Tagline: When the lights go off, the battle is on.
Night at the Museum: The Battle of Smithsonian movie storyline. In the sequel, the Museum of Natural History is closed down for upgrading and the exhibits are put into storage at the Federal Archives in Washington, D.C. Amy Adams will play an undetermined historical figure who has a crush on security guard Larry (Ben Stiller).
Original film featured single father Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), as he grudgingly accepts the supposedly menial graveyard shift as a security guard at the Natural History Museum. To his utter astonishment and disbelief, Larry watches in shock and awe as, one by one, the primeval beasts and storied icons that surround him stir magically to life – and total havoc ensues.
The fun begins as Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) has left behind the low-paying world of guarding museums to become a sought-after inventor of Daley Devices infomercial products. He seems to have it all – but something is missing in his life, something that draws him back to his old haunt, the Museum of Natural History, where he once had the magical night of a lifetime. There, he makes an unsettling discovery. His favorite exhibits, indeed some of his truest friends, have been deemed out-of-date. Packed into crates, they await shipment to the vast archives of the Smithsonian.
Their fate is unknown – that is, until Larry receives a distress call from the miniature cowboy Jedediah (Owen Wilson), who informs him of an impending disaster. It seems the newcomers have awoken their new digs, including the Egyptian ruler, Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), who’s in a particularly nasty mood after 3,000 years of slumber. Now, he and a trio of history’s most heinous henchmen – namely Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Napoleon Bonaparte (Alain Chabat) and Al Capone (Jon Bernthal) – are plotting to take over the museum (and then the globe), as they unleash the Army of the Underworld.
Speeding to the nation’s capital, Larry is clearly in over his head. But he’s got some impressive new friends – from the brilliant Albert Einstein to honest Abe Lincoln to the one exhibit who takes his breath way –the irrepressible Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), who spurs Larry to rediscover his missing his sense of fun and adventure. Along with his old buddies, including Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Octavius (Steve Coogan), Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), Attila The Hun (Patrick Gallagher) and the Neanderthals — Larry will stop at nothing to regain his friends and restore order to the National Mall, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Air and Space Museum, before the stroke of dawn.
Bigger Museum, Grander Adventure
The smash hit Night at the Museum raised a burning question that anyone who has ever entered a museum has wondered: what happens to all the displays in a museum when the lights go out and the visitors go home? The delightfully imaginative answer brought to life a host of irreverently funny, endearing and clever characters straight from history in an adventure that featured Neanderthals, Cowboys, U.S. Presidents, Dinosaurs and Easter Island statues. All came together with a night guard who was able to triumph for the first time in his life after discovering the power of knowledge and the pleasures of unexpected friendships.
But where could Larry Daley possibly go from there? For the filmmakers of Night at the Museum, if Larry was going to take another amazing journey they knew it had to be a big step up – in size, in adventure and in the stakes Larry would face. How do you get any more gargantuan than New York’s Museum of Natural History? Where could they find an even bigger museum, one that was teeming with an even more astonishing array of exhibits – from prehistoric creatures to medieval artworks to Space Age rockets – and where the potential for thrills, comedy and the ultimate test of Larry’s loyalty and courage would be off the charts if it all suddenly came to life?
There was only one answer. And it led straight to the capital of the United States and the only museum funded by we the taxpayers: the magnificent Smithsonian Institution. “We wanted everything we did in the first movie to be not only bigger but better in the second,” explains returning director Shawn Levy. “We wanted a journey for Larry that would be even more captivating, that would help him find his way back to the better self he got a glimpse of in Night at the Museum. Ben Stiller and I had always agreed that we wouldn’t continue this tale unless we had a great new story – so when the idea came up of taking Larry and his friends to the Smithsonian, we knew this was it. We couldn’t have been more excited.”
The Smithsonian upped the scale because its own scale is so marvelously massive. Considered a beacon of culture, education and exploration the world over, the Smithsonian was founded in 1846 with a mysterious $500,000 bequest from the British scientist James Smithson who, though he never stepped foot in the U.S., wanted the country to have a special place devoted to the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.” More than 150 years later, the Smithsonian Institution is a centerpiece in our nation’s capital, the largest museum complex on earth and a repository for everything from ancient bones to vital U.S. historical documents to such cultural artifacts as Archie Bunker’s chair. Some 25 million visitors each year are dazzled and excited by all that lies within, from the awe-inspiring paintings in the National Gallery to the vintage planes in the National Air & Space Museum.
For the filmmakers, the very notion of using the Smithsonian not just as the backdrop but also as the very core of a grand comic adventure was like letting hungry kids loose in a candy shop. It reignited the collective passion of the entire original team, including screenwriters Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, who adapted the beloved children’s book by Milan Trenc, infusing it with their own spirited humor to create the first Night at the Museum.
As far as Lennon and Garant were concerned, the larger the museum, the greater the opportunities for magical encounters, surprise battles and irresistible storytelling. “Unlike the Museum of Natural History, which is all under one roof, the Smithsonian is spread out all over the National Mall,” muses Garant. “We were faced with the extraordinary challenge of figuring out how to tell a story that would move through the entire complex without it being one non-stop chase.”
Ultimately, the writing duo narrowed the bulk of the story’s action down to a few of the most alluring areas of the Smithsonian’s museum complex: The Air and Space Museum (the most visited museum in the world), the Smithsonian Castle, and The Lincoln Memorial. But what would bring Larry, a die-hard New Yorker, to D.C.? When Lennon and Garant had last seen Larry, he was contented to have finally become something important in life – a night guard with knowledge of the Museum of Natural History beyond what anyone could imagine.
But as they considered what might have happened to him since, they figured he would have aimed for greater success. As the inventor behind Daley Devices, Larry is now feeling more lost than ever, having pursued fame and money while leaving behind friendship, fun and purpose. Likewise, the exhibits he left behind in the museum have also undergone a reversal of fortune. Once beloved by children around the world, they’ve fallen out of favor in these days of high-tech holograms, and, as Larry discovers, are now boxed up to be shipped away and stored deep within the recesses of the Smithsonian’s archives.
This scenario kicked off the story. Then, the two scribes let the Smithsonian itself, which they roamed through day after day, hall after hall, like detail-obsessed tourists, inspire the action from there. Notes Lennon: “When we wrote Night at the Museum, all we thought about was writing a fun, action-packed movie everyone would love. We took that same approach in thinking about how to use the Smithsonian as our setting.”
Some of the Smithsonian’s most popular subjects sparked the writers’ imaginations in totally new directions. The Air and Space Museum’s tribute to adventurous aviator Amelia Earhart and the cherry red Lockheed Vega (in which she made her record-breaking flight across the Atlantic) transported the writers — and subsequently Larry — into an unforeseen romance. When Amelia’s statue comes to life she becomes not only Larry’s savvy sidekick but also the unexpected romantic foil who reawakens his sense of fun. “From the moment we saw the Amelia Earhart display in the Air & Space Museum, we knew she would be the female character who helps Larry find his way home, literally and metaphorically,” says Lennon.
Garant and Lennon had a blast with Amelia’s moxie-filled banter, marked by a vintage love witty turns of phrase, and peppered with “boffos,” “chin ups” and “skidaddles.” “We thought about her talking sort of like how Katharine Hepburn might talk in a Howard Hawks movie,” explains Garant. “It was so fun to write dialogue like that from the grand movies of that era.”
Amelia quickly becomes the linchpin of the story, making a major impact on the future direction of Larry’s life in a single unforgettable night, one that unfortunately can’t last, no matter how close it brings them. Remarks director/producer Shawn Levy: “In developing the new story, I think we brought out a lot of the traits that people loved about the first movie – it’s funny, warm-hearted and full of spectacle.
But we also go beyond that, towards something new. This time it’s not just a guy running away from exhibits that have come to life. It’s emotionally more interesting because the love story between Larry and Amelia becomes the heart of the movie. Our goal was to make the sequel more astounding and adventurous, but also to deepen the themes and relationships, and this screenplay pulls it off. Amelia’s a spitfire and she and Larry have a wonderful, bittersweet romance because they know she will be wax again when morning comes.”
Also fun for the filmmakers was the chance to have some of history’s greatest minds and bravest adventurers meet. “It’s amazing to have the Tuskegee Airmen, who were so important to American history, have the opportunity to thank Amelia Earhart for blazing the way towards breaking down barriers of prejudice in flying,” says Levy. “These are conversations that never could have happened in real life but they bring great potential for comedy as well as a little historical inspiration.”
Larry definitely needs a partner with some navigational skills as he finds himself in a world where anything – and anyone – can and does come to life whenever he turns the corner. Sure, Larry has seen statues walk and models move but never has he found himself inside the action of some of the world’s most famous paintings and photographs. “The new element of art coming to life in the gallery was a particular thrill for me as an art lover,” says Levy. “You have everything from the American Gothic farmland landscape to Edward Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks,’ to the VJ Day photo by [Alfred] Eisenstaedt. It was a thrill to leave the real world and go into these virtual worlds, inside some of my own favorite works of art. We also have famous sculptures come to life: ‘The Thinker’ by Rodin, a Degas ballerina and lots of other creatures, including a massive Octopus.”
Fueled by the new exhibits in DC, we meet a host of new characters, joined by favorites from the first film in their ‘Battle for the Smithsonian.’ Chief among these is the most nefarious villain Larry has yet encountered: revivified Egyptian Pharaoh Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), the older, meaner brother of the first film’s Ahkmenrah.
The diabolical pharaoh intends to turn the Smithsonian into a staging ground for his Underworld Army to take over the world, recruiting his own multi-generational “axis of evil” to lay siege to the museum. The ill-doers enlisted include Ivan the Terrible, the notorious Russian Tsar who believes he has been terribly misunderstood; French military genius Napoleon Bonaparte, who continues to suffer from a bit of a height issue; and a youthful American gangster with an itchy trigger finger named Al Capone.
Another newcomer who plays a key role is the ill-fated Civil War leader General Custer. Defeated at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, he has apparently suffered from low self-esteem ever since. “We chose Custer because we knew we wanted the anti-Teddy Roosevelt,” says Lennon, “someone who gave terrible advice and, despite his best intentions, wouldn’t be helpful at all!”
With such charismatic men of action and the halls of the Smithsonian to play with, Garant, Lennon and Levy were free to envision wilder, bolder set pieces. “It just doesn’t get much more fun than all the ideas that can come out of the Smithsonian,” says Levy. “You have the Air and Space Museum where every airplane, every model and every rocket comes to life and wants to blast out of the museum. You have a chase sequence inside a photograph. You have a scene where Amelia Earhart steals the Wright Brothers’ airplane, busts out of the Air and Space Museum and crash lands it in the Smithsonian Castle. And then, you have the big battle royale, which is the climactic battle for the Smithsonian, in which all the characters we know and love — our good-guy army of Larry, Amelia, Attila the Hun, Sacajawea, the Thinker, Venus, General Custer and the Tuskegee Airmen — face off against Kahmunrah, Ivan, Napoleon, Capone and the rogue army in one epic last stand!”
Levy concludes: “This was the kind of story that Ben and I both had in mind when we talked about where to go next with Larry Daley. It was full of smart, sharp comedy, raucous action and a big heart – and then we matched that with an exceptional cast. Since day one, Ben and I were united by the same voracious appetite to put together the best actors and the best craftsmen to tell this story. With Ben joined not only by Amy Adams but also people like Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Bill Hader, and Ricky Gervais, — all brilliant improvisers, all comedy writers in their own right, all guys who know how to go offroad in surprising ways – the creative pedigree in front of the camera is as great as the creativity among the crew, and that’s what makes this movie so special.”
On Exhibit: Characters New And Familiar
Ben Stiller As Larry Daley, Former Night Guard
In the original Night at the Museum, Ben Stiller portrayed a night guard whose new job at the Museum of Natural History pushes him to discover his true potential as he attempts to survive a night in which every exhibit in the museum comes to life . . . and comes after him. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: THE BATTLE AT THE SMITHSONIAN finds Larry in an entirely new situation. He’s become a success. As an infomercial inventor, he’s attained riches and even a smattering of fame, but he seems to have lost something vital that he can’t quite put his finger on. But as soon as he gets drawn into this new and life-changing adventure at the Smithsonian — he’s reminded of the importance of friendship and just how great following your wildest ideas can be.
Shawn Levy knew that the believability of Larry’s second adventure would hinge once again on Stiller. After going on to direct and star in one of 2008’s most acclaimed R-rated comedy hits Tropic Thunder, Stiller was excited to return to the more innocent world of the museum.
“Ben and I were really thrown into the first movie barely knowing each other, says Shawn Levy, “but now there’s a lot of trust and comfort between us – which gives you more freedom. There was a sense of going into something even bigger for both of us. And Ben has a brilliantly quick comedic mind which you know is going to produce all kinds of golden nuggets.”
For Stiller the chance to reprise the role of Larry inside the Smithsonian was a childhood fantasy realized. “The Smithsonian was always my favorite museum,” he says. “I’ll always remember going there as a kid because they had the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek there. But this time Larry faces even stiffer odds, as he battles to free his friends from the perils of ancient evil. “This time Larry isn’t amazed by the exhibits coming to life because he knows what to expect,” Stiller notes. “So he already knows how to deal with these strange characters and creatures popping up out of nowhere.”
There was also another big draw for Stiller in Larry’s new adventure: a love connection with one of history’s most alluring and mysterious women, Amelia Earhart. “The first movie was kind of lonely because it was Larry against the exhibits,” Stiller says. “But this time Larry has someone to run around the Smithsonian with and that made it so much more fun.”
The only thing Stiller wasn’t looking forward to was a reunion with the Capuchin monkeys who proved so pesky – and endangered his nose – on the first film. “The monkeys are back but I was only semi-excited about that because I had traumatic memories from the first experience,” Stiller quips. “But I guess it’s like childbirth in that you forget about the pain and find yourself doing it all over again. I will say that Crystal is a true professional but she does not know how to ‘fake’ a punch.”
The thing that really inspired Stiller for a second go-round was the spirit of the whole enterprise — and the inspiration that might come of it. “For me, it was great to hear that the first movie actually inspired more people to go to museums. It’s really nice to hear that kids are getting excited about museums in a time when there are so many other distractions,” he says.
Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart, Aviation Pioneer
Few women symbolize the all-out spirit of adventure more than Amelia Earhart, the aviation groundbreaker who changed history with her stereotype-shattering solo flights that affected generations of women. As famous for her smarts, wit and fierce independence as she was for her daring flying skills, Amelia became known as “Lady Lindy” after becoming the first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic. She was at the height of her popularity when she disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 – but has continued to be a beloved heroine around the world… and inside the Smithsonian.
Amelia will come to mean even more to Larry, as she makes a surprise landing in his heart during his amazing night at the Smithsonian. To play Amelia in style, Shawn Levy knew he would need an actress with extra helpings of charisma and class, which he found in abundance in Amy Adams, the popular young star who recently received her second Academy Award® nomination for John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt.
“Amy brings a great deal of wit and a real sense of life to the role of Amelia Earhart,” says Levy. “She’s one of the coolest, strongest female characters I’ve seen in a movie in a long, long time.” Adds Ben Stiller: “She also brings a great prettiness to the movie.”
Adams simply could not resist the chance to playfully recreate such a historic heroine. “Amelia Earhart is a true inspiration with her daring and her strength. She makes a perfect foil to Larry, because she pushes him to remember who he really is, to see what’s really important to him and to never let opportunities pass him by,” she says. “I loved researching Amelia but this is definitely not a biopic! I play a kind of dolled up version of who Amelia was with an emphasis on her coolest qualities.”
She continues, “Most people remember Amelia as the woman pilot who tragically got lost over the Pacific, but there’s so much more to her. In a time when people needed something to believe in, she became the hope of the nation. She represented this tremendous optimism and had a great effect on people that way – and now she’s doing it again with Larry.”
Indeed, Amelia is constantly imploring Larry to find his “moxie.” And just what is this mysterious moxie? Adams defines it as “the courage to go forward with complete conviction – no matter what.”
Meanwhile, Amelia has her own reasons for wanting to become a part of Larry’s dangerous mission to free his museum friends. “She wants to seize this opportunity for adventure and live this one night she’s got to the fullest,” Adams explains. Still, Adams had to steel her own courage for the scenes in which Amelia does what she knows best – flying vintage planes out of the Air & Space Museum. “Ironically, I’m afraid of flying,” laughs Adams. “But I had a lot of fun in the scene where we get to wing walk on the Wright Flyer. I might not be as physically adventurous as Amelia Earhart but I’m not afraid to take chances in life, either.”
Just as Amelia Earhart capitalizes on every last minute of thrills and exhilaration on her one night of life, Adams made the most of what she says was an extremely joyful production. “I had the biggest blast on this film,” she says. “I got to jitterbug, I got to dance with a Degas ballerina, I got to imagine Abraham Lincoln coming to life. I got to work with an amazing cast. It was as cool as it gets.”
Hank Azaria as Kahmunrah, An Egyptian Pharaoh In a Funk
The big trouble at the Smithsonian begins when the magical scroll that brings museum exhibits to life awakens Kahmunrah, the blustery, bigheaded and bitter brother of Akhmenrah, the Pharaoh Larry befriended in New York’s Museum of Natural History. In a funk after his 3000 year slumber, Kahmunrah is now poised to bring his long-held dream to fruition: opening the Gates of the Underworld and unleashing the armies within – even if he has to do it in what some uninformed people consider to be…a skirt.
To play Kahmunrah, Shawn Levy chose Hank Azaria, the award-winning actor with an extraordinary talent for transforming himself into a wide range of characters on stage, television and screen as well as performing an amusing array of voices for such animated hits as The Simpsons. The film marks the fourth time Azaria has starred with Ben Stiller, having appeared with him in Along Came Polly, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and Mystery Men. Says Stiller of the choice: “Hank can basically do anything with voices and characterizations, and with Kahmunrah he found the perfect balance between playing a truly evil villain and being really funny, too.”
Azaria sums up his character as “the one guy you wish never woke up, an ancient villain bent on world domination. He was denied the throne and now he couldn’t be happier to have a second chance to cause menace since things didn’t go too well for him in his previous lifetime.” He continues: “He’s a lot of fun to play because he’s so arch and evil and he’s always making these large pronouncements. He has a kind of Boris Karloff delivery, where he’s trying very hard to be scary but in the modern world it comes off as a bit more like amusing. The trick was to be menacing and silly all at the same time.”
Decked out in a lavish “king of the world” outfit, including a massive headdress that nearly toppled Azaria, bejeweled neck armor and Kahmunrah’s infamous tunic (it’s not a skirt!), Azaria got a kick out of trying to keep Ben Stiller’s Larry Daley out of his way. “I was actually trying to make Ben laugh during the takes,” says Azaria, “because I knew if I could get through to him, I was doing pretty well. Ben’s such a funny guy and part of the great charm of this movie is watching him react as these historical figures come to life in such hilarious ways.”
Historic Henchmen: Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat and Jon Bernthal as Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Al Capone
In his attempt to take control of the Smithsonian and eventually the entire free world, Kahmunrah recruits a trio of terrors from among the museum’s exhibits – namely Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon Bonaparte and Al Capone. Troublesome as these three men were to the world, Shawn Levy wanted to bring them back to life with a more comic emphasis on their flaws and foibles, and thus it was that he cast three talented comedians in the roles. These guys might have once been pure evil, but after years of being frozen in time as statues, paintings and photographs, their ruthlessness is a little bit rusty.
Christopher Guest takes on Ivan the Terrible, who swears his name has been misinterpreted. The one-time “Saturday Night Live” cast member and star of This is Spinal Tap, has become known as the master of the so-called “mockumentary,” having written, directed and starred in such acclaimed comedies as Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. He’s played all manner of unusual characters, but certainly not anyone quite like Ivan, who resents his rep as a tyrant.
“He really was a very nasty guy,” notes Guest, “but I play him comedically, as a largerthan- life, psychotically crazy Russian guy who yells at people. It’s not like any role I’ve done before but that’s what made it a lot of fun, joining this quartet of megalomaniacs with Capone, Napoleon and Kahmunrah.”
Hank Azaria says that Guest was nearly foolproof at cracking him up. “His accent is somehow highly accurate, extremely scary and absolutely ridiculous at the same time,” says Azaria. “I ruined many a take laughing at him.”
Taking on an equally funny version of the purportedly petite Napoleon is Hollywood newcomer Alain Chabat, one of France’s most acclaimed comedy stars and an esteemed writer, director and producer in his native country. “Alain is a huge French star but he came to L.A. and really fought for this part,” recalls Levy. “It was a great opportunity to have Napoleon played by a real Frenchman.”
Chabat went to town sending up his legendary countryman who, as the Emperor of France, had such a big inferiority complex he became one of Europe’s most power hungry conquerors. “I play Napoleon as a short-tempered, really nervous, very loud, little man,” Chabat laughs, “with a very huge hat and some height issues. Basically, these three villains each have a lot of ego and a lot of attitude.”
Chabat was in awe watching the production unfold. “The script was incredible, there are so many things happening on each page, with funny scene after funny scene,” he says. “Then to see the movie growing as we started shooting was amazing. You had these huge sets and fantastical characters and these great comic actors, then special effects – as you say, it was the whole shebang. Shawn Levy had remarkable energy and always had new ideas. He’s a wonderful man but I don’t think he ever slept!”
Rounding out the trio is Jon Bernthal, a fast-rising young star best known for the Emmy®-nominated sit-com “The Class.” In the notorious role of Chicago gangland boss Al Capone, Bernthal leaps out of a photograph full of more bravado and tough talk than he can necessarily back up.
“Ben and I both loved Jon’s audition,” says Levy. “He’s got a great vibe and a great face and just the right mix of toughness and comedy.”
Although there have been many screen depictions of the iconic Capone, Bernthal saw himself as starting out fresh. “This is such a different kind of story and I really wanted to find the fun in Al,” he explains. “I wanted to play on this idea that Al’s extremely intense and takes himself way too seriously. Also, unlike most of the characters in the movie, Al Capone isn’t a statue or sculpture originally but a photograph in the museum, so I kept his movements kind of posed.”
Bernthal especially loved getting to join up with a whole evil ensemble. “The best thing about being in this movie was definitely the people I got to work with,” he sums up. “Shawn and Ben are incredible artists. Christopher Guest and Hank Azaria are two of my favorite actors ever and Alain Chabat is a genius I never knew about. And then on top of the really funny stuff, you’ve got a story that would excite anyone’s imagination. For me, this movie was a dream come true.”
Bill Hader as General Custer, Having Another Last Stand
Another new friend Larry Daley makes at the Smithsonian is a man who remains best known for his biggest failure: General Custer, the Civil War military leader whose loss at the Battle of Little Bighorn would forever be known as Custer’s Last Stand. Playing Custer as a man trying to get back in touch with his courage is one of today’s hottest comic talents, Bill Hader, a leading member of the current “Saturday Night Live” cast and a star of numerous comedy films, including Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder.
“I knew as soon as I read the script I wanted to be a part of this movie,” says Hader. “It’s like the first movie only times one thousand. It’s just huge. The fun thing about all these historical characters who come to life is that they’re not just caricatures – they each have their own arc and everybody, including General Custer, kind of sees things in a new way by the end.” Hader researched Custer’s fascinating life — from his studies at West Point to his skirmishes with the Lakota tribe — letting the character evolve in a larger-than-life direction. “I wanted to ground him in reality but at the same time, make it light and fun. You can’t have this kind of mustache and not want to have fun,” he adds. “Truth was that Custer was an insanely vain guy. So it makes sense that he would be so self-conscious about his downfall. And what’s great is that Larry can finally help him get over it.”
One of the biggest challenges for Hader came in mounting General Custer’s trademark horse. “I hadn’t ridden a horse since I was 11,” he confesses. “Ironically, the horse was named Ben. The first time I met him, we were surrounded by people dressed as cavemen, Huns and Tuskegee Airmen, and the horse was not happy. Thankfully, the horse guys helped us both to relax.”
Best of all for Hader was the chance to work with so many comic greats. “Watching guys like Hank Azaria and Christopher Guest is a comedy geek’s wildest dream,” he muses. They’re Back! Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, and More Come To Life Again
“It feels good to be back,” says Owen Wilson, one of the many original stars in Night at the Museum who return for this all new adventure. Wilson reprises the role of Jedediah, the miniature cowboy from the Museum of Natural History’s collection – now being held captive at the Smithsonian.
Wilson continues: “We all had such a good time playing these wonderful characters in the first movie, we all became great friends, and it was exciting to see family audiences respond so well to it. So it was easy to return. This story is a continuation of all the character’s paths, but it’s also a much bigger movie and you can see that Shawn has really grown as a director.”
The actor also confesses that he still has a soft spot for the inches-tall Wild West buckaroo. “He’s just a little cowboy who can barely be heard screaming against the injustices of the world,” muses Wilson. “What’s great is that you can’t be too over-the-top when playing a character this minute.”
Trading witty barbs with Wilson again is the equally diminutive Roman General Octavius, played by British comedy star Steve Coogan. “Owen and I developed this kind of riff with each other in the first movie and we take it even further this time,” he notes. “Our characters also get to see a few more action-packed moments and play their own pivotal role in the battle against Kahmunrah. The best part was that Shawn gave Owen and I a lot of leeway to really improvise and add funny ideas.”
In one of Octavius’ most helmut-raising moments in Washington D.C., he encounters a White House squirrel, who appears like a gargantuan dragon to the miniature man. “What Octavius sees in that squirrel is a huge, furry, dinosaur! But he takes control of the situation in a great way,” says Coogan.
Another character without whom Shawn Levy felt there could no second adventure is Larry Daley’s own inspirational hero, Teddy Roosevelt, played with the inimitable comic verve of Robin Williams. This time around, Williams portrays the outspoken 26th President of the United States in several different incarnations, from his wax statue in New York to an oversized bust in D.C.
“To be back as Teddy is wonderful,” says Williams. “I’ve never done a sequel before so I saw it as a gift to have the chance to get back into the character of this remarkable man. There’s something empowering and exhilarating about playing this dynamic human being who was not only a President but a botanist, a naturalist, a hunter, an author, a great cook and, according to his wife, a pretty good kisser.”
He continues: “I’m a big fan of history – and of not repeating it. I love that this movie might get kids to ask who was Amelia Earhart or Teddy Roosevelt, and realize they’re not just statues but were real people with fascinating personalities.”
The new environment also was a big draw for Williams. “The Smithsonian is the next step up in grandeur,” he says. “The idea of all the stuff in there, from the paintings in the art gallery to the planes in the Air & Space Museum — all coming to life — gives you an endless canvas to play with.”
Mizuo Peck, who returns as the Shoshone guide Sacajawea, says that this time around there was a big difference. “This time we’re the good guys battling the bad guys at the Smithsonian,” she explains. “Also, this time Sacajawea gets some action and gets to kick some butt with a bow and arrow, so I really enjoyed that. It was awesome to have so many great new characters and actors.”
Similarly, Patrick Gallagher couldn’t wait to be back in Attila the Hun’s garb – despite it being some 40 pounds of yak fur, leather and metal. “I had so much fun the first time, I was excited to do it again,” he says. “But if that one was big, this one is enormous. But it’s great for me because the Huns get to be heroes in one of the biggest battles at the Smithsonian.”
Larry Daley is aggrieved to run into one particular character again – his former museum boss, the pesky, punctilious Dr. McPhee, played as only Ricky Gervais, master of the unabashedly annoying person, can. “Dr. McPhee remains a man who is blissfully unaware not only of what goes on at night in the museum but in all aspects of his life. He has absolutely no sense of humor, even though he thinks he has one,” explains Gervais. “I think he’s even odder this time, which makes him great fun to play.”
He adds: “The best part of being Dr. McPhee was trying to be so strange as to really put Ben Stiller off. That was the most fun in the world. My whole goal was to make Ben say ‘That’s ridiculous.’ But of course deep down, Dr. McPhee likes Larry and he feels like they’re starting to become friends. After all, Larry is probably the only person who tolerates his funny little ways.”
Also back to torment Larry is the Capuchin monkey Dexter, the Brazilian primate who is played by returning monkey stars Squirt and Crystal under the aegis of animal trainers Tom Gunderson and Anthony Suffredini. Levy notes that his primate actors continue to impress. “I do believe Crystal is the greatest simian actress in the world. She plays dual roles – both Dexter, the monkey from New York and Able, the Space Monkey from the Smithsonian, which made her work as complicated as anyone’s in the film!”
The Largest Museum In The World
When the filmmakers first got the idea for NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN, they knew their first battle was going to be trying to gain access to a museum complex that is securely protected as part of the U.S. capitol, not to mention a massive museum that has never allowed feature film cameras to breach any of its many doors.
Eventually, the production was given unprecedented permission to shoot scenes in the Smithsonian, but with a caveat: they had to do it during business hours, because the Smithsonian closes for no man or movie production. “It was basically like doing live theatre when we shot there,” laughs Levy, “because Ben would have to do scenes for the camera with several hundred people watching just a few yards away.” Adds Stiller: “It was actually a ton of fun, like doing a live show at an amusement park.”
It was all well and good to shoot some scenes in the Smithsonian, but in order to wage destructive battles, wreck general havoc and even fly planes through the museum halls, the production needed a far more flexible and far less fragile space. In essence, what Levy needed was to build functional, floor-to-ceiling replicas of the Air & Space Museum, and the Castle – places that have taken a century to create – in mere months.
To tackle this truly outsized task, Levy once again recruited Claude Paré, the production designer who had brought New York’s Museum of Natural History to life so majestically in the first movie. “Claude did so many amazing things for our first movie, it’s hard to believe that with this one he takes it to a whole new level,” says Levy.
The scale was so massive, that just finding a place to build the sets was a challenge. “The main issue was that we needed a set for the Air & Space Museum that could house the rockets because I knew I didn’t want them to just be CG,” Levy explains. “A soundstage wouldn’t give us enough space, so we had to rent a shipyard where they build ferries because that was the only place large enough to accommodate some of the biggest sets ever created.” He continues: “Inside, Claude’s team recreated everything from the surface of the moon to the Apollo lunar rovers to Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega and the Wright Flyer. Everything was built to scale and everything matches the real thing, from the color of the carpet to the light fixtures. Claude recreated the National Mall landmark known as the Smithsonian Castle, which our rogues use as their gothic hideout, and built our own version of the Lincoln Memorial. It doesn’t get much more massive.”
The cast was blown away by the lengths that Paré went to make the fantastical world of the movie feel so downright real. “The sets were unbelievable,” says Amy Adams, “so huge, so full of details and so cool. To have all this to work with as actors was just magical.” Quips Christopher Guest: “I didn’t even realize they were sets for days – I thought we were in a museum!”
Still, in the beginning, even Paré was intimidated by the task. “It was pretty terrifying to grasp the scope of all that had to be reproduced,” he admits. “I knew it would be an amazing challenge.” Paré began his mission by taking the museum tour of a lifetime – spending an entire week behind-the-scenes at the Smithsonian and taking extensive notes on everything he took in, while letting it all fire up his imagination. “I saw the history of the world before my eyes,” he says. “All the civilizations, eras and artifacts and they’re kept with so much care. I even was allowed in the archives where they have the equivalent of ten football fields of shelving of artifacts that will never be on display. I saw the space suits and equipment used by the astronauts who went to the moon. It was an astonishing experience.”
From the get-go, he knew the piece de resistance for his design team would be the Air & Space Museum, which would indeed be one of the largest sets ever created: a 2-story set, 80 feet tall by 360 feet long, replicating the same spectacular steel-and-glass architecture of the original. Many of the exhibits within were built from scratch based on sketches, but some were replicated with real vintage planes, including an F104 fighter jet that was dismantled for shipping and reassembled on the set.
Set decorator Lin Macdonald worked closely with Paré to rebuild many of the historic planes. She was especially awestruck by the Wright Flyer. “It’s made entirely out of fabric and very thin wood,” she muses. “It’s amazing but you couldn’t walk on wings like that, so we rebuilt it out of fiberglass and then upholstered it to look like fabric. Underneath it was strong as steel.”
Similarly, Amelia Earhart’s famed red Lockheed Vega amazed Macdonald in its frailty. “It was made out of plywood and it’s terrifying to think she flew across the Atlantic in that! We worked from models and photos to recreate it as closely as possible to the original given the scenes that we needed to accomplish with it,” says Macdonald. Adds Paré: “Amelia’s Vega is a magnificent piece. The dashboard is accurate, the propeller really spins. But detail that aviation specialists will notice is off is that the door opens on the wrong side, but we had to do that to get the best shots when the plane lands in Central Park.”
Inside the art gallery paintings and photographs come to life, creating more challenges for Paré, who designed bare bones sets – including one for the 1945 Times Square of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic V-Day photo of an ecstatic sailor ravishing a nurse entitled “The Kiss.” Computer graphics (CG) would later create a world teeming with celebrating, jitterbugging, horn-blowing soldiers. “Using storyboards, animatics and consultation with the visual effects team, we were able to determine exactly what we needed to build and where to leave room for cameras and motion control tracks, since most of those scenes were done in CG,” Paré explains. The Castle was a favorite for Paré because it is so intensely atmospheric. “We wanted to make those sets look truly grand, so we used a more free interpretation of what’s inside the Smithsonian’s Castle. We played a lot with the finishes, using real slate with a glaze of sepia tone to blend into the building’s gothic architecture,” he explains.
Finally, having struck the sets from the first film, Paré actually had to go back to square one again and completely rebuild the central hall of the Museum of Natural History — like déjà vu all over again. “Even though we had to rebuild it completely, as soon as Sacajawea and Teddy Roosevelt and all the classic characters entered the set, it felt like home again,” notes Paré.
For all the work he and his accomplished crew put in, Paré is quite clear that his sets, like the museum, only come to life when the right magic happens. “A set is just construction until the cast steps onto it,” he says. “Ben Stiller and this amazing cast bring everything to life in part by their performances. They ultimately turned these sets into something real.”
The task of capturing all of this scale along with the kinetic energy of the movie, while leaving room for extensive CG effects to be seamlessly woven in, fell to cinematographer John Schwartzman. Nominated for an Oscar for his work on Seabiscuit, Schwartzman also honed his adventure chops on National Treasure: Book of Secrets and was excited to find ways to represent such massive spaces filled with so much action on the screen. “The scale of this movie was a thrilling challenge,” he says. “And then you have to account for the fact that you’re dealing with a combination of live action characters and characters which are either going to be created digitally later, or actors who are going to be shrunk down to one twenty forth of their real size! It was a very interesting and fun process.”
The key was to be extremely prepared… and then be ready to let go into total spontaneity, notes Schwartzman. “Comedy is elusive and you can’t always repeat it, so the secret was to keep the cameras moving. When the actors are on fire, you don’t want to lose that momentum. We created an infrastructure so that we would be able to move from place to place very quickly. It paid off in spades.”
One of the most spectacular live-action shots that Schwartzman captured comes at the climax of the film, when Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega makes a shocking landing in New York’s Central Park — and taxis right to the entrance of the Museum of Natural History. “I want people to know that was not computer trickery,” says Shawn Levy. “We shipped our full-scale replica of the Vega to New York, closed down Central Park West for the night, and John’s team lit everything up to create an amazing image you could never see in real life. I have to put it up there with one of the most magical nights of filming I’ve ever had.”
Costumes From A Plethoria Of Periods
Imagine time traveling from prohibition-era Chicago to ancient Egypt to 16th Century Russia to a 1960s NASA spacecraft in the blink of an eye and you get some sense of the task confronting costume designer Marlene Stewart on NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN. Unlike most films that take place in a single period or, at most, a few, Stewart faced a cornucopia of costumes from across the spectrum of human history. For Stewart, who actually holds a degree in History, the challenge couldn’t have been more fun. Having worked with Ben Stiller recently on the comedy hit Tropic Thunder, Stiller recommended her for the job. “I was really looking forward to working with Ben again,” she recalls. “Then, when I read the script, I saw it as a dream opportunity to do something really different, a kind of fantasy take on semi-accurate historical costumes. I loved researching and investigating the different periods in history and exploring different textiles from those eras – and then getting to put our own twist on things.”
Stewart worked with each individual actor to meld her costume ideas to their personalities, as well. “I see my job as not only matching the director’s vision and the production designer’s sets, but also the actors’ approach to their characters,” she says. Case in point: the fictional pharaoh Kahmunrah’s outfit, a magnificently over-the-top example of Stewart’s diverse talents. To mold the costume to Hank Azaria’s body, she did a laser scan of the actor and built the armor directly to fit, a process that took months. “It’s probably my favorite costume,” she says. “I took a lot of real elements – the typical Pharaoh shapes, the armor actually worn during ceremonial rites at that time, the mythical Egyptian creatures like the Horus – and mixed them all up in ways I thought would be historical, yet maintain the sophistication audiences expect in a contemporary film,” Stewart explains. “There’s both a lot of detail and a lot of eye candy. As for the headdress, Hank had to practice the balance of wearing it, so he didn’t just topple over!”
Stewart also enjoyed going back in American history, especially for Amelia Earhart’s classic jodhpurs-and-shearling pilot’s garb and the sequences inside Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph of Times Square on V-Day. “I love 30s and 40s clothing,” she notes, “and we scoured Los Angeles’s costume houses to find some real treasures.”
For Christopher Guest’s turn as Ivan the Terrible, Stewart again took her cues from history. “We looked at some prints in books and some paintings that were actually done in the 1800s and used that kind of classic medieval silhouette,” she says. “But then we did coats with hundreds of tiny, laser-cut nail heads, so it’s kind of a couture take on Ivan the Terrible!” Perhaps the centerpiece of the costumes, says Stewart, was the one that started it all: Larry Daley’s basic night guard uniform. “It’s a very simple suit, yet it’s a design that blends in perfectly with his character,” observes Stewart. “When Larry puts that costume back on, it’s a classic moment.”
Smithsonian Alive: The Effects
When the magical tablet from the Museum of Natural History finds its way to the Smithsonian, something enchanted happens as a whole new host of exhibits come to life. This was made possible by the masterful digital magic of a visual effects team headed by Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Deleeuw, who created the CG for such characters as “Rexy” in the first Night at the Museum, and the award-winning effects house Rhythm & Hues. Together, they would be responsible for making a world in which marble statues sprint, century-old plywood airplanes soar, national landmarks speak and the Egyptian Underworld bursts open inside the Smithsonian Castle.
Despite his involvement in Larry Daley’s previous adventure, Deleeuw was stunned by the dazzling array of effects the second one would require. “My first reaction to BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN was simply how large the film was going to be,” he says. “Then I took a trip to the Smithsonian that revealed how even more limitless the ideas could be. Touring the National Mall and seeing the Lincoln Memorial, and really feeling Lincoln’s influence on the country, it was very moving to think we were going to bring all of that to life.”
He continues: “Aside from the sheer size of the film, another thing that’s new is that there’s more of a fantasy element. Not only do you have the exhibits coming to life as before, but then you also have the Gates of the Underworld opening, which opens up possibilities for all kinds of super-cool stuff like warriors with heads of falcons. I think the thing that really sets this movie apart is the sheer diversity of the effects that were required. On the large scale you have the Lincoln Memorial, which we recreated entirely inside the computer, and on the smaller scale you have this little bobble-head Einstein who’s just the cutest, wisest little character ever. Each challenge was as exciting and interesting as the next.”
One of the effects nearest and dearest to director Shawn Levy’s heart was that of digitally bringing to life the world inside famous artworks – from the cartoon universe of Roy Lichtenstein to the Americana of Edward Hopper. “Shawn is a huge art lover and there was a lot of thought put into which of the many amazing works we would use,” notes Deleeuw. “Then, we got into developing different CG techniques for different kinds of artistic media. For a watercolor we came up with one technique, for an oil painting — another. We were actually working with the brushstrokes and turning those into motion, trying to keep the artists’ intent alive on the screen. And that was pretty exciting, especially when you realize you are exposing people to these great works of art.”
The challenge was even greater when it came to the sculptures “The Thinker,” “Venus” and the 19-foot high statue of President Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial. All had to leap off their pedestals into the real world. “The hard part was that we wanted the statues to truly look like they are marble and bronze but at the same time to have realistic movement as they’re walking around,” explains Deleeuw. “Since stone doesn’t really stretch like skin, the problem was finding a way for it to move that would appear natural. Ironically, we’ve spent the last 10 years in CG animation finding ways to make skin appear less like stone and now we were doing a 180 degree turn, making stone work like skin!”
A different kind of fun was inside the Air & Space Museum. “One of the things that Shawn wanted was to have all the awakened rockets and planes ready to take off for real, so we actually used liquid nitrogen shooting out of the rockets and flame-throwers to create the flames,” says Deleeuw. “Then, when it came to Larry and Amelia jumping onto the Wright Flyer, we loved the idea of doing something very adventurous and having them actually pull off wild acrobatic maneuvers through the hallways. Of course, we couldn’t shoot that in the actual Smithsonian so we wound up building miniatures along with an animatic of the Air & Space Museum. The final sequence involves the full-size plane on a Motion Base that simulates pitch-and- roll, with miniatures we created and digitalized versions of Ben Stiller and Amy Adams. It was a very cool mix of old school and new school.”
Shooting around a phalanx of soon-to-be computer-generated characters also kept Levy on his toes. “In some cases, I was directing scenes in which half of what should be in the frame is invisible!” he says. “When you’re setting a camera angle, or directing an actor’s performance, you’re in a void. The biggest challenges were the scenes where Larry and Amelia are talking to Lincoln. Amy and Ben had to play a five page scene looking at a tennis ball held in the air, with me on a microphone, trying to approximate my idea of what Lincoln’s voice might sound like. The final climactic battle was probably the crux of it all. We had hawk-headed Egyptian soldiers, as well as Lincoln, sculptures of ‘The Thinker’ and ‘Venus,’ not to mention a giant squid. The room was filled with things that weren’t there!”
Night At The Museum: The Imax Experience
Digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: The IMAX Experience will debut concurrently with the nationwide release in conventional theaters, beginning May 22, 2009.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: The IMAX Experience follows up on the great box office success of the first Night at the Museum in December 2006, which grossed more than $18 million on 113 IMAX screens.
IMAX delivers a premium movie-going experience like no other. Each theatre is specifically designed to present stunning images of exceptional quality and clarity. These images fill a viewer’s peripheral vision, and together with IMAX’s proprietary digital surround sound system and customized theatre geometry, create “The IMAX Experience®,” which makes audiences feel as if they are “in the movie.”
The IMAX brand is world famous and stands for the highest-quality, most immersive movie experience. As the IMAX theatre network grows, so does the visibility of the IMAX brand – a name that is unique in the entertainment business. The IMAX theatre network currently consists of more than 350 IMAX theatres in 42 countries, and there have been close to one billion visitors to IMAX theatres found in commercial multiplexes worldwide and some of the most prestigious educational institutions and destination entertainment centers.
The Smithsonian, one of the most renowned locations in the IMAX network, is home to three IMAX theatres including the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater in the National Air and Space Museum, the Airbus IMAX Theater in the Steven F. Udvar – Hazy Center and the Samuel C. Johnson IMAX Theater in the National Museum of Natural History.
A Brief Guide To The New Exhibits
AMELIA EARHART: This barrier-breaking pioneer was the first woman to pilot a plane across the Atlantic Ocean and only the second person in the world to fly solo across the Atlantic. The spunky aviatrix became an idol who would inspire an entire nation, not to mention Larry Daley, with her achievements and can-do attitude. When she disappeared in 1937 while attempting to become the first woman to fly a plane all the way around the world she would spark a mystery that continues to this day.
IVAN THE TERRIBLE: The Grand Prince of Moscow who became Russia’s first all-powerful Czar in 1533, Ivan was actually nicknamed “Ivan the Awesome,” which was later mistranslated to “Ivan the Terrible.” No matter the error, he still was renowned as the ultimate tyrant: an ironfisted, autocratic ruler given to terrible rages, waging wars and driven to expand the Russian Empire.
AL CAPONE: The most famous gangster in America, Al Capone, AKA “Scarface,” smuggled and bootlegged his way to fame as head of Chicago’s crime syndicate’s during the Prohibition Era. Eventually his power would grow so great that he became a main target of the FBI and a symbol of mob power. Though he ultimately spent years in jail, his toughness remains legendary – even among his fellow museum exhibits.
NAPOLEON: After becoming Emperor of France in 1804, the power-hungry Napoleon would go on to conquer most of Europe. A military genius and political mastermind, he nevertheless became famed for his “Napoleon Complex,” or in other words a massive inferiority complex owing to his small stature. How short was he? Probably about 5 foot 6. The myth of his petite figure – from which he has never apparently recovered – was likely started by his enemies.
EINSTEIN: One of the great scientist-heroes of all time, Nobel Prize winning physicist Albert Einstein came up with the Theory of Relativity, which revealed the fantastic connections between energy, matter and light. His very name has become synonymous with the word “genius,” and thus, he becomes Larry’s last hope for a stroke of ingenuity. Luckily, Einstein was not only a visionary physicist but a great humanitarian, an outspoken philosopher and proponent of the greatest human gift of all: imagination.
TUSKEGEE AIRMEN: These World War II Flyers were America’s first black airmen. They smashed through prejudicial barriers to become heroes in and beyond wartime – and even to Larry Daley when he recruits them for his cause inside the Smithsonian.
“THE KISS,” aka “V-J DAY IN TIMES SQUARE”: LIFE Magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt’s picture of a soldier kissing a nurse on V-Day, August 14th, 1945, became an instant icon, capturing forever a timeless moment. Today the photo is an emblem of relief and peace in the wake of war – and one Larry and Amelia can’t help but get swept up in.
THE THINKER: This beloved bronze sculpture was carved by Auguste Rodin in 1880 and has come to represent the contemplative side of humanity – although Larry discovers him to be fresh out of thoughts. Rodin said he was thinking of the poet Dante meditating upon the Gates of Hell when he sculpted “The Thinker.” There are over 20 casts of the sculpture in museums around the world.
THE WRIGHT FLYER: Sometimes known as The Kitty Hawk, the Wright Flyer was the first powered aircraft flown by the Wright Brothers in 1903, kicking off an era of aviation innovation that would eventually lead to the birth of the Air & Space Museum – and an unexpected run-in with Larry Daley.
THE LEVIATHAN SQUID: One of most popular exhibits at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is the giant squid, including a 26-foot long specimen of the species – known as cephalopods – who dreams of a return to the sea.
Night at the Museum: Battle of Smithsonian (2009)
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, Christopher Guest, Jon Bernthal, Bill Hader, Jon Bernthal, Jake Cherry, Mizuo Peck
Screenplay by: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon
Production Design by: Claude Paré
Cinematography by: John Schwartzman
Film Editing by: Dean Zimmerman
Set Decoration by: Lin MacDonald
Art Direction by: Michael Diner, Anthony Dunne, Helen Jarvis
Music by: Alan Silvestri
MPAA Rating: PG mild action and brief language.
Oistributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: May 22, 2009
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