John Cusack and Amanda Peet try to outrun the end of the world in '2012,' and they're telling ET all about it.

We caught up with John and Amanda, along with their co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor, at Yosemite National Park to talk about the disaster film, directed by Roland Emmerich.

'2012' follows the premise that, according to the ancient calendar created by the Mayans, the world will end in December of the year 2012. In the film, when that date arrives, all humans on earth are faced with global cataclysms.

"I knew a little bit about the Mayans," John told ET, "and they had the most intricate calendar system and the most accurate sense of time, like to the second, of any civilization… and on December 21, 2012, it just stops."

He says that the film, while visually awe-inspiring, also focuses on relationships: "You get caught up in the stories, and all the characters are trying to reconcile their relationships with each other. And as you think about what would happen at the end of the world, you think, if I only had so much time left, who would I spend it with? And who would I want to get straight with or make amends to?"

Amanda gives a lot of credit to Roland, saying, "He is a master at making people scared and making it believable and authentic."

John, for his part, says he was thrilled to re-team with Amanda, his co-star from 'Identity' and 'Martian Child': "We were both so happy we could do another movie together, because usually studios want you to pair up with somebody you've never been with. And this is our third one. We kind of thought, 'Really? We can get away with this?'"

'2012' explodes into theaters on November 13.