What did you work on in rehearsal?
Well I think what we did in the rehearsal process was tried to discover the tone of the movie. With all of Jerry Bruckheimer’s movies you try to tweak things on the way, which can be nerve racking, but can also be very electrifying and spontaneous. You might come out with an accidental discovery that works; you can also fall off the high wire and on your face and completely embarrass yourself. Fortunately with Jerry, is that he surrounds you with people who are as good as it gets in the business. Great actors, the best writers and terrific editors, so you are pretty safe.
Any thoughts on the Founding Fathers, who play an important role in the film?
It’s nice to remember what the founding fathers did, I mean they were geniuses and its amazing that they were alive at the same time and knew one another and debated and shook hands and created philosophies and rules by which we still live today. I still think that there are things we can learn from them still, go back and review that and maybe that could be helpful.
You’re turning 40, will that change you in any way?
I always add a year to myself so I am prepared for the next birthday. So when I was 39 I was already 40 and now I’m 41. But I’m feeling — I don’t want to say happy because that is a fragile word — but I am definitely content. I am hopeful about the future, although I do spend most of my time thinking about the present. (Laughs)
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Thanks Nick, and 40 is the new 30, remember?
Ogle the stomping trailer (WM) (Real) (QuickTime) and be edified and amazed by the SmartTrailer, which allows you to select from nine special features delving into such subjects as "The Treasure Is Real" "Templar Knights" "Masons" "Ben Franklin" and "Declaration of Independence."
NATIONAL TREASURE
Walt Disney Pictures
November 19, 2004
CAST: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Harvey Keitel, Stewart Finlay, David Dayan Fisher, Christopher Plummer, Don McManus, Mark Pellegrino
DIRECTOR: Jon Turteltaub
WRITTEN BY: Jim Kouf
PRODUCERS: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon Turteltaub and Christina Steinberg, Charles Segars and Oren Aviv
More on the movie here and here.
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