Hollywood Takes Over Smithsonian

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- It was a sea of cameras and excited fans outside the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum where Tuesday night, Hollywood's funniest say it's refreshing to premiere their new film in Washington.

"It's pretty impressive to be in this museum," says actor, Robin Williams.

In a Smithsonian first, "Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian" was shot inside the Natural History museum where Ben Stiller who plays a former night guard who goes on an imagination boggling adventure, first visited as a young child.

"The idea of everything coming to life in a museum, I think that would be the coolest movie in the world if I was ten years old," actor Ben Stiller says.

How tough was it to film around the 136 million items that make up the world's largest museum? Apparently, not hard at all, according to Claire Brown of the Smithsonian.

"Anything you see in the movie that's being ridden or touched or climbed on is either something they built in the studio or it's something they built on a computer screen," Brown says.

In fact, Owen Wilson admits he didn't step foot inside the museum.

"I shot all my scenes in Vancouver. But that's the magic of film," Wilson says.

Hank Azaria says the best part of the film?

"Me," he joked. He also points to the special effects that bring Amelia Earhart, Al Capone and Teddy Roosevelt played by Robin Williams, to life. Williams says there was a good reason why security kept a close eye on him on the set.

"They're worried that you're going to start touching stuff, jumping in the cockpit," Williams joked.

According to Smithsonian officials, the Smithsonian stands to gain more than one million dollars if the film does well.

Washington tourism officials are planning special "Night at the Museum" packages with city hotels and will advertise for the first time in movie theaters in cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Raleigh.