By David Server

David 'Typhon24' Server here, with a nice little exclusive interview for ya! National Treasure: Book of Secrets hits theaters this weekend, and the film's Executive Producer Charles Segars was kind enough to answer a few questions for us. Mr. Segars gives us the scoop about his career, the National Treasure franchise, and what projects he's got coming up next - enjoy!

CD: How did you first get into the entertainment industry?

CS: I started out writing and producing dog food and cat food commercials. When we wrote, "It tastes great!", guess what? One of us producer/writers had to taste it. 'Mighty Dog' tasted the best in my opinion. After a year of biscuits, I was happy to have found a job in network news (however, covering eboli breakouts in Africa wasn't exactly a cake walk either).

CD: On the first National Treasure, you were credited as an Executive Producer, and you also had a 'story by' credit. How did the project first come about?

CS: I was standing in the National Archive researching a Lewis and Clark mini-series project. I heard that the case that houses the Declaration of Independence was leaking helium gases, a document preservative. They needed to replace it and they were discussing security. At that point my mind began racing - who is in charge of protecting it? What if it was stolen? Why would someone steal it? I began to build a lore around clues hidden only in the original document, and a treasure hunter who needed to steal it. I brought this to Oren Aviv at Disney, who added some stupendous ideas, and we then brought it to John Turtletaub, who knocked it out of the park. His blend of great action and character humor is what drove this to box office success.

CD: That was your first time producing a film. How did you find the experience?

CS: I have produced a number of TV projects, but never something on this grand of a scale. I had the opportunity to work with Jerry Bruckheimer and his all-star production team, which means sit down, shut up, and learn. My tutors are Jerry's two all stars, Mike Stenson and Chad Oman. These guys are the best team in the business. They can not only create story, but can drive the army needed to get it on the screen. I had the opportunity to see all of the tricks needed to mount such a large project successfully in every phase of the process. I was truly lucky.

CD: What was the process like with the sequel, National Treasure: Book of Secrets - did you learn a lot from your time as a producer on the first installment?

CS: I learned to stay the hell out of the way. We had a well-oiled machine on the first, and that same machine started right up again. The most important thing I learned was when you read, hear, or see something at anytime during the development and production process, don't be afraid to speak up and correct it. Movies are a collaborative process. No one person can create what the final movie looks like on the screen. I also learned that the weather in South Dakota can go from a sunny 70 degrees to snowin one day.

CD: Can we expect a third film in the National Treasure series, or possibly an ongoing continuation of the franchise?

CS: You bet. There are a number of stories we are exploring. History is full of great treasures and conspiracies. We hint in the last scene at the direction we will be going. We even have a hidden clue in the Book of Secrets that telegraphs where we want to take the third movie. Look hard when Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) is flipping through the book!

CD: You have some other projects you're working on as a producer through your company, Sparkler Entertainment. Can you talk a bit about what you currently have on your development slate?

CS: Fort Knox is a Warner Brothers project which is out to directors. It's a big action piece with a historical lore about the seemingly most impenetrable vault in America. Committed for Life is an action-comedy inspired by the true story of two FBI agents who fake their own engagement and wedding in order to complete the largest sting operation in racketeering history. No Man's Land is a sci-fi thriller at DreamWorks. We have a great script that we are going to polish (post WGA strike). I jokingly refer to it as Casablanca meets War of the Worlds. I have a number of other projects that will be announced post strike.

CD: Can you comment on the rumors that Sam Raimi might get involved with No Man's Land?

CS: It is on the radar of quite a few high profile directors. He would be amazing.

CD: According to Variety, all of the above projects are based on your own pitches. As such an active creator of the concepts that you work with, what draws you to a story? What kinds of stories are you most interested in telling?

CS: Variety got it right. A few years back, I was always getting outbid on books, or remake rights of old movies or TV shows because I was competing with GIANT producers with overall deals. So I took another tack. I started creating and writing stories and pitching them to the studios and had some good luck. I enjoy creating stories that are embedded with unmistakable shared experiences. Stories that people think they know something about, so you can entertain them by twisting their expectations.

CD: In addition to your work as a producer, you're also the CEO of Ovation TV. Could you tell us a bit about that?

CS: I put a group of investors together and bought an arts network called Ovation TV (http://www.ovationtv.com ). We are morphing it into a 24/7 TV network dedicated to artists of all types (painters, filmmakers, photographers, dancers, musicians, etc). This thing burns. We have gone from 4 million homes to soon over 25 million in less than a year. It's the only place I know of that you can watch a documentary of the last 48 hours of Kurt Cobain's life, a Jackson Pollack retrospective and classic movies like Ed Wood or The Seventh Samurai.

Thanks, Charles! National Treasure: Book of Secrets hits theaters this Friday, December 21st. And don't forget to keep it right here for more news and exclusives, brought direct to the fans from your friends here at CountingDown.com!