Grrrrr. The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, commonly known as the park that Joe Exotic operated in Netflix’s trashy smash hit Tiger King (prior to his arrest, that is), has permanently closed. Deadline reports that the current owner, Jeff Lowe, forfeited the required licenses to maintain its status as a legal Oklahoma attraction. However, animal activists need not rejoice just yet: The park will instead serve as a “private film set for Tiger King related television content for cable and streaming services,†according to Lowe, and it’s unclear if the exotic animals will be freed. Lowe added that because he’s managed to earn an “unfathomable source of income†from Tiger King’s success, the money will “guarantee the long term care of our animals.†Carole Baskin, who has been implicated in the murder of her husband and was awarded ownership of the park in May, confirmed that she hasn’t been consulted about the animals.
There are two high-profile Tiger King adaptations in the works, which, who knows, could maybe find their way to filming at the park, granted that everyone doesn’t mind spending a few weeks [opens Google maps] in the greater Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Nicolas Cage will be flamboyantly strutting around with a mullet to portray Exotic in an eight-episode television miniseries, while, conversely, Kate McKinnon has signed on to don a bunch of floral frocks to play Baskin in a separate six-episode show. Who do we have to bribe around here to cast the tigers as Jellicle cats?