By Daniela Deane Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, April 4, 2007; Page B06
Nicolas Cage is coming to Alexandria this week to deliver a speech at the George Washington Masonic Memorial. And maybe use the bathroom.
But . . . shhh! Don't tell a soul.
The people filming Disney's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," a sequel to the hit 2004 film starring Cage, Jon Voight and Diane Kruger, would like to keep this their own special Hollywood secret.
The fact is, they don't want a bunch of lookie-loos showing up at the memorial, known locally as the Masonic Temple, trying to catch a glimpse of the actors.
Not that it would be that easy to do. Disney has rented the temple -- Old Town Alexandria's most conspicuous landmark -- through Saturday and has closed it and its hillside grounds to the public during that time.
And it's not as though the stars haven't been glimpsed around Washington. Last week, they were spotted in Lafayette Square and on the Mall.
Nevertheless, the Alexandria shoot is being kept super hush-hush. Even though you get the feeling that the people who work at the Masonic Temple would scream the news from the top of their 333-foot tower if they could.
"It's very exciting," said George Seghers, director of the temple. "We've had movies for the History Channel and the Discovery Channel filmed here, but this is the first Hollywood movie to be filmed here. But I can't say much more than that."
But he did. Seghers said the temple will act as a stand-in for the Smithsonian in the movie.
In the film, Cage plays treasure hunter Ben Gates, whose ancestor is implicated in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He sets off on a globe-trotting adventure to clear his family name and find a missing treasure along the way.
"They're going to film in the auditorium, in the Memorial Hall and in a bathroom," said a temple employee who spoke on condition of anonymity because "we're not supposed to talk about it."
Cage will address about 400 extras in the auditorium, the employee said. The temple's Memorial Hall will serve as a Smithsonian exhibition hall where treasures are displayed.
Seghers wouldn't discuss what Disney was paying to rent the temple. But he allowed: "It's not a fortune. Or a treasure."
__________________
Take heed of these words, my friends.... "You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give" Kahlil Gibran
Looking forward to this very much! The 1st one was a very entertaining, enjoyable, NICe family film and Im sure Walt Disney were really pressing for a sequel as the first one was so successful. Out just in time for the xmas market....cant wait!
This movie looks like it will be a decent followup to the first. At first I thought 'Why on earth are they making a sequil, since it doesn't really need one' but now that I think of it they look like they were thinking sort of the same thing, and will be doing a NICe job with it
"National Treasure" sequel to start filming at Mount Rushmore
March 15, 2007 - 9:17 am
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Actor Nicolas Cage and a crew are expected to arrive next month to film parts of the sequel to the 2004 movie "National Treasure" at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
The producers of "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" have not yet obtained a filming permit from the National Park Service. Gerard Baker, Mount Rushmore superintendent, said he is still reviewing the plans but said he thinks there will be no problem getting a permit.
Baker said the movie's producers had no plans to film on the face of Mount Rushmore, which is not allowed.
In "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," Cage returns as treasure hunter Ben Gates. Armed with missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary, Gates tries to uncover the truth behind the 1865 assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, according to online accounts.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub produced and directed the first movie and have returned for the sequel. Actors Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel and Diane Kruger are reprising their roles.
Mount Rushmore also was prominent in the 1959 Alfred Hitch**** classic "North by Northwest."
