![]() Paul Fischer: Did you want to do something new with the character, since this is the first time you've played the same character a second time? I wanted to make that something where kids could go, "Well, yeah, this is really just a myth." We're all going to get in trouble, so how do you get past that? So, I was thinking about them there too. ![]() With 'Ghost Rider,' I was trying to do the one story he never did, probably for obvious reasons, which was Faust. He took these great classic stories like 'Pinocchio,' and 'Beauty and the Beast' later, and 'Snow White' and made them accessible to children. He was such an influence that we don't even think of him, sometimes, as a human being, but he did this amazing stuff. Walt Disney, for me, is a magnificent hero, of sorts, because he was probably the most influential artist of our time. Even with 'Ghost Rider,' I was thinking about the kids. I'm always thinking about the kids, if I make that sort of movie. You wonder, "Wow, why are there missing pages in the Booth diary?" Then, you go see the movie and you can use a little imagination, and it makes the ride more enjoyable. In this case, you want them to enjoy themselves with mom and dad, or the whole family, and also get them to look in their history books in a way that isn't, "Oh, you must read, and you must learn." It helps them to enjoy the ride even more because there's a level of believability to it. I'm one of those people that believes that the power of film is intense, and you have to really think about it, responsibly. They're really the future, aren't they? So, I want to treat that carefully. Nicolas Cage: Children, to me, are of the utmost importance. Paul Fischer: What has been your experience having young fans, since the first 'National Treasure'? Let's do it." So, I did it, and I'm happy I did it. There are worse things to do than to inspire especially the youngsters to look in their history books, so I thought, "Let's go. If John Turteltaub has a genius, it's that he's made movies without a gun that are entertaining, and you can take the whole family. So, having been a fan of Basil Rathbone and Sherlock Holmes, I thought, "Why not bring Ben Gates back as a modern version, if you will, and archeological version of a detective, looking for the mysteries of these treasures?" It seemed wonderfully positive. Just the actors and the characters stay the same. When you change the treasure, you change the whole story, and you get new clues that are historically accurate, and you get new locations. So, to me, 'Book of Secrets' is like a movie unto itself. And, at the same time, he has a terrific gift for comedy, and he would be able to embrace that Commedia dell'arte, if you will. When they cast Bruce Greenwood, I realized that there would be a level of believability 'cause he looks Kennedy-esque. ![]() Then, I started thinking about it, and I started laughing, and I realized that that was the joy of it - that it was funny and it was absurd. How is Ben Gates going to kidnap the President of the United States?" And, I got nervous. Then, they said, "We have to rachet it up from stealing the Declaration of Independence, so we thought you should kidnap the President of the United States." And then, I said, "Woah, hold on, new rules. When they first presented the idea of Civil War, Confederate gold, John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln assassination, right off the bat, for me, personally, that was more interesting, historically. I wanted to make sure that we could go in a direction that would raise the stakes, and also hopefully be more interesting. Fortunately, working with John Turteltaub, in particular, he really cares about the story. They realize they have a winner, and then they just throw money at it and they don't care. Largely, the fear with sequels is that people get lazy. In this case, I do believe that, if you're going to do a sequel, it has to promise to be better than the original, or at least as good. Nicolas Cage: You may be aware that I've not done a sequel before, and the reason being that, generally speaking, I never like to repeat myself. Paul Fischer: What was the criteria for you to sign onto this project? And, what do you think sets this sequel apart from the original film? ![]() But it's all in the name of family entertainment. Oscar Nicolas Cage has gone his way to avoid doing sequels to his own movies, but three years after National Treasure, Cage's Ben Gates is back, unraveling a mystery that goes back to the Civil War and ends up kidnapping the President. CAGE TREASURES NEW SEQUEL AND WANTS TO DO MORE by Paul Fischer.
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