National Treasure: Book of Secrets

National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jon Turteltaub
Written by	Story by Jim Kouf Marianne & Cormac Wibberley Ted Elliott Terry Rossio Screenplay by Marianne Wibberly & Cormac Wibberly
Produced by	Jerry Bruckheimer Jon Turteltaub Oren Aviv Chad Oman Charles Segars
Starring	Nicolas Cage Diane Kruger Jon Voight Justin Bartha Harvey Keitel Helen Mirren Ed Harris Bruce Greenwood Alicia Coppola
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release dates	December 21, 2007 December 21, 2007 December 26, 2007 January 2, 2008 January 10, 2008 January 24, 2008 February 6, 2008 February 8 2008 March 13, 2008
Running time	(TBA)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	(TBA)

National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a 2007 sequel to the 2004 film National Treasure. It will be directed by Jon Turteltaub and written primarily by Gregory Poirier. Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer of the film.

It was stated in the first film's commentary that there were no plans for a sequel, but, due to the first film's impressive box-office performance, an earning of $347.5 million worldwide, a sequel was given the go-ahead in 2005.

The film will be released on December 21, 2007. Rated PG.

Plot

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer said in July 2006 that the sequel involves Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, eighteen missing pages from Booth's diary, and a surprise ending with many new twists. This was confirmed in the full-length trailer of the film.

One of the 18 missing pages has been discovered by Jeb Wilkinson (Ed Harris). On that page are the names of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Thomas Gates, Ben Gates' great-great-grandfather, is listed on the page. After discovering this, Ben does not want Thomas Gates to be remembered "as a conspirator in the assassination of the man who brought this nation together." His quest to clear his family's name leads to unexpected twists and turns. Agent Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) tells Ben that a secret book has the information he needs. The President's "book of secrets" holds documents, for Presidents' eyes only, of all of the nation's secrets; from the truth behind the JFK conspiracy, the missing minutes from the Watergate tapes, and Area 51. When Ben's request to see the book is denied, he says he must kidnap the President. Each clue leads him closer "to a discovery that the world isn't ready to believe."

A recent Washington Post writer's diary of being an extra during filming at the Library of Congress states that the President is to be kidnapped in the movie. According to Riley in the recently released trailer, the group is responsible for the kidnapping as well as many other events.

So let's recap. We've broken into Buckingham Palace and the Oval Office, stolen a page from the President's super-secret book, and actually kidnapped the President of the United States. What're we gonna do next, short sheet the Pope's bed?

--Riley Poole, National Treasure: Book of Secrets trailer.

Additional published plot details

The British movie magazine Empire included the following in a one-page production update article in its October 2007 issue:

...story takes in 18 missing pages from the diary of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, a mysterious pair of antique desks, and a stash of Aztec gold.

— Empire magazine, United Kingdom, October 2007, page 104

Cast

Actor	Role
Nicolas Cage	Benjamin Franklin Gates
Justin Bartha	Riley Poole
Diane Kruger	Abigail Chase
Jon Voight	Patrick Henry Gates
Harvey Keitel	FBI Agent Peter Sadusky
Helen Mirren	Emily Appleton Gates
Ed Harris	Jeb Wilkinson
Bruce Greenwood	US President
Alicia Coppola	FBI Agent Dawes
Joel Gretsch	Thomas Gates

Confirmed Historic Locations

The following sites have been confirmed as appearing in the film:

• United States Capitol
• Mount Rushmore
• Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
• The Library of Congress
• Lincoln Memorial
• White House
• Eiffel Tower
• Buckingham Palace
• Mount Vernon

Behind the scenes

Portions of the movie have also been filmed at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and nearby locations in South Dakota.

On March 28, 2007, scenes were being filmed in front of the U.S. Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial. On March 29th, Nicolas Cage and Jon Voight were filming scenes for the film in front of the White House as well as Lafayette Square. There will also be a scene filmed at the Library of Congress. Other scenes are being filmed at the Masonic Temple in Alexandria and Mt. Vernon, VA. The back lawn of Mt. Vernon, with its magnificent view across the Potomac, and set as the scene of a birthday gala for the President, was filmed on April 13 2007. Here, a large sign was placed to portray the significance of his birthday.

During filming at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial on April 4 2007, Ed Harris was there in his role as the villain in the movie. During the scene where the Gateses are wrapping up a speech to the crowd, Harris stands up and shows the Gateses a partially burned page of what is supposed to be from the Booth diary.

Filming also took place in McKeldin Library on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Maryland on April 7, 2007. Scenes were shot in the stacks, special events rooms, and on McKeldin Mall in front of Holzapfel Hall. A production assistant informed that this scene was following a scene filmed the day prior with Helen Mirren. The scene was originally supposed to take place at the University of Virginia, however, U-VA did not allow filming to take place. The producers then chose Maryland, liking Maryland's longer mall. Maryland's mall is the largest academic mall on a college campus in the United States. (All buildings along the mall are academic, none are residential). 'Maryland Images' tell people this fact along their tour routes.

Filming was also done on the Universal Studios backlot and Mt. Vernon in late 2006 and early 2007.

Filming was done at night at Mt. Vernon during the week commencing April 7 2007.

Filming took place in late March and mid April at the Library of Congress. On April 15, 2007, Bartha, Kruger, and Cage were filmed walking up the front steps to the entrance together; various scenes of stuntmen were also filmed. This is apparently for a scene that includes Cage's character running across the roof of the Thomas Jefferson Building and crashing through one of the rose windows in the ceiling into the Great Hall below. Also, according to a recent Washington Post column, Cage, his wife, and his son Kal-El were seen eating at a restaurant at the Washington D.C. Union Station a day before departing for filming in South Dakota.

The filming of the White House Easter Egg Roll scene was scheduled for May 21, 2007 which will be shot near the rose garden of the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA with the White House composited in the background using bluescreen techniques.

Filming also took place in many parts of Los Angeles, CA during the day and night, on May 25, 2007 to sometime in June, in Downtown and also nearby Chinatown.

Four people were originally chosen from the Coast Guard in Washington DC to play as extras in a scene near Fort Washington, but it was cancelled at the last minute.

The opening scene of the movie, which features soldiers returning home from the Civil War, was shot at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch on June 21, 2007.

Filming outside St Paul's Cathedral, for part of a car chase through central London, took place on June 30, 2007.

Filming on King William Street, London, took place on July 1, 2007 and outside Bank Station on July 14, 2007.

On July 13 2007 filming took place in the Lancaster House near St. James' Palace. This location will probably be used for the interior shots of Buckingham Palace.

Filming took place outside Trinity House, Trinity Square, London and on Southwark Bridge, London on July 21 & July 22, 2007.

Filming continued at The Old Royal Naval College/University of Greenwich grounds on July 24 2007. The area was made to look like the exterior of Bank tube station, with a fake red telephone box, traffic lights, policemen, and a double decker bus. A car chase/crash scene was filmed. Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger were on set. Cage signed autographs for waiting fans. The crew returned to this location on August 10 2007.

Fenchurch Street, London was closed on July 28 2007. A replica statue of a man on a horse (possibly the Duke of Wellington) was in the middle of the road. Filming also took place near Primrose Hill on the 3rd August 2007

Website

Disney has converted the official site for the first movie into the official site for the sequel. Also, on November 15 2006, Disney Enterprises registered two domain names for National Treasure 2. The company bought the names NationalTreasure2TheBookofSecrets.com and TheBookofSecretsNationalTreasure2.com. The website now hosts a trailer, gallery of pictures, synopsis, cast and crew listings, and two games (Gates Challenge and Chunnel Racer with Clue Hunt coming soon.)

Although unconfirmed, the U.S. release date may contain a hidden message for puzzle buffs. December 21st, or 12/21, may be a clever reference to the masonic symbol of a pyramid; 1221 can be interpreted as 1*11*111.

Rating

The film was officially rated Rated PG For some violence and action.

Trailers

Disney has released three trailers so far for the movie:

• Teaser Trailer
• Trailer 1
• International Trailer (Similar to Trailer 1)
• Trailer 2

External links

• Official site
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets at IMDb
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets at Rotten Tomatoes
• Download the trailer at Jurassic Punk
• Article at Comingsoon.net
• YouTube video - National Treasure 2 at Mount Rushmore Some behind the scenes footage shot by a family on vacation. Length: 3:54.
• YouTube video - Filming National Treasure: Book of Secrets in DC Behind-the-scenes footage in Washington D.C. of a nonaction scene involving the character Riley, March 29, 2007. Length: 2:20.