National Treasure (2004)
- The incredible score for National Treasure was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Before Nicolas Cage was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Jon Turteltaub's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
National Treasure is a 2004 American adventure film directed by Jon Turteltaub. Nicolas Cage stars as Benjamin Franklin Gates, a historian and cryptographer who believes a treasure map is hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence, placed there by the Founding Fathers and connected to a vast treasure accumulated by the Knights Templar over centuries. When Gates's discovery is dismissed and a rival treasure hunter, played by Sean Bean, plans to steal the document by force, Gates decides he must steal the Declaration himself to protect it and decipher the map.
National Treasure was an entertaining, family-friendly adventure that wore its Indiana Jones and Da Vinci Code influences openly while crafting a distinctly American mythology around the Founding Fathers and their secret societies. Nicolas Cage brought his characteristic intensity to the role of a man who truly believes the Founding Fathers left behind a national treasure hunt. The film earned $347 million worldwide on a $100 million budget and spawned a sequel.
