Opening this Friday is âNational Treasure Book of Secrets,â the sequel to the huge hit âNational Treasure.â So to help promote the film, I recently attended a press day where I got to interview most of the cast and the filmmakers who made it.
But before getting to the interviewâ¦a few words. While Iâve seen a ton of movies these past few weeks, films that are sure to be nominated for Oscars and movies that will be remembered for years⦠the one film everyone asks me about is âNational Treasure.â Seriously. If my friends and family are any barometer for the success of a movieâ¦Disney is about to have a HUGE hit on their hands. Even my dad, who rarely goes to the movies, wants to see this film.
And for those wonderingâ¦here are my two cents on the sequel. Did you like the first film? Then youâll like the sequel, as itâs more of the same. But I do want to emphasize not thinking too hard about the plausibility of what youâre watching, because if you try and think about it⦠youâll just ruin the ride and not have any fun. Simply put, âNational Treasure Book of Secretsâ is a great popcorn movie and audiences are going to eat it up. Now about this interview...
Posted below is the mini press conference with Justin Bartha. In the film he plays Riley Poole â the friend and computer genius who accompanies Nicolasâ Cage character on his wild adventures.
During the time we had to speak with Justin we covered all the usual questions and we got him to ponder whatâs on page 47 (it has to do with the Book of Secrets) as well as talk about his future projects.
And if you donât know what the story is in the sequelâ¦
In this follow up to âNational Treasure,â treasure hunter Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) once again sets out on an exhilarating, action-packed new global quest to unearth hidden history and treasures. When a missing page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth surfaces, Benâs great-great grandfather is suddenly implicated as a key conspirator in Abraham Lincolnâs death. Determined to prove his ancestorâs innocence, Ben follows an international chain of clues that takes him on a chase from
As usual, you can either read the transcript below or download the audio as an MP3 by clicking here. And if you want to watch some clips from the movie, you can do so here.
âNational Treasure Book of Secretsâ opens this Friday at theaters everywhere.
Q: What is the idea with a relatively handsome young man running around saying he canât get a date?
Justin: Are you talking about me? Iâm single. I can not get a date and the girls I meet turn out to be awful. My girlfriends turn out to be just bad seeds so obviously, itâs realistic in some sense. This is a frank interview. Thatâs a hard-hitting question.
So you donât have high hopes for the girl with the freckles and the book at the end of the movie?
Justin: I have very high hopes for her. Sheâs adorable.
When we spoke with you after the last movie you were saying you had no tech savvy in real life. Are you any more techy after this one?
Justin: Even worse. I keep watching this movie over and over again and I just get less interested in technology. I use a telegraph now.
We hear, on a Bruckheimer film that the script is always in flux and you arrive not really knowing what youâre going to be saying that day. How much of what we see in this film was improvised?
Justin: Well, thatâs the benefit of doing a sequel that Iâve found. Most of the characters were in the first one besides, obviously Helen and Ed and the President but most of the main characters were in the first one and we know our characters very well so I know how Riley would react to pretty much every situation. Itâs also a testament to Jerry and Jon in that, even with a script thatâs always in flux, they are not going to release a movie until they feel comfortable that itâs a good movie. So, if it doesnât work, weâre not gonna put it in the movie. When we first got the script in the beginning of the process, all the actors sat around with the filmmakers and they asked us, âis there anything that you think should be in the script thatâs not in there? Is there anything thatâs in the script that you think doesnât fit?â And they sat down with each one of us individually and we told them and they incorporated most of the things that we came up with.
What did you think didnât fit for Riley?
Justin: Specifically, my thing was I didnât want it to be boring. A lot of times, the sequels they make, obviously theyâre making a sequel to make money. Everyone know that. The first one made a lot of money. People really loved the first one. Itâs not like people come up to me and say âyeah, that movie was goodâ. They say itâs their favorite movie or itâs their kidsâ favorite movie so thereâs a responsibility to make it more interesting and to keep the spirit of the original movie. And, when I first got the script for the second one, Riley was pretty much the same thing as the first one. They played on the stereotype of the sidekick of just throwing out zingers and I thought it was kind of boring. There was nothing interesting in there for me to do so I wanted to see what happened to Riley between the first movie and the second movie, How did the money effect him? What has he been doing? And, with a book that he wrote, how can that book effect the storyline? So, we came up with the idea of him writing this book and no one takes him seriously because no one takes this guy seriously because he is that sidekick guy that youâve seen in movies and no one ever takes these characters seriously. Theyâre there to serve a purpose. But, what if they just stop for a second to read his book, it would actually help them solve the mystery? So, that was the big thing that I pushed for to get into the movie.
Are you on strike with all the other writers right now?
Justin: Unfortunately. I do support the writers in any way that I can. Iâm more the actor soâ¦
Rileyâs friends just donât read his book. Have you ever been in a play and your friends just donât show up? If so, what do you do?
Justin: [laughs] Theyâre no longer my friends. If they donât come and support me, I donât like them anymore. Youâve got to support your friends.
Did you do a lot of your own stunts?
Justin: I did Nicâs stunts also [laughter]. I did Helen Mirrenâs stunts sometimes too with fake giant breasts⦠beautiful. I didnât look as good as her but I pulled it off.
Are you in
Justin: Yes. I only shoot movies in
Can you tell us about Shoe At Your Foot?
Justin: I can. Itâs about a young American guy who wins a trip to Paris for two just as his girlfriend dumps him and he decides to go alone or his friends push him to go to Paris alone and the airline loses his luggage and itâs sent to a beautiful French girl who falls in love with him through the contents of his suitcase. I pretty much spend the whole movie by myself in a hotel room in a robe waiting for a suitcase. Itâs a really wonderful film. Itâs a whimsical romance in the spirit of Amelie and Punch-Drunk Love.
Billy Boyd is in it with you?
Justin: Billy Boyd plays my best buddy in the movie and heâs brilliant. Heâs such a great guy.
Are you a Lord of the Rings fan?
Justin: Uh, yes? Iâm not a big fantasy guy. Those arenât my favorite types of movies but I think that they are amazing films. I havenât seen all of them actually but Iâm a fan of his. I think heâs a really great actor.
What is in the suitcase that makes the girl fall in love with you?
Justin: Well, a lot of it is contents given to me by my friends before I go on the trip so itâs not really my stuff. Thereâs a Gabriel Garcia-Marquez novel and thereâs some music and it ends up, she falls in love with me under false pretenses. Thatâs what itâs come to.
Whatâs it like to do your own stunt work?
Justin: Thatâs boring. Come on. Iâm just kidding. Itâs great. There was one time when I really felt like my life was in danger when my stunt guy just wasnât there and I like to do my own stunts. Iâm just like Tom Cruise. I get mistaken for him all the time. Iâm just taller [laughter]. So Nicâs stunt driver was driving and heâs this brilliant driver and weâre in London going through the streets and heâs doing all these very dangerous turns through all these tiny, little narrow alleyways. And, at the end of this alleyway, I donât know if you realize it, but thereâs a giant tree that was right there and he had to slam on the brakes and he turned the car so that the passenger, me, was going to hit the tree. We literally ended an inch away from the tree and I wet myself.
I wanted to follow up on Billy Boyd. Did you give him any advice on being a funny side-kick?
Justin: He didnât need any advice from me. He did his own thing but heâs quite funny though really.
Can you talk about Nic?
Justin: I can talk about Nic for hours. How much time have you got? What would you like to know?
I donât want to hear that heâs a great guy and easy to work with.
Justin: Okay, then heâs a ass and heâs not good to work with and heâs not that great of an actor.
Does he eat crackers in bed?
Justin: Does he eat crackers in bed? Iâve never been in bed with Nic Cage. Actually there was this one night with some Johnny Walker⦠no, unfortunately, people come up to me all the time and they donât ask my about myself. They ask me about Nic Cage and they want to know what heâs really like and is he really weird and intense. And, heâs not. Heâs eccentric but he is hilarious. Heâs one of the funniest guys Iâve ever met and I love the man. Heâs one of my favorite actors. Sorry, itâs a boring answer and I wish I could give you dish but you write and read about the dish about people breaking into his house.
What makes him funny?
Justin: His sense of humor. What makes anyone hilarious? Heâs got an original view of life and that is what, I think, anyone looks for in an artist. I think thatâs what a great artist is, is they have a singular vision of what life is all about and the way that he looks and survives in this world is funny and itâs interesting but I love the way that he treats other people and the way that he lives out his life.
Sounds like your movie relationship is similar to your real life relationship.
Justin: Except for heâs my side-kick in real life.
Are you working on a movie called Holy Rollers?
Justin: Itâs a movie that weâre trying to put together next year, yeah. Itâs gonna hopefully start at the beginning of the year.
If there is a National Treasure 3, how would you like to see Riley progress?
Justin: I think I just said it, probably Nic as my side-kick and me getting a lot of girls.
Just wondering what youâve done since the Shoe movie?
Justin: Well, that just wrapped fairly recently and then I bought a house and Iâm producing a small movie and Iâm trying to put together a couple of other small movies for the beginning of the year.
What are you doing for Christmas?
Justin: I am promoting this film.
Once it opens on the 21st, what are you doing for the rest of the holidays?
Justin: I like this guy.
Do you have any Christmas traditions your family does?
Justin: Yes, we light eight candles and celebrate my people.
I apologize, Hanukkah.
Justin: Iâm not a very religious person and I really donât have a lot of specific traditions besides spending time with my family and friends.
Can you talk more about Holy Rollers?
Justin: Yes. Holy Rollers is based on a true story in the early mid-â90âs, there were some people in the Hassidic community that were used as drug smugglers in and out of Amsterdam into Brooklyn..
Were they diamond merchants or something?
Justin: No. it has nothing to do with diamond merchants and thatâs racist. Who brought that guy? Not all Jews are diamond merchants, my God! [laughs] and you can quote me on that. So, basically, itâs a small drama. Itâs kind of like Mean Streets but itâs kind of like Jew Streets. Itâs myself and one of my favorite young actors Jesse Eisenberg are the two guys in the movie and, if you look at Mean Streets, heâs kind of like Harvey Keitel and Iâm kind of like the Johnny Boy character where Iâm already kind of into that world of drugs and I bring him into it.
Do you want to know whatâs on Page 47?
Justin: I do. Do you know? Iâd love to know.
I think they might have gotten themselves into a corner by introducing that.
Justin: Thatâs the thing I love about this. Nobody cares. They just want to see these characters hang out with each other. You know, I doubt anyoneâs going to be coming up to me on the street and asking âwhatâs on page 47?â Theyâre probably going to be saying, âWhatâs Nic Cage like?â.