interview - NICOLAS CAGE

History Repeats Itself

Nicolas Cage says inspiring kids to learn more about American history is one reason he wanted to do the National Treasure sequel, Book of Secrets. The chance to star in another huge hit probably didn’t hurt, either

Shortly before it was released in the fall of 2004, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub insisted there would be no sequel to National Treasure, their Indiana Jones-esque action movie starring Nicolas Cage. “We’re not even entertaining the idea,” Turteltaub said at the time.

But by mid-2005 National Treasure had amassed an astounding $350-million (U.S.) in international box office, and all parties started to think about a second installment, maybe even a National Treasure franchise.

“Trust me, there are worse things to do with your time than try to stimulate young people to want to find out more about their history by entertaining them,” says Cage, who did indeed sign on for this month’s sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Smartly dressed in a crisp white shirt and a black Armani suit (no tie) for this Beverly Hills interview, Cage says he relates to his history-loving, treasure-hunting character, Benjamin Franklin Gates, on at least one account: obsession.

“Ben has devoted his entire life, groomed himself, to figure out where to go and what to do to uncover great mysteries in the face of great ridicule,” says Cage. “I think that I’ve been obsessed, over the years, with where I could go with acting or how I could challenge myself with it. With collecting my own comic books, motorcycles and cars, I would say that obsessive behaviour is certainly something we have in common.”

After uncovering secrets hidden in documents by America’s founding fathers and finding the Knights Templar’s treasure, Ben Gates has become a billionaire by the end of the first National Treasure movie. “Well, actually, he’s not really a billionaire, maybe just a millionaire,” clarifies Cage with a laugh. “I think that he gave most of the treasure to the different museums of the world. He got one percent, or something like that.”

This time around, Gates has to clear his family’s name after his great-great-grandfather is implicated in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Ed Harris plays Jeb Wilkinson, who claims to have discovered one of 18 missing pages from the diary of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, a page that lists Booth’s co-conspirators, including one Thomas Gates, Ben’s great-great-grandfather.

Certain that his ancestor was not responsible for Lincoln’s murder, Ben enlists his dad (Jon Voight), pal Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and sweetheart Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) to help clear Thomas Gates’ name.

Harvey Keitel steps in as FBI Agent Peter Sadusky, who tells Gates about a secret book that has the information he needs. The problem is, only the American President is allowed to see the book, which also contains the truth behind John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the minutes missing from Nixon’s Watergate tapes and the real story behind those alien bodies at Area 51.

When Ben’s request to read the book is denied, he kidnaps the President (Bruce Greenwood) to get to the information.

“I know that when I did the first one, the things that seemed inconceivable and made me nervous were the same things that intrigued everyone else,” says Cage. “I think that you just have to give yourself over to the context of the movie and go along for the ride.”

While comparisons have been made between the National Treasure and Raiders of the Lost Ark movies, Cage points to one substantial difference. “Our films have a spirit reminiscent of Indiana Jones, but they part company with Indiana Jones in that there’s nothing supernatural about either National Treasure film.” He believes there are enough intriguing elements in his films that have their basis in truth, adding that there are “very highly intelligent people” who believe in a lot of the ideas his movies put forth, some of whom have “risked their lives to find buried treasure.” 

“So there is no need for things supernatural,” he says.

“I’m not ashamed to admit it, I’m just an old romantic at heart — it’s a blessing and a curse. I’ve made a lot of mistakes because of my romantic nature,” Cage says with a chuckle and a shrug. “I’m such a hardcore romantic softie that there was actually a line in my last movie [Next] that was just a little bit negative about love, so I said, ‘Take that out, because I never want to look down on love.’ Love is to be respected and treated with great reverence. Love is a beautiful thing.”

As for naming his now three-year-old son Kal-El after Superman’s Kryptonian name...

“Well, we call him Kal. First of all, I like the name Kal-El, but I also liked the name Kyle. Alice wanted a more unique name so it was between Kahlil from Kahlil Gibran,” he says, referring to the Lebanese poet, “or Kal-El, Jor-El’s son in Superman. But I didn’t think anybody would know because no one knows about Kal-El, they all know about Clark Kent.”

Cage’s 17-year-old son Weston represents the first of a fourth generation of Coppolas (Cage’s real last name) involved in the film business (grandpa Carmine was a film composer, great-uncle Francis Ford is a director, as is aunt Sofia).

“Weston definitely has acting aspirations, he was in Lord of War, on the helicopter, and he was really good,” Cage says proudly. “He’s a very handsome young man. He’s really a remarkable person, and he’s a terrific athlete. He’s a gold medal-winning wrestler, and he’s going to the state championships...

“I like the idea of athletics for him,” continues Cage. “Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger. Look what he did with weightlifting. The same focus he put into lifting that extra hundred pounds, he has put into acting and politics. If Weston put half the focus he puts into his wrestling before a match, as he does into acting, it’s going to be very exciting for all of us. Ultimately, it’ll be his decision.”

Cage’s next movie, Bangkok Dangerous, which is scheduled for release in February 2008, has him playing an American hitman who falls for a Thai woman. Shot in Bangkok in September 2006, the filming schedule coincided with a coup that ousted Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his government.

“I was in Bangkok when the coup happened,” Cage says of what turned out to be a relatively non-violent overthrow. “I was on the set around one in the morning, firing an automatic weapon, when the gun wrangler said, ‘You’ve got to stop shooting. There’s a military coup about to happen.’ I didn’t even know what that meant. When was the last time we had a military coup in the United States?

“I kept thinking my son and my wife were at the hotel. So I walked off the set, woke them up and I took them to the airport…. Then I left them there, got back to Bangkok on another plane, flew back to the set and finished the movie, not knowing if I was going back into gunfire or tanks shooting. There were tanks on the street, it was a terrifying experience.”

An American actor shooting a movie in a foreign land amid a military coup? Sounds like a good idea for  Bruckheimer’s next movie. There would have to be more explosions, though.

Earl Dittman is a Houston-based entertainment writer.