How has the family film changed since your early career, the days of 3 Ninjas and Cool Runnings?
J.T.: I love this question because some people may not like my answer. Family movies have gotten more conservative. Somehow, parents are less and less willing to have their kids see anything even remotely dangerous, scary, adult, or mature. All films have followed this trend and film ratings have gotten more restrictive, not less. Remember the original Bad News Bears? That movie would be rated R today. It’s possible that parents haven’t changed, but their ability to complain has. The internet and accessibility (and feelings of entitlement) may have made corporations more exposed to the unhappy customers. But in my opinion, the trend has hurt movies and our kids are being exposed to more and more moronic and simplistic films. * Q: How close are we to seeing a third National Treasure movie? J.T.: I’m guessing that we’re a few years away. By the time we come up with a decent idea and develop it into a complicated and intelligent puzzle, it’s going to be at least 2009. Then to prep it and
