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Cage fight over name - surely she's his biggest fan?
FILM fan Kerry Turner loves Nicolas Cage so much she's named each of her three children in honour of her Hollywood heartthrob!
Kerry first caught the bug eight years ago – calling her daughter Shelby after the classic sports car driven by her hero in the blockbuster movie Gone In Sixty Seconds.
Kerry then persuaded her partner to let her call their son Memphis – the name of Cage's character in the same film – when she gave birth again two years ago.
But the 29-year-old finally came unstuck after partner Graham Woodhouse dug in his heels and refused to name their latest addition Arizona after the star's 1987 hit comedy Raising Arizona.
The couple eventually compromised on the name Mason – one of the major characters in the Cage's 1996 action movie The Rock – after the baby boy arrived safe and sound at Rotherham Hospital this month.
Cuddling her 7lb 11oz infant, proud Kerry said: "I doubt, living in Rotherham, I'll ever to get to see Nicolas Cage walking down the street! But knowing all our kids have a connection to him is probably the next best thing to meeting him in the flesh.
"A lot of people might not understand why we've done it. They thought I'd lost the plot when I tried to explain what it was all about at the hospital, but I'm not too bothered about what other people think.
"It's our tribute to Nicolas Cage, and our way of saying thanks for all the great films he's made. He really is something special – and I just hope the kids grow up to be like him. Who knows, he might read about what we've done in the paper and decide to call in and see the kids – that really would be incredible."
Kerry said the argument over Mason's name dragged on for months until the baby was born.
She said: "I thought Arizona was a brilliant name, especially as we'd both loved the film so much. I thought it was just perfect in every way for a boy, but Graham kept saying it was stupid because he'd get tormented by the other kids when he started going to school.
"Graham wanted us to call the baby Mason just like the character played by Sean Connery in The Rock, but I didn't think it was as cool as Arizona.
"Graham loves Nicolas Cage almost as much as me, but he thought it was just taking things too far. We tried to sort it out, and talked about it for ages, but we couldn't agree at all.
"Graham was half expecting me to jump in and say Arizona when the nurse said, 'It's a boy – what's his name…' and I think he was quite relieved when I turned to her and said, 'We're going to call him Mason…'
"I'm getting used to the name now, and I'm sure it'll grow on me in time."
Kerry has seen virtually all 60 films Cage has ever made, and has sat through Gone In Sixty Seconds – her all time favourite – a mind-boggling 500 times.
She said: "I know all the dialogue word for word off by heart – I've seen it so many times I can't believe the DVD hasn't worn out.
"I started watching the film originally when I was pregnant the first time, and seeing Nicolas behind the wheel of his Shelby GT 500 sports car came just at the right time, and gave me the idea for the baby's name.
"Nicolas' character in the film was called Memphis so the name just followed naturally when I got pregnant again.
"Mason's still got a link to Nicolas Cage, so he's got something to live up to like our other two kids when he grows up."
Graham, 33, also reckons the star – who was married to Lisa Marie Presley between 2002 and 2004 – is an all time Hollywood great.
The car panel beater said: "He doesn't get all the praise he deserves.
"We never get fed up of watching his films, and I think the kids will grow up to love him too with us playing the DVDs all the time.
"Kerry has got to be his biggest fan. But I have banned her from sticking his posters on our bedroom wall – I felt that was taking things just too far!"
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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