New film imagines presidential hostage situation

>>> ts to reach the wh ite house. we took it down in 13.

>> the president's in the bunker. he's being held hostage.

>> what do they want?

>> we're trying to find out.

>> who is in charge?

>> trumble, are there any survivors with you?

>> negative, sir. wait this out. they have command, roaming the hallway with enough explosives take out an army.

>> we're back. that's a clip from "olympus." a story about disgraced actually fallen secret service agent mike banning, who finds himself trapped in the white house after the president is held hostage by north korean terrorists. and pentagon intelligence officials are relying on banning's expertise about knowing every nook and cranny of the white house to get the president out safe and stop the -- they're not terrorists, they're north koreans . the movie hits theaters march 22nd . with me the stars of the film. aaron eckhart plays president asher. angela eckhart. angela basset . and gerard butler . just recently i saw you play a surfer in "chaisie in"chasing maverick." then in this movie about the father getting divorced.

>> " playing for keeps ."

>> how many movies you do a year?

>> recently not that many.

>> you play a secret service agent. a great guy named jerry parm saved the president, saved reagan. when he was growing up he saw a movie about a secret service agent. guess who played the guy who made him want to be in the secret service ? reagan. this connection between the chief of secret service and president of the united states is fascinating.

>> maybe one day i'll be president now and we can repeat the same story.

>> that's the way it works.

>> no. so i play mike banning. and we've been great friends. i was the special agent in charge . a tragedy happens.

>> can you talk american?

>> yeah. i play mike banning. a very good friend of president asher. basically, we move enough to this tragedy. i'm working at the treasury. we have the backdrop of the tensions and korea. out of nowhere, totally by surprise, this insane terrorist attack happens in the white house .

>> you're the president, how do the koreans -- we sort of worry about the middle east . every once in a while we hear about the crazies in north korea . we're going to bomb the hell out of seoul. bomb the hell out of south korea . we're hearing from the north koreans as this movie opens.

>> our tentacles are, you know, very powerful people in hollywood . no. it just happened like that. it's hard for hollywood to pick a terrorist anymore. there's so much happening in the world that you make a film, we made this film a year ago. this is happening now. it's part coincidence and part just the way the world is right now.

>> angela , we got to be politically correct. we have to pick enemies that are sort of acceptable to pound on. the taken movies are the albanians. now the koreans. what do you feel about this movie? do you think it's believable?

>> it's -- i mean, there's so much authenticity and plaz plausibility in it. that's what's making the experience of it so exciting for the audiences that have seen it.

>> you're sitting in a restaurant. you're having breakfast with this guy. it's a neat looki ining restaurant with great pictures of presidents on the fall. it's supposed to be around 15th street . where is that in hollywood ?

>> shreveport , louisiana.

>> no!

>> we built the white house in shreveport , louisiana.

>> no.

>> yeah. they were loving it.

>> was it a good tax deal down there?

>> good tax deal down there basically, yeah.

>> when we see what looks like signs from the white house and camp david , how about camp david ? where's that in the movie?

>> that's just outside shreveport .

>> really? that is great. when you watch these movies, as guys who do the movie, after you do the movie and realize you were in some set. you come back, take six months, go watch again, are you taken by the movie again, too? my god, i am in the white house .

>> if the story is good enough and tacti ithe acting and directing is good enough. you know the stories behind the scenes and that sort of stuff.

>> you know what days people were tired, hung over, didn't know their lines.

>> you can't help but, yeah.

>> you remember it?

>> i to. absolutely.

>> i went down and watched -- they let me come out and do a cameo on "good wife" on cbs. i go to brooklyn. industrial, brutal neighborhood with terrible stuff going on. when you watch the show every week, i always watch it, you think you're at a high-rise chicago law firm in chicago and you completely fall for it again.

>> that's why i try not to watch it too many times before i see the finished product.

>> one thing i want to talk about is this affection we have for the president. i know " west wing " did it beautifully. aaron sorkin 's thing. you may have a couple presidents in a row you don't like. there's still the magic there. angela ? that white house . that building. the obamas there now.

>> absolutely. i was just there three weeks ago, you know. you're in awe. there is. you know, you're coming from, you know, smalltown florida or wherever you're from. it's the highest --

>> do you remember the smells there? i always smell the paint. the brand-new paint and rododendrum smell.

>> even sm scotland, especially in america, these are buildings and institutions and a position you're taught to respect. it contains so much emotion inside you. so when suddenly you see this attack and the president being held hostage, it is incredible what a powerful experience that is. obviously, it recalls, you know, not such distant history of some tragedies. i have to tell you, you're talking about harvey weinstein . i watched it with him last night. we had a screening. you say is this opening scene, the attack, is it believable? it is so believable, you're there. and he was shouting out. he's like, yeah!

>> you're a scottsman. i have to say one line to you. something we've never had. a country of our own. remember that? "braveheart." "olympus has fallen." in the theaters march 22nd . aaron eckhart , angela bassett ,