Actor Nicholas Cage and his film crew know how to pick their movie locations. Cage is currently on location at Austria’s Loser Mountain. They chose Loser Mountain because it is so visually striking. The mountain will surely become an integral part of the film story of Season of the Witch. It is set in the 14th century and follows the exploits of knights charged with saving a young girl who is accused both of witchcraft and of spreading the Black Plague.

The film is due for release next year, but in the meantime, when they are not filming, cast and crew are able to take advantage of spending several months at one of ski holidays Austria premier resorts, Hagan Lodge. Austria is famous for its skiing, and Hagan Lodge is within two hours of both Innsbruck and Salzburg. It is already a popular location for Austrians, and will be soon with other nationalities too. Hagan Lodge is part of the renowned AlpenParks, the largest ski holidays development company in Austria. With Hagan Lodge they are directly targeting the British market. In the meantime residents and tourists alike are abuzz with the excitement of the film crew in their midst.

Nicholas Cage has spent nearly 30 years in the film business, as an actor and now as a director and producer. He was actually born Nicholas Coppola, but chose to change his name to Cage to avoid any appearance of riding on the coattails of his famous uncle, Francis Ford Coppola.

The entire family has sunk deep roots into the film and entertainment industry. Cage’s aunt is Talia Shire, who earned her acting spurs in “The Godfather” and is a prominent part of Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” series. Brother Christopher Coppola is a director, and another brother, Marc, is a radio personality in New York. His cousins include directors Sofia Coppola and Roman Coppola and actors Robert Carmine and Jason Schwartzman.

Cage knew from an early age that acting was what he wanted to do. He graduated from the famous Beverly Hills High School, the alma mater of a string of Hollywood heavy hitters including Angelina Jolie, Lenny Kravitz and Rob Reiner. From there he went to UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.

His first film was a small role in the still popular “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” with Sean Penn. From there he went on to roles in “The Outsiders,” “Valley Girl,” “Rumble Fish,” “Racing with the Moon,” “The Cotton Club,” “Peggy Sue Got Married,” “Raising Arizona,” “Moonstruck,” “Fire Birds,” “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “Guarding Tess,” “It Could Happen to You,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” “The Rock,” “Con Air,” “Face Off,” “City of Angels,” “Snake Eyes,” “Gone in Sixty Seconds,” “The Family Man,” “Windtalkers,” “World Trade Center” and “National Treasure.”

In all, Cage has appeared in more than 50 films. He has worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest drawing cards including Penn, Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Cher, Alec Baldwin and Shirley McClain. In addition he has nine films in various stages of production, including “Season of the Witch.” And, like many actors who have preceded him, Cage gradually found himself pulled towards directing and producing as well as acting. Cage has been nominated twice for the Academy Award. In 1995 he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Ben Sanderson in “Leaving Las Vegas.”

Cage has been married several times including a short-lived union with Elvis Presley’s daughter, singer and songwriter Lisa Marie Presley. His third wife is Alice Kim. Coincidentally, Cage’s middle name originally was Kim. He has one son from an early relationship, 18-year-old Weston who seems intent on following in Dad’s footsteps. Weston had a role in a recent Cage film, Lords of War. Cage and Kim also have a son, three-year-old Kal-El. The youngest Cage was named after comic book hero Superman whose name on Krypton was Kal-El.

Cage and his family have houses around the world, including a mansion in Middletown, Rhode Island; a home in Malibu; a castle in Germany and an island in the Bahamas. They also own a home in New Orleans’ French Quarter that Cage describes as “the most haunted house in America.” For the time being, however, Cage is enjoying Loser Mountain in Austria – and 2010 could see a few more people taking ski holidays in Austria.