Nicolas Cage loves to play characters that flirt with death. From the phobic con artist in "Matchstick Men" to the in-over-his-head investigator in "8MM" to last fall's arms dealer in "Lord of War," Cage seems to delight at having his characters being backed into a corner and pummeled. This past week the Yari Film Group announced that Cage would star in their new action thriller "Crazy Dog." The picture will feature Cage as a New York City cop consumed by guilt over the death of a friend. He ends up going on a journey of reckless abandon, daring death to take him. Whether director Joseph Ruben ("The Forgotten," "Sleeping with the Enemy") can make this more memorable than Cage's last couple of films is the big question. In the meantime, Cage is currently shooting the psychological thriller "Next" and has Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" coming out this August. "Crazy Dog" is expected to begin production sometime this year.