**BREAKING NEWS: NICOLAS CAGE FILES FOR ANNULMENT, CITES "IRRECONCILABLE CREATIVE DIFFERENCES"**
**LAS VEGAS, NV** – In a development that has stunned Hollywood and fans of eccentric cinema alike, actor Nicolas Cage has filed for an annulment of his marriage to Riko Shibata, citing what legal documents describe as "irreconcilable creative differences."
According to court records filed this morning in Clark County District Court, the 61-year-old Oscar-winning actor alleges that the union was "fundamentally flawed from its inception" due to a "divergence in artistic interpretation of a covenant relationship." The 29-paragraph filing, which was obtained exclusively by this station, claims the marriage was "void ab initio" — or invalid from the start — based on what Cage's legal team calls a "mutual misunderstanding of the theatrical nature of marital vows."
Sources close to the actor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, report that the dispute originated during a disagreement over the placement of a life-sized animatronic replica of the Necronomicon prop from the film *Evil Dead* in the couple's living room. "He felt it was a sincere piece of functional decor," the source said. "She felt it was a cadaver. The tension was immediate and unyielding."
Cage, who has been married five times, was reportedly "heartbroken but resolute" when filing the motion. His legal team is arguing that the marriage contract itself was a performance piece, and that his spouse’s failure to understand the subtext constitutes grounds for annulment.
Riko Shibata has not yet issued a public statement. The couple wed in Las Vegas in 2021.
Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.