Nicolas Cage on how he's similar to Ben Gates:

"One of the things that comes to mind is ancestors. In a lot of so-called primitive cultures there is a tremendous respect for our ancestors that we don’t see as much, for whatever the reason, in modern American culture. With Ben, I wanted to make it clear that probably because his grandfather, Christopher Plummer, knighted him at such an early age, he took it to heart and really believes, in a chivalrous way, that everything he is is on account of his ancestors. They’re not dead to him. They’re still there with him and he’s honoring them, and I like that about him. I try to embrace that in my own life. And, also, history. Because of playing Ben Gates, I really appreciate history now, and I also enjoy being in places where I feel the weight of past events. I like old architecture and old buildings, and if you use a little imagination, you can time travel."

On whether he'll make another movie with his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola:

"Last time I worked with Uncle Francis was Peggy Sue Got Married, and I was really happy with that... It’s been a long time. If he called, I would certainly like to work with him. And, I’m happy to see that he’s behind the camera again. I wrote him an email recently saying. 'The world needs more of your movies.' So, I’m excited to see what he does."

On whether there's already been talk of a third National Treasure and if there's interest in ancient Mexico and South America:

"Yeah, absolutely. My personal interest, if you go to Belize and you see pyramids, is that they were apparently doing brain surgery, if you look at some of the skulls. That, to me, is remarkable and really interesting. How did they know to do that? What were they doing with it? And did it work? It’s quite fascinating. That would be something, but that’s a different movie, I think."

Cage on producing the upcoming documentary One Train Later, about 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, outside of Nina Rota. 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. That's why I got involved with that."

On the impact of the writers' strike:

"I don't have any definite immediate work plans at this moment that I would be able to speak with certainty about, so I'm wide open as far as that goes until I'm ready to go public with something. In terms of the writing strike, I'm not a patented writer or in the guild. If I had something that I was involved with, it wouldn't really affect me being that I'm not a writer."

On the status of the upcoming Bangkok Dangerous:

"The Pang Brothers film is finished but it's looking for a release. I like that movie but I don't think it's the sort of movie that's necessarily comfortable for studios or even American audiences for that matter. It's an edgy film. It deals with an interracial relationship and it has difficult subject matter, but the Pang Brothers I think are gifted. The people that I consider my friends whose opinions I trust that I've shown the picture to think it's one of the best things I've done since The Weather Man, so they really like it. But who knows what's going to happen with that movie."

Cage on the magic of Jerry Bruckheimer:

"I think if you look at his logo, it's in the logo. He's always trying to capture lightning in a bottle or freeze lightning. He gets actors together whom he trusts and keeps you in a state of - I call it a high-wire state, or no-net productions where you never really know what the dialogue's going to be until the last minute. That's enormously frustrating. At the same time it give you a spontaneity and a buzz where everyone's charging and electric together. Then he captures it. I think the thought process is if it doesn't work, he'll do it again or he'll get more writers and he'll keep doing it until he gets it to work. But what is captured is a spontaneity or an energy, which is a lot of fun to watch. I think that's why we keep working together, because I know he'll give me great actors like Helen Mirren and Ed Harris and he cares about the product."

Nicolas Cage on the best Christmas gift he ever received:

"Hands down the best Christmas present I ever got, because it was a tool to stimulate my imagination - my father was in Italy, he was on sabbatical and I had a little toy car that was being driven by Pinocchio. For whatever the reason, Pinocchio's head fell off the day before Christmas. I played with it a little too roughly. My father picked up the head and he went into the garden and he planted it. I thought, ‘Why are you doing that?’ The next morning was this enormous thing that had grown in the garden. I ripped it open and it was a giant wooden Pinocchio. I was scratching my head trying to figure out how that grew. And then I started planting everything. I planted all my Hot Wheels. I had a little G.I. Joe slipper. I thought if I planted that, it would grow really big and I could put my sleeping bag in it. So he really got me thinking in an imaginative way at a young age."