National Treasure (franchise)

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National Treasure is a series of movies starring Nicolas Cage as a treasure hunter who uncovers hidden treasures and secrets from America's past.

Contents

[edit] Films

[edit] National Treasure (2004)

Main article: National Treasure (film)

The first National Treasure movie centres on the Gates family legend of a fantastic treasure trove of artifacts and gold, hidden by the Founding Fathers of the United States, and the attempts of the scion of the family, Benjamin Franklin Gates, to find the treasure.

[edit] National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Main article: National Treasure: Book of Secrets

When black market dealer Mitch Wilkinson locates a page of the 18 missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary, and suggests that Ben's ancestor Thomas Gates was a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Ben sets out to prove his innocence.

[edit] National Treasure 3

In September 2008, Jerry Bruckheimer officially confirmed that they were in the process of developing a third film. [1] In November 2008, Bruckheimer said that the writers were in the process of writing the script to the film.[2] In March 2009, Jon Voight, who plays Patrick Gates, said that the script was not yet finished and that he hoped there was good stuff for him to play in it, and that Helen Mirren, who played Emily Appleton in National Treasure: Book of Secrets (Ben's mother and Patrick's ex-wife) will be back. Diane Kruger, who plays Dr. Abigail Chase will return as well as Justin Bartha, who plays Riley Poole. [3]The movie is set for release in 2011.

[edit] Books

There was no novelization of the first movie, but a novelization of the second entitled National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets The Junior Novel was released on November 6, 2007.[4] Parts of the story in the novel version differ slightly from what was actually filmed, owing to changes being made in the screenplay prior to and during production. For example, in the novel, Ben and Abigail photograph the wooden plank found hidden in the Queen's desk and leave it behind, with the car chase following. But in the movie, they take the plank with them on the chase. Also, the date on the statue in Paris, which is also the combination to access the plank is shown as 1865 rather than 1876.

[edit] Gates Family Mystery

Disney Press is also publishing a series of spin-off historical novels about ancestors of the Gates Family all by Catherine Hapka.

# Title Released Time period
1 Changing Tides November 6, 2007 1612
2 Midnight Ride March 8, 2008 1773-1775
3 Uncharted August 26, 2008 1803
4 Westward Bound December 23, 2008 1848-1849
5 Forever Free April 28, 2009 1872
6 Roaring In August 25, 2009 1920s
  • Changing Tides is set in England in the year 1612. The epilogue from Changing Tides is included at the back of the National Treasure book.[5] Samuel Gates and his brother, William, travel to the Americas and the newly organized Jamestown, hoping to find a fortune and rescue their family name.
  • Midnight Ride is set in Boston in the year 1775. At the onset of the Revolutionary War, John Raleigh Gates follows the clues to find an incredible treasure.[6]
  • Uncharted is set in 1803. After the American Revolutionary War, Adam Benjamin Gates and his twin sister, Eleanor or Ellie, have heard their father's tales of his part in the Revolutionary War and his discovery of a great treasure that helped the Patriots. Soon, Adam and Ellie find themselves on a dangerous journey into uncharted lands in search of a treasure hidden deep in the wilderness.[7]
  • Westward Bound takes place in 1848 and 1849. Thomas Gates is convinced that the treasure is located with someone or in something called the Charlotte. However, his youngest brother James Madison Gates wants a treasure that is easier to get to. In 1848, while helping a friend on the run from her father, he reluctlantly follows a series of letters his aunt, Eleanor, sent to his father, believing it leads to a treasure that is bigger than the gold of California.[8]
  • Forever Free takes place in 1872. After the death of his father, Charles Gates considers running away from his family's past of treasure hunting. However, when he befriends a freed slave named Daniel, they set off to uncover what civil rights leaders fought to protect.[9]
  • Roaring In takes place in the 1920s. Jay Gates wishes to remain in peace and quiet, despite the economic boom of the 1920s. However, he soon learns of hints in regards to the Charlotte, of which his family has been searching for almost a century, and decides to seek adventure.[10]

[edit] Characters

Benjamin Franklin Gates (portrayed by Nicolas Cage)
Benjamin 'Ben' Gates is the main character of the films. Ever since he was a young child, Ben heard stories about the Templar Treasure from his grandfather, and decided to hunt for himself. Along with friends Ian Howe and Riley Poole, Ben discovered the Charlotte, which led him to the next clue in the treasure hunt. After being betrayed by Ian on the Charlotte, he set out against him to steal the Declaration of Independence. As the search progressed, Ben meets, and eventually falls in love with, Abigail Chase. He argues with his father, Patrick, who doesn't believe in the treasure. However, Ben is successful in discovering the treasure. In National Treasure: Book of Secrets, his family name is threatened by Mitch Wilkinson, and he finds himself hunting for the legendary City of Gold. He and Abigail have broken up, but are reunited during the treasure hunt. During this journey, Ben has to kidnap the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood), to find a clue in the President's Book of Secrets. He finds the treasure in this movie as well. Ben is skilled at code-breaking, and has degrees in American History (from Georgetown University) and Mechanical Engineering (from MIT) as well as Navy ROTC diving training. Ben is portrayed by Nicolas Cage, as well Hunter Gomez in the beginning of the first film.
Riley Poole (portrayed by Justin Bartha)
Riley Poole is the best friend of Benjamin Gates, and co-finder of both the Templar Treasure and the City of Gold. Ben and his financier Ian Howe found Riley working in a cubicle. He came along the journey to find the Charlotte, using his computer expertise to assist his friends over the course of the movie. But when Ian turns against them because they refused to steal the Declaration of Independence Ben then lights a match and threatened to drop it on the Gun powder. Riley said "Ben" shockingly. He purchased a Ferrari 360 Spyder, which we later learn he is extremely fond of. He writes a book about the Templar Treasure and other myths, and this book becomes a key to helping find the City of Gold in the second film. He begins having financial trouble in the second movie, and his Ferrari is impounded by the IRS while autographing copies of his book at a local Borders. However, his car is returned to him after the discovery of the City of Gold. Then in the excitement of getting his Ferrari back, he backs into another car with it. Through both films he is portrayed as the comic relief of the group, and will regularly reply with sarcastic jokes. He is very excited when he finally knew something Ben didn't: the Book of Secrets. It was one of the conspiracy theories in his book and thanks to Ben's efforts, not only was it proven true, he got to view the book himself though the President later denied its existence.
Abigail Chase (portrayed by Diane Kruger)
Dr. Abigail Chase is a German-American employee at the National Archives building in Washington DC, and the girlfriend of Benjamin Gates. The two met during Ben's hunt for the Templar Treasure, when Ben comes to warn the Archives of Ian Howe's plan to steal the Declaration of Independence. When Abigail is brought into the hunt, she is at first against helping, attempting to escape with the Declaration. However, she begins to trust Ben, and the two quickly fall in love. In the second film, she and Ben have split up, and she is dating Connor, a curator at the White House. She is out on a date with Connor when Ben attempts to steal her ID Pass for the Library of Congress to view a page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth. She and Ben argue, but begin to make up over the course of the film, and are soon a couple again.
Patrick Henry Gates (portrayed by Jon Voight)
Patrick Gates is the father of Benjamin Gates, named for Patrick Henry. He doesn't believe in the treasures at first, thinking that the clues will just lead to other clues not the treasures. It's revealed he searched for the treasure himself for 20 years and never found it, so he came to believe that the treasure was a hoax and that he wasted those years. He thinks it's a waste of time to search for the treasure and he is dismayed and enraged when he discovers that Ben stole the Declaration of Independence. He is taken hostage by Ian and is present when they discover the treasure. In Book of Secrets, Patrick is angered by Mitch Wilkinson when he comes forward with a Booth diary page that seems to show Thomas Gates was involved in the death of President Lincoln. He then becomes discouraged by the fact that they have no 'proof' to prove that Wilkinson is lying. When Ben and Riley are in London, Patrick is attacked by the Wilkinsons who clone his cellphone to get access to Ben. In this film, Patrick is reunited with his ex-wife, Emily Appleton. The two have to team up to save their son, and it appears that they are back together by the film's end. Patrick hadn't spoken to her in 32 years and was not happy to have to now, but did. The two met on a treasure hunt of their own and the treasure hunt for Cibola seemed to cause them to remember their love for each other and finally reconcile. Patrick is named as one of the co-finders of the City of Gold.
Agent Peter Sadusky (portrayed by Harvey Keitel)
Sadusky is an FBI agent who first meets the treasure-hunters when he is assigned to the case after the Declaration of Independence is stolen. He looks for Ben throughout the night before finally finding him and taking him into custody in Philadelphia. Ben escapes him in New York, but Sadusky returns to retrieve the Declaration. He seems to not believe the story of the treasure at first, but actually seems to know it quite well, when it is shown that he is a Freemason. Sadusky arrests Ian Howe at the end of the film. In Book of Secrets, he is introduced when some of his agents come forth with a newspaper article about the Booth diary page. He is suspicious of Wilkinson, and begins to put the pieces together. Later, he is on Ben's case again when Gates 'kidnaps' the President of the United States. He also shows he knows more than he lets on about things: he confirms the Book of Secrets existance to Ben, but claims not to know its location. After learning that Ben kidnapped the President, he apparently guesses what it was for and heads straight to the Library of Congress, revealing he somehow apparently knew the location all along. He follows him to Mount Rushmore, only to lose him until after the discovery of Cibola.
Ian Howe (portrayed by Sean Bean)
Ian is Ben's ex-partner & ex-financier, and the main antagonist in the first film. He comes along with Ben and Riley to the Arctic to search for the Charlotte. Ian and Ben have a brief face off, which ends with the ship exploding. Ian and one of accompanying men escape the ship before the explosion, and, probably assuming Ben and Riley are dead, drive off. The night of the 70th anniversary gala at the National Archives, Ian and his men break in, only to find that Ben had beat them to the Declaration. They follow him out of the building and a car chase ensues. Ian then goes to Philadelphia, where he chases Abigail and Riley and ends up stealing the Declaration from them. After Ben is arrested by the FBI, Ian ends up helping him escape from custody, and then meets him at Trinity Church in New York City. He follows Ben down into the tunnels beneath the church, where one of his men dies after falling through the rotting floorboards. The group ends up at a dead end, and Ian eventually leaves, deserting the others. Ian is finally apprehended in Boston, where he is arrested on charges of kidnapping, attempted murder and trespassing on government property.
Mitch Wilkinson (portrayed by Ed Harris)
Mitch Wilkson is the main antagonist of the second film. Wilkinson first appears when Ben and Patrick are giving a speech, showing a page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth, which has the name Thomas Gates written on it. He says he believes it means that Gates was a conspirator in the Lincoln assassination. Wilkinson is a direct decendant of the Confederate General Pike and has a letter from the Queen to Pike that gives a clue to Cibola. Wilkinson and his brothers keep close tabs on Ben and his friends as they search for the clues. He overhears Ben mentioning the Statue of Liberty to Abigail in a phone conversation, and ends up going to New York City, only to find that it’s the wrong statue. Before this, though, Mitch and his brothers break into Patrick’s home and clone his cell phone, using this advantage to keep track of Ben and listen in on his conversations with his father. He and his two brothers follows the treasure hunters to London where he chases them and obtains the plank from the Resolute Desk at Buckingham Palace. Wilkinson then returns to the United States, where he learns that Ben’s mother, Emily, is able to translate the Native American planks. He goes to her and then kidnaps her after she translates the plank, taking her to Mount Rushmore, where they meet with the rest of the group. They all venture into the caves below the mountain, and Wilkinson threatens to kill people to keep them going. His true motives are revealed: he wanted his family to finally gain some fame for discovering something and smeared Thomas Gates' name (something he apologizes for) to get Ben involved in the treasure hunt. Unlike Ian, during the hunt he doesn't betray Ben and his companions during the search in the tunnels and even saves Ben a few times. Eventually, as a cave is filling with water, Mitch allows Ben to escape and drowns in the flooded City of Gold. Initally he forced Ben to stay behind so he could live, but he stays instead and his last request is that Ben give him credit for the discovery. He is given partial credit for the discovery of the treasure at Ben's insistance.
Emily Appleton (Gates) (portrayed by Helen Mirren)
Emily is the mother of Ben Gates and ex-wife of Patrick. She is a professor at the University of Maryland, and she has an extensive knowledge of Native American history. She met Patrick during a treasure hunt, but their differences caused them to break up and not speak for 32 years. When Patrick arrives, she is less than pleased to see him. She translates the plank that Ben and his friends find at Buckingham Palace, which leads them to find the other half of the plank. Patrick is sent to have her translate it, though Mitch Wilkinson gets to her first, forcing her to lie to Patrick before she is kidnapped. Patrick tries to clear the air a bit between them, but she blows him off to protect him, although she slips in a clue about what's really going on that he and Ben decipher. At Mount Rushmore, she and Patrick are separated from the others in the cave, and it begins to be apparent that Patrick and Emily have fallen in love again.
Thomas Gates (portrayed by Joel Gretsch)
Thomas is Charles Gates' father, John Gates' great-great-grandfather, Patrick's great-great-great-grandfather, and Ben's great-great-great-great grandfather. Thomas appeared in both films. Thomas lived around Washington, D.C. In 1832, Charles Carroll told Thomas the story of the Templar Treasure and gave him the last remaining clue to finding it - "the secret lies with Charlotte." In 1848, Thomas was still trying to figure out the clue that had been given to him 16 years earlier. At this time, his brother James follows a series of letters their aunt, Eleanor, sent to their father, believing it leads to a treasure that is bigger than the gold of California. Thomas became known for his ability to solve puzzles. On April 14, 1865, just five days after the end of the Civil War, he is confronted by John Wilkes Booth and another member of the K.G.C. The present to him a cipher, and he immediately begins to decode it. Booth leaves the other man, and proceeds with his plans to assassinate Lincoln. Soon after, Thomas soon learns that the men who approached him were members of the K.G.C., and he stops decoding the cipher. The man takes a gun out and urges him to continued deciphering the code. Suddenly, news of Lincoln's assassination is heard and the people in the bar are forced to exit. The man continues to urge Thomas to finish deciphering the code. Thomas refuses, then throws the diary in the fire. The man shoots him, takes a burned page, and leaves. Thomas is left there with his son, Charles. His dying words to Charles are "the debt that all men pay..."

[edit] Gates Family

The chart below shows a quick overview of the Gates family, including Ben’s ancestors mentioned in the series of novels based on the movies, Changing Tides, Midnight Ride, and Uncharted.

Family Member Actor Appearances Generation Relationship to Ben
Benjamin Franklin Gates Nicolas Cage National Treasure,
National Treasure: Book of Secrets		 0 Himself
Abigail Chase Diane Kruger Girlfriend
Patrick Henry Gates Jon Voight National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets 1 Father
Emily Appleton Helen Mirren National Treasure: Book of Secrets Mother
John Adams Gates Christopher Plummer National Treasure 2 Grandfather
Charles Gates Billy Unger National Treasure: Book of Secrets, A Gates Family Mystery: Forever Free 3 Great-Grandfather
Thomas Gates Joel Gretsch National Treasure: Book of Secrets 4 Great-Great-Grandfather
Unknown No one yet No one yet 5 Great-Great-Great Grandfather
Thomas Gates Jason Earles National Treasure 6 Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather
Adam Benjamin Gates No one yet A Gates Family Mystery: Uncharted Unknown Distant Ancestor
Rebecca Gates A Gates Family Mystery: Uncharted Unknown Distant Ancestor
John Raleigh Gates No one yet A Gates Family Mystery: Midnight Ride Unknown Distant Ancestor
Samuel Gates No one yet A Gates Family Mystery: Changing Tides Unknown Distant Ancestor
William Gates A Gates Family Mystery: Changing Tides Distant Ancestor

[edit] Awards

[edit] National Treasure

[edit] Won

  • BMI Film & TV Awards (2005): BMI Film Music Award for Trevor Rabin

[edit] Nominated

  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (2005): Saturn Award for Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (2005): Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress (Diane Kruger)
  • Teen Choice Awards (2005): Teen Choice Award for Movie: Action/Adventure
  • Visual Effects Society Awards (2005): VES Award for Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture (Matthew Gratzner, Forest Fischer, Scott Beverly, Leigh-Alexandra Jacob, (For the treasure room))
  • World Stunt Awards (2005): Taurus Award for Best Overall Stunt by a Stunt Woman (Lisa Hoyle)
  • Young Artist Awards (2005): Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film - Drama
  • Young Artist Awards (2005): Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film, Supporting Young Actor (Hunter Gomez)[11]

[edit] National Treasure: Book of Secrets

[edit] Nominated

  • Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film (2007): Best Supporting Actress (Helen Mirren)
  • Golden Trailer Awards (2008): Golden Trailer for Best Motion/Title Graphics
  • MTV Movie Awards (2008): MTV Movie Award for Best Movie
  • Razzie Awards (2008): Razzie Award for Worst Actor (Nicolas Cage)
  • Razzie Awards (2008): Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor (Jon Voight)
  • Teen Choice Awards (2008): Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure (Diane Kruger)[12]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "NATIONAL TREASURE 3 Confirmed for Disney". mania.com. 2008-09-25. http://www.mania.com/national-treasure-3-confirmed-for-disney_article_87444.html. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  2. ^ "Bruckheimer on Pirates 4, Lone Ranger and National Treasure 3". comingsoon.net. 2008-11-05. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=50225. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  3. ^ "Jon Voight on National Treasure 3". Orlando Sentinel. 2009-03-26. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2009/03/jon-voight-on-national-treasure-3.html. Retrieved 2009-04-17. 
  4. ^ "National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets The Junior Novel". http://www.amazon.com/dp/142310627X/. Retrieved 2007-11-27. 
  5. ^ "Changing Tides (National Treasure)". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423108140/. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
  6. ^ "Midnight Ride (Gates Family Mystery)". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423108159/. Retrieved 2008-07-15. 
  7. ^ "Uncharted (Gates Family Mystery)". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423108752/. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  8. ^ "Westward Bound (Gates Family Mystery)". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423115724/. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  9. ^ "Forever Free (Gates Family Mystery)". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423116682/. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  10. ^ "Roaring In (Gates Family Mystery)". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423116690/. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  11. ^ IMDB Awards list for National Treasure
  12. ^ IMDB Awards list for National Treasure: Book of Secrets

[edit] External links

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National Treasure franchise
See also
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