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NICOLAS CAGE:
“I think that the thing that [filled me with] trepidation about making this movie was the same thing that intrigued me, which is the idea of a man going in and stealing the Declaration of Independence. I thought this doesn’t seem very plausible, and how can this actually be pulled off? I met with Jon Turteltaub, and he said, ‘But that’s what’s interesting. He’s audacious. He’s bold.’ And our producer Jerry Bruckheimer always brings in a great group of technical advisers to do the research and try to figure out exactly how to make it, within the context of the film, seem as believable as possible.”
JERRY BRUCKHEIMER on whether he is worried the movie will be compared with The Da Vinci Code:
“I haven’t read The Da Vinci Code, but my guess is that’s a good thing, because it’s a best-selling book. We’ve been working on this for eight years. But we’re thrilled it became such a huge success, and hopefully people who read that will come see this. My understanding is it’s about the Vatican and the Church, and this is more about American history.”
JON VOIGHT:
“Nicolas is an interesting fellow. He’s very charismatic; he’s very unpredictable. There’s something very endearing about Nicolas, or at least I found him to be playing his father. He would never approach a scene in a way that I would anticipate the scene, as indicated in the script. He would take some other point of view, and you could always count on him to be inventive and daring.”
DIANE KRUGER:
“Nic is really funny, a little eccentric and little crazy. One day, for whatever reason, he decided to just speak in a Scottish accent all day, which drove everybody insane.”
BRUCKHEIMER:
“This movie is a romp, it’s fun and exciting. The fact that it deals with American history, I don’t think it’ll change the world’s view of the picture. I think you can support George Bush or not support George Bush. It’s not about making a statement about America at all. This is about entertainment.”
CAGE:
“I think you have to give yourself over 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 all seemed to work logically within the suspension of disbelief. It has a certain spirit that is reminiscent of Indiana Jones, but where it parts company with it is that there’s nothing supernatural about National Treasure. There’s enough there that we can think about. Does this treasure really exist? Several highly intelligent people who believe it exists have risked their lives looking for this buried treasure.”
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THE CONCEPT:
