.
‘He was very polite, very respectful. They probably came from the airport to straight here.’
Cage quickly learned the local lingo when Liban told him he could pick up staple groceries at the ‘Woolies’ – meaning the nearby Woolworths supermarket.
Nick’s shopping haul included kimchi, which is spicy fermented cabbage
He also grabbed a number of Japanese sauces
The store serves hot food as well, and Nic ordered fried rice
‘He asked if we had butter or olive oil. I told him he could find it at Woolies and he said, “what’s Woolies?”‘ she said.
‘He was so down to earth. They did a lot of shopping. The baby was crying a bit. So they just wanted to get all the stuff done.
‘Definitely the first A-lister to come into the shop.’
The couple welcomed their daughter August, who is Riko’s first child and Nicolas’ third, in September last year.
Nicolas and Rico met in Japan in 2020 when he was filming Sion Sono’s Prisoners Of Ghostland.
He later headed to the local Woolworths supermarket after telling the Asian store’s owners he needed oil and butter, and they advised him to hit ‘the Woolies’
She landed a role in the movie playing one of the four Mannequin Women.
After getting engaged on FaceTime, the couple tied the knot at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas in February 2021.
Nic will be shooting The Surfer, a psychological thriller, in Western Australia’s most famous surfing and wine region.
CinefestOZ chief executive Cassandra Jordan said of Cage: ‘It is beyond exciting to have something of this calibre shooting in our region.
‘[The film] follows Nicolas Cage, a man returning to his hometown after many years of leaving the region, and it’s all about him up against a local gang of surfers who claim ownership over a secluded beach of his childhood.’
After getting engaged on FaceTime, the couple tied the knot at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas in February 2021
