Exodus at the House of Mouse

Filmakers are abandoning Walt Disney Studios like rats from a sinking ship. Following the departure of The Sixth Sense producers Barry Mendel and Meyers/Shyer as well as Rushmore producer Paul Schiff, the studio has suffered another blow. Nicolas Cage's Saturn Films is leaving the lot when its contract expires in June. Cage has a long history with Disney having starred in the Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer films Con Air and The Rock as well as the upcoming Gone In Sixty Seconds. Insiders say the studio's relationships with filmakers have been declining ever since Jeffrey Katzenberg's departure several years ago and were made worse by Chairman Joe Roth's departure earlier this year. There is no word yet as to what studio Saturn Films will call its new home but you can bet that a hot property like Nicolas Cage won't be homeless for long.