Here’s more from Cage:

Q: What was the criteria for you to sign onto this project and what do you think sets this sequel apart from the original film?
A: Largely, the fear with sequels is that people get lazy. They realize they have a winner and then they just throw money at it and they don't care. Fortunately, working with John Turteltaub, in particular, he really cares about the story. I wanted to make sure that we could go in a direction that would raise the stakes, and also hopefully be more interesting. 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 was excited by that. Then, they said, "We have to ratchet it up from stealing the Declaration of Independence, so we thought you should kidnap the President of the United States." And then, I said, "Whoa, hold on -new rules. How is Ben Gates going to kidnap the President of the United States?" I got nervous. 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. So, to me, Book of Secrets is like a movie unto itself. When you change the treasure, you change the whole story and you get new clues that are historically accurate and you get new locations - just the actors and the characters stay the same. There are worse things to do than to inspire especially the youngsters to look in their history books, so I thought, "Let's go. Let's do it." So I did it and I'm happy I did it.

Q: What has been your experience having young fans, since the first National Treasure?
A: Children, to me, are of the utmost importance. They're really the future, aren't they? So, I want to treat that carefully. I'm one of those people that believes that the power of film is intense and you have to really think about it responsibly. 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. 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. I'm always thinking about the kids, if I make that sort of movie. Even with Ghost Rider I was thinking about the kids. Walt Disney, for me, is a magnificent hero, of sorts, because he was probably the most influential artist of our time. He was such an influence that we don't even think of him sometimes as a human being, but he did this amazing stuff. He took these great classic stories like Pinocchio and Snow White and made them accessible to children. With Ghost Rider, I was trying to do the one story he never did - probably for obvious reasons - which was Faust.

Q: 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?
A: My first question to [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer was, "It's been three years. I'm not the same guy. How am I going to go back and do Ben Gates?" and he said, "That's it. The character has changed." The response I got at Disney was that I seem lighter and I'm smiling more and I'm happier. I think the weight has been taken off of the character. He's been accepted academically. He's not considered a wacko anymore, like he was in the first movie and he feels happier.

Q: You mentioned that you've changed in the last three years since the first film. How have you changed?
A: I think the main changes are that my priorities have improved. I started acting at a very young age and I had interests which I won't say are wrong, but I'm maturing. Motorcycles and things like that aren't has important as they once were to me. I like a good book, and I like being in nature or on the water and being with my family. I think those are just the real treasures.

Q: Would you mind doing a third National Treasure if all of the elements are right?
A: With National Treasure, I believe that it should become more and more “International Treasure”. I was very happy to see that we went to London, England and Paris, France, but I'd like to see the movie go wider still. I'd like to go into Africa, Egypt, Asia and keep going. My hope is that Ben is recruited and he gets a dossier from these other countries about their history, and has to download it and learn it, and then try to go on these hunts on their behalf. That would be a lot of fun for me.

Paul Salfen

National Treasure: Book of Secrets opens in theaters everywhere on Friday.

On being open to doing a Ghost Rider sequel: “All they have to do is call. I would love to see that happen. That would be fun. If I think there's room to grow with the character and if you can make it better than the original, absolutely.”

On his work as producer on the documentary of The Police: “Well, the Police interestingly enough have always had a part of my life professionally as well as just as a young man growing up. When I first heard Sting's voice, I was in Napa Valley living with my uncle. It was the most unusual sounding voice. I almost thought he was Chicano or something, the way he used his voice. It sounded like that and I was very curious. I liked the music right off the bat. Then I made Rumble Fish and Stewart Copeland was the composer, the drummer of the Police. I thought it was the best soundtrack of a movie I'd ever heard. I loved his music and then when I did Leaving Las Vegas, the first sound you hear is Sting, so it seemed like a good match. Now they're back and I think they're a very important band and one of the bands that kind of lent a soundtrack of a great portion of my life.”