Brendan Fraser's Exciting "Journey"

Brendan Fraser is the king of mashing up monsters on the silver screen, from his highly successful "Mummy" and "Mummy Returns" to his new flick, "Journey To The Center Of The Earth."

The 39-year-old actor said the movie uses a new version of 3-D technology to thrill audiences.

"(It's) like you've never seen before," he told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "3-D used to just come at you like a gimmick. This utilizes all the best visual effects that we have. It uses a system called RealD, it's all digital."

RealD technology has been used in animated films like "Chicken Little" and a version of "Meet The Robinsons" as well as recent concert films by Miley Cyrus and The Rolling Stones. "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" is the first live action film to use the technology.

The film also marks the feature film directorial debut by Eric Brevig who's best known for his more than 20 years of experience as a visual effects supervisor ("Men In Black," "The Day After Tomorrow").

"We've taken the classic tale, Jules Verne's 'Journey To The Center Of The Earth' to be the template for this adventure picture," Fraser said. "We've put it together with state-of-the-art imagery to bring an audience to a place where they are immersed into this movie. It's like they become a character from the start."

Fraser is used to filming scenes in front of a blue screen where he'll tangle with unseen foes to be filled in later by the visual effects team.

Apparently, he honed his technique in grade school.

"You need a verdant imagination and a lot of patience. I used to sit in the hallway and play with my imaginary friends as a school boy. It's paid off, let's just say," he quipped.

Fraser admitted that he had never read Verne's 1864 book. But after he received the screenplay, he immediately ran out and got a copy.

"I compared the screenplay and the book," he said. "I thought 'I think we can build on these character relationships a little bit better.' I pitched some ideas and the studio said 'nice job' and made me an executive producer."

This was Fraser's first job as an executive producer. He said he was "terrified" and had no idea what to do, but he feels that over the last 15 years he's come of age and was able to rise to the task.

"I have learned my trade, my craft, working with things that are out there," he said. "I love this movie. I love to go and watch the audience watch the film. I defy anyone to not have a good time. They're constantly reaching out, they're ducking, leaping over backwards."