FILM-BRITAIN/NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM JUNKET "Night at the Museum" cast talk about their memories of making the sequel

Record ID: 836568

  • Title: FILM-BRITAIN/NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM JUNKET "Night at the Museum" cast talk about their memories of making the sequel
  • Date: 17th December 2014
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 16, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, DAN STEVENS, SAYING: "I managed to keep the nose, which is just sort of lying in a drawer looking very sorry for itself. I wouldn't mind having that sword but they haven't sent it to me yet. Just if anyone's watching." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, OWEN WILSON, SAYING: "You know the cowboy boots that I wear in the movie, I actually wore those with Jackie Chan in "Shanghai Noon", so it was more that the movie borrowed my cowboy boots. The cowboy hat I would liked to have taken home but I didn't." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS, REBEL WILSON, SAYING: "I did, I actually took my hat that you see me in the poster wearing. And then the production's like you can't take that because they have rules that you're not supposed to take things. So I paid $650 for the hat. I don't know how much it's really worth, but that's what I paid for it and now I get to keep it. And you never know, if they do more "Night at the Museum" movies, at least I have the hat, it's ready to go, it's safe, it's in my cupboard."
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2015 12:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVA87FY9K094OI97OA5FH8O99X9A
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  • Story Text: The stars and director of "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" reflected on their experiences of working on the hugely popular series at the European press junket in London this week.
    The third, and possibly final, instalment of the comedy-adventure franchise sees the return of many familiar faces and welcomes some new additions to the cast.
    In "Secret of the Tomb", Ben Stiller's character, his teenage son and the museum's come-to-life characters finds themselves in London to save the decaying magical Egyptian tablet that animates the exhibitions. The ensemble cast includes Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, Ben Kingsley and the late Robin Williams.
    Shawn Levy, who has directed all three films, said the atmosphere on set always felt like being with a family: "I mean honestly everyday, with a cast like this, it's really fun, because these are all people who love the franchise like I do, so no one kind of shows up, if you're doing a movie like "Night at the Museum" it's not like you're punching the clock to just do your gig, there really is a sense of play on these sets. You know some actors would goof off between takes, some actors would take out a banjo and start strumming away. It really was a loose and very kind of playful atmosphere."
    British thespian Ben Kingsley, who is known for his dramatic roles on stage and on screen, told Reuters that he enjoyed acting opposite established comedians.
    "I think that you have to be very careful with your fellow actor not to pick up his or her rhythm, it can be very contagious, but if you're both playing the same rhythm, there's no tennis, there's no exchange at all, you neutralise each other," he said.
    "So I think that Ben Stiller and I took a great delight in being quite different, because he is 'Brooklyn', very relaxed, no royal protocol whatsoever, and I am the epitome of royalty so much so that I think that I'm a god, I'm descended from Ra the sun god. The Egyptian pharaohs of course did believe that, that was their core belief," he added.
    The "Night at the Museum" franchise has so far generated nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Each film is packed with special effects to bring the different historical personalities and creatures to life.
    Former "Downton Abbey" lead, Dan Stevens, takes on the role of the knight Sir Lancelot. He weighed in on his CGI-laden fight scenes: "Obviously, you know, fighting the dragon, fighting the triceratops, none of those things are quite real. There was a triceratops' skull that was sort of being wheeled at me at various points by these two sort of very weary stage hands. But yeah it's just, you know, it's play, it's fun, it's imagination, which is what these movies are all about really."
    Australian comic Rebel Wilson plays a night time security guard at the British Museum, who is unaware of the quest inside. Despite being one of the few actresses in the film, Wilson said she never felt excluded from the action.
    "I shared a trailer with Crystal the monkey, who is actually a girl, I know she plays a guy in this movie but she is female. And like when I was on set it was me and her as the only girls. But I just try to bring a little bit of girl power to the male ensemble here. But these guys are like so nice, so it was never like oh they're such a boys' club or anything. They're so nice. And I think it was cool when a girl was there, it was like different," she said.
    Given the hundreds of props and outfits used, it comes as no surprise that the cast were tempted to keep souvenirs. Dan Stevens admitted to taking his prosthetic nose home, but said he would have preferred Lancelot's sword. Owen Wilson, on the other hand, actually wore his own cowboy boots.
    But Rebel Wilson actually paid $650 for her hat: "I did, I actually took my hat that you see me in the poster wearing. And then the production's like you can't take that because they have rules that you're not supposed to take things. So I paid $650 for the hat. I don't know how much it's really worth, but that's what I paid for it and now I get to keep it. And you never know, if they do more "Night at the Museum" movies, at least I have the hat, it's ready to go, it's safe, it's in my cupboard."
    "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" opens in cinemas in the U.K. and U.S. on Friday (December 19). The credits for read "In loving memory of Mickey Rooney," and "For Robin Williams - the magic never ends."
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