Disney's National Treasure opens tomorrow. Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars as Benjamin Franklin Gates, an archaeologist and treasure-hunter who discovers that a map to a priceless bounty lies on the back of the Declaration of Independence. To protect the country's most sacred document and uncover the extraordinary treasure to which it leads, Gates must confront a series of puzzles, secret codes and hidden messages from America's past.
Cage spoke about making the film, the Founding Fathers and turning 40:
What attracted you to National Treasure?
Well I think that the very thing that made me trepedacious was the same thing that intrigued me, which is the idea of a man going in and stealing the Declaration of Independence.
I thought, "Well this doesn’t seem very plausible. And a how can this actually be pulled off?" But Jerry Bruckheimer brings in a great group of technical advisors who do the research and try to figure out exactly how to make it work within the context of the film, and seem as believable as possible.
And I got to do it in a tuxedo, so that was interesting for me as well (laughs).
....I think you have to give yourself over to the context of the movie and go along for the ride, which is what I did. I saw it for the first time the other night with the audience and I was very happy with the way it seem to work logically. I enjoyed it. It has a certain spirit which is reminiscent with Indiana Jones, but it parts company with Indiana Jones in that there is nothing supernatural about National Treasure.
There is enough there that we can wonder about. We can think about it in terms of, does this treasure really exist? And indeed several highly intelligent people who believe it exists have risked their life looking for this very treasure
Do you see yourself as bold as this character?
Without going into too much detail, I have had my obsessions and he certainly is a character who is obsessed about this treasure, the marvelous templar treasure, and has devoted himself to figuring out exactly what he needs to do to find it in the face of great ridicule. I think that I have been obsessed over the years with where I can go with acting, or how I can challenge myself with that, if that answers your question.
Article comments
1 - Bob A. Booey
I make my long-awaited return, briefly, since I only just read this one topic just now.
Who did this interview? Were you struck by the sheer idiocy of the man in front of you? Nick Cage has made a couple of interesting movies in his career, but overall, his recent choice of movies really makes it hard for you to want to believe he's not just Coppola's dumb, nepotistic, inarticulate nephew anymore. That's suspension of disbelief for you.
This looks like the worst turd of a movie ever. I literally laugh everytime I've seen the trailer in a movie -- the greatest irony was when it was a preview before "Team America," which for all its many faults is a satire of the Bruckheimer films. My girlfriend hates when I laugh at that trailer, but good God, it's so stupid a premise. The chick's hot, but seeing Nicolas Cage (a historian and scholar of some sort, mind you) and his horse-teeth talk in that funny voice about finding a treasure map and stealing the Declaration of Independence insults your intelligence so much it just makes you laugh. I mean, even the commercial features a winning zinger like this one: "Who wants to go down into the dark scary hole?" That's funny on more levels than they realize, since anyone who sees films like this has no soul.
I swear to God I heard some poor soul say "that National Treasure looks really good" after leaving a movie recently.
I bet she was a Bush voter.
That is all.
2 - Eric Olsen
did you also hate Raiders? I think the premise of National Treasure is brilliant and if the execution holds up to the "high concept" it could be super.
I disagree about Cage also: he is absolutely all over the place in his choices of films and roles and his flexibility has served him very well and led to his Oscar. He's better and worse, and in better and worse movies, like anyone else but he has become a real movie star without being pigeonholed and that is a real accomplishment.
3 - Eric Olsen
Oh, and it was a group phone interview
4 - clare
I hate bush.
Well anywho I liked the movie it was cool but I was distracted cause this girl in front of me kept saying the s word infact 29 times in counting.
5 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
cool interview. One of these days i will grab an audience with Ms Dunst, since im free for to work on my obsession and all nowadays. Anyhow, i forget who it was, and i forget the exact quote, but somebody once said something along the lines of;
"Nic Cage gave up trying to be an actor and settled on being a movie star", which i think illustrates some sort of notion that action pics are lesser works than, say, Wild At Heart. i would prefer to watch Con Air over Wild At Heart any damn day. Incidentally, was John Cusack in Con Air? What a handsome fella that John Cusack is.
6 - L. Cue
you have to show me how to get in on that group interview action.
7 - phil
go Bush voters...now stand up