This web page is dedicated to 24's Kiefer Sutherland. You will find articles and web sites relating to him on this page. Hopefully, you will find something that will interest you.
Is '24' running out of time?
By Scott Collins
Los Angeles Times - calendarlive.com
April 30, 2007
JACK BAUER, America's favorite counter-terrorism agent with the violent code of honor and the weird sadomasochistic bent, is squaring off against a stealthy and unforgiving new enemy.
His fans.
After peaking in the ratings last year, Fox's thriller "24" has been getting dumped on by seemingly everyone in this, its sixth season. Critics and fans alike are aiming tomatoes at the stage, carping about the soapy and repetitive plotlines that unspool Jack's unlikely familial past, tiresome romantic triangles in the security bureaucracy and endless bickering among Oval Office advisors.
Last week, with a fresh episode designed to lay the groundwork for what the creators promise will be a typically suspenseful finale next month, "24's" ratings in the key young-adult category swooned to their lowest level in more than three years, with a total audience of just 10.4 million, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.
More than one-third of viewers have bailed since the special four-hour season premiere that aired over two consecutive nights back in January. And if that wasn't enough bad news for the series, last week "24" was one of the prime-time shows that the Federal Communications Commission singled out in urging Congress to curb TV violence.
The vox populi protests have not escaped the attention of the show's producers, who promise that some big changes are on the way for Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and other regulars next season. There's also speculation that something else might be at work in accounting for viewers' tune-out this season, but more about that in a minute.
"It hurts to hear the criticism," said executive producer and writer Howard Gordon, who spoke with me last week by phone as the cast and crew crashed to finish shooting the season's final episode, set to air May 21.
"I don't dispute it's been a challenging season to write for us. But it's reinvigorated our determination to reinvent the show. This year could be seen to be the last iteration of it in its current state."
Oh, dear. Reinvention? That does sound ominous. But Gordon says not to worry, as Jack "won't be flipping burgers."
"It won't be a musical or a half-hour," he added. "I've got a couple ideas, none of which I could even begin to share responsibly."
So "24" — the TV institution, to say nothing of the show's ongoing narrative — has at last arrived at a crossroads, and what an odd trip it's been.
Premiering less than two months after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, "24" initially amounted to barely a blip on the pop-culture radar. The premise — each episode unfolding in real time over the course of a single day as Jack races to foil some dastardly conspiracy — sounded gimmicky. And given recent American history, Jack's missions against Middle Eastern bad guys could easily have struck too close to home. (As it is, the show has prompted plenty of complaints for propagating noxious ethnic and religious stereotypes; witness this season's major plot involving a diabolical terrorist overlord named Abu Fayed.)
But Fox stuck by the show, and, thanks in large part to the about-to-explode television DVD market, it steadily grew a fan base that finally made it blossom into true hit-level status sometime during the critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning fifth season.
I always loved "24's" willingness to work without a net, to go to crazy extremes in expanding the thriller format and somehow live to tell the tale — to outLudlum Robert Ludlum, as it were.
But two personal anecdotes brought the show's mass appeal home for me: My 70-something mother-in-law, a rock-ribbed Republican with narrow TV tastes outside of "The O'Reilly Factor," confessed that she never missed "24." And last year, while walking in downtown Burbank, I happened to observe a middle-age man take his female companion's hand and inquire, in a tone of voice at once soothing and conspiratorial, "What do you say we go home, build a fire and watch '24'?"
But the clock is ticking, for fans as well as for Jack Bauer. Longtime devotees are struggling to keep the faith during this trying season.
"The writers have recycled some plots this season that are glaringly obvious: a recording, an almost removed president, an assassination attempt on that president, an attack on a Middle Eastern country, an impending nuclear strike, a person close to Jack kidnapped, etc.," Victor Lana, a novelist who follows "24" for BlogCritics Magazine, wrote in an e-mail. But "the bottom line is that we still care about Jack Bauer."
Meanwhile, with apologies to my mother-in-law, "24's" audience is getting noticeably grayer, typically a sign that a show is losing its purchase on the windy crags of pop culture. According to Brad Adgate, senior vice president at the New York ad firm Horizon Media, the median age is 47.4 so far this season, compared with 45.1 last year and 42 in the 2003-04 season.
Those born with resistance to "24's" charms have noted that in the second and third seasons the show benefited from following "American Idol." Now, though, its scheduling is cutting the other way: In recent weeks the show's Monday lead-in was "Drive," a new cross-country caper that bombed and got yanked last week. (The network hastily replaced it with reruns of "House.")
"We had every hope that 'Drive' would be a good companion to '24' and successor to 'Prison Break.' We were wrong," Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori told me, adding quickly that he nevertheless believed "24" would bounce back stronger next year.
But Gordon said he and his writing staff were wondering if something else was afoot besides the normal cycles of storytelling and network scheduling.
Could it be that the vague but gnawing post-9/11 fears that helped turn "24" into a hit are ebbing — the nightmares that envisioned great cities laid low by chemical weapons spilled into the water supply, say, or suitcase nukes wielded by shadowy assailants?
"It's something we talked about at the beginning of the season," Gordon said. "9/11 is becoming, quietly, a memory; the memory is starting to fade. I do think that people are looking at the world differently, with less fear."
If so, that's probably good for America. And alas, that's probably bad for "24." Real-life political tension does wonders for creators of thriller fare. Look how kind the Cold War was to Ludlum and Tom Clancy.
Even so, Gordon sounds optimistic that "24" can recover from its annus horribilis and deliver the goods next season, no matter what changes are ultimately in store for the ever-suffering Jack Bauer.
"Certain tropes of the show will remain the same," Gordon said. "It'll keep its contract with the audience. We'll keep the adrenaline going.
Plot Outline: An intimate story set during the 1860s in which a young Irish woman Sarah (Samantha Morton) and her family find themselves on both sides of the turbulent wars between British and Maori during the British colonisation of New Zealand.
This movie was released in 2005, but is only reaching the screens now (May 2007) in the UK. The U.S. is not listed on the release dates on IMDb.com.
Kiefer Sutherland is cast as Doyle in the film.
24 Movie Script Finished
By Josh Tyler
Cinema Blend
April 23, 2007
been talking about the possibility of a movie version of the popular TV series ‘24’ for quite a while now. Last we heard in January, Kiefer Sutherland was promising that they’d get to it...eventually, probably during one of the show’s between-season hiatus’s. But the latest on a possible movie version of the show is that doing it during a hiatus may now be out. Celeb news syndicator WENN is reporting that there won’t be a 24 movie until the show has finished its television run.
They spoke with ‘24’ executive producer Evan Katz who told them, “The script has been written but it's on hold until the show comes off air.” So they already have the thing ready to go, they’re just not in any hurry to shoot it.
What’s odd is that they plan on using a script several years down the road for a television show that’s still in motion. ‘24’ is already notorious for killing characters off and changing paths. A script that’s relevant now will almost certainly be out of date and useless by the time the show ends. The way to get around that I guess, is to set the script in a time period between already finished seasons of the show, but doing that sounds like a good way to really disappoint your fans when the movie does happen.
Besides, waiting till after the show is over is a pretty bad time for a film. The time to make a movie is while the TV series is still hot and relevant. The longer they wait, the less that’s true. I’m starting to think this is a movie that’s simply never going to happen at all, and anything we hear to the contrary is likely just hot air.
Shanks Passes Through the 'Stargate' to '24'
By Kate O'Hare
Zap2it - TV news
April 23, 2007
Earlier this year, the cast and crew of "Stargate: SG-1" headed to the Arctic to shoot scenes for "Stargate: Continuum," the first of two straight-to-DVD movies based on the long-running Sci Fi Channel series.
But Michael Shanks, who plays archaeologist Dr. Daniel Jackson, couldn't tag along, because he was too busy helping counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) save the world on FOX's "24."
Or, he would have been, had he actually ever shot a scene with Sutherland. But Shanks is indeed on "24," in a multi-episode arc that begins on Monday, April 30. (For those who wish to remain entirely spoiler-free, stop reading now. Thank you.)
"We never even worked on the same day," says Shanks of Sutherland.
Shanks plays Washington lobbyist Mark Bishop, the love interest of Lisa Williams (Kari Matchett), assistant to Vice President Noah Daniels (Powers Boothe).
"I don't get anywhere near Jack Bauer," Shanks says, "so I don't get killed. Even if you're a good guy, it's dangerous to be on that side of the story."
Of course, he can't say too much about his place in the ongoing plot, in which one tumultuous, 24-hour day is chronicled in real time.
"When I've been doing interviews," Shanks sys, "my wife keeps turning to me going, 'Don't! You can't say that.' I'm going, 'No, no, I'm not talking about what happens, I'm talking about what I do.'"
Shanks has a friend on the show in director/producer Brad Turner, who has also worked on "Stargate SG-1" and its spin-off, "Stargate: Atlantis."
"Brad came down to set when I was shooting my last episode," Shanks recalls. "I said, 'What are you doing down here? You bored?' He said, 'Yeah, kinda.' He's directing the last two episodes of the season, so I said, 'If you're bored, why don't you just go up on the Internet and reveal spoilers and see how interesting your life gets?'
"On the third page of the script, it says very clearly, 'Do not discuss this script with anyone other than cast and production staff.'"
One thing Shanks does reveal is that he has a love scene with Matchett, a fellow Canadian he met back in the early '90s in Stratford, Ontario. On a show accustomed to mayhem, romance apparently caused a bit of a stir.
"I'm not saying where or when," he says, "I'm just saying there was a little bit of sexy stuff, which is unusual for '24.' A show like that doesn't really have time for it. What's funny about it, the crew, they were quite bashful at times about what we were filming.
"Somebody came over and articulated, 'Sorry if people are kind of giggly around here. We're used to chain-sawing people's heads off and cutting fingers off and torture scenes, that's the day-to-day for us. But the sex thing has us all acting like teenagers.'
"It was nice to work with somebody like Kari in that kind of capacity, because there was already a rapport there. We're friends from long ago, so it's easier than 'Hello, stranger, nice to meet you. By the way, I'll be taking your clothes off.' There's always an awkwardness on day one."
Ironically, Shanks began watching "24" for the first time early in this season, shortly after terrorists detonated a suitcase nuclear bomb in Valencia, Calif.
He says, "Somebody said, '"24" set off a nuke. They finally did it!' So I started watching, and lo and behold, I'm watching for good reason, because it ended up being homework for what I was going to be involved with."
On "Stargate: SG-1," which returned with the remainder of the episodes for its 10th and final season on Friday, April 13, Shanks worked for many seasons with Richard Dean Anderson, who played team leader Jack O'Neill. So if he had actually shot scenes with Sutherland, it would have been his second time beside an action hero named Jack.
"It would have been very comfortable," Shanks says. "'Jack, what do I do?' It falls off the lips very easily."
LMR note: Kiefer as Yogi Bear? I'm wondering how he would sound saying "Hey Boo Boo!" By the way....who would be cast as Boo Boo?
The Super 8 cartoons that should get the live action treatment
By Sonia Mansfield, Columnist
iF Magazine
April 16, 2007
7. YOGI BEAR – Cast Kiefer Sutherland as your smarter than the average bear, and replace the picnic basket with a suitcase nuke and you’ve got a tense, thrilling update on a family favorite.
On the set at "24": it's not what it seems
By Rob Owen
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 13, 2007
Jack Bauer's current bad day got off to an explosive start this season on "24" with a nuclear device detonating in a Los Angeles suburb. Since then, it's been business as usual for the secret agent played by Kiefer Sutherland: breaking into a foreign embassy, making a deal with a former corrupt American president and communicating with CTU headquarters by cell phone.
Ah, CTU, the Air Traffic Control of the "24" universe, filled with moles, political in-fighting and more barking than you'd hear at the dog pound.
"Check your SIP adapter!" Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) snapped at a co-worker earlier this season. "You've specified the wrong slot assignment."
On the Chatsworth, Calif. "24" set that is home to the show's technobabble hubbub, director/executive producer Jon Cassar noted that the current CTU is actually the third iteration of the set.
"When they did the pilot, they couldn't afford to build a CTU, so they went to Fox Sports," Cassar said during a January set visit. "It was a very new building and had an upstairs office. Then they re-created it for the (series)."
That second steel and glass CTU set was used in the show's first two seasons. The series moved to a new soundstage for season three; a decidedly low-tech, warehouse-like building that was once a pencil factory; where the current, solid-looking CTU set was built.
But looks can be deceiving. All the bunker-like walls that appear to be foot-thick concrete on TV? It's really wood and plaster.
"Plastering is one of the keys to this business," Cassar said. "Good painters and plasterers, they're worth their weight in gold."
The current set's design is strategic. Designers and directors learned what worked and what didn't from the earlier sets and built the current CTU to fit their needs.
"We always love to be looking through things," Cassar said, noting that bars in a divider that surrounds one desk area are the perfect width to film someone's face between. And Chloe's desk is purposely situated at the center of CTU.
"From her area, you can see everything," Cassar said.
Well, everything except people actually entering the CTU building, something producers purposefully avoid showing.
"There's no outside door whatsoever," Cassar said, surveying the set. "It would be a massive security thing and to show someone going through it in real-time would be intensely boring, a 10-to-15-minute process we never want to see."
It's not just the set that's changed since the pilot episode. The emphasis on time has evolved. While still a "real-time thriller," viewers now only see the time when going to and coming from commercial breaks. In the pilot, clocks were everywhere on set, Cassar said.
"We actually have more freedom than we thought to move (scenes) around (in editing), so we actually go out of our way not to show the time," he said. "In production meetings, the writers will have, 'We'll be there in three minutes' in the script and we'll change it to 'We'll be there soon.'"
As for when the series is taking place, that's up for debate, even among the show's crew. Some say it takes place in the present, but if you do the math from the first episode; with all the elapsed months between seasons and presidential elections that have come and gone; "24" should really be set several years in the future.
"We avoid dates," Cassar acknowledged. "We never show them, never even on a piece of paper."
For the purists, the CTU phones show the date in true "24" time. The year is 2012.
"The only reason we've got that is for all the people on the Internet," Cassar said.
While viewers at home may not see the date stamp on the CTU phones, they may notice some product placement. Apple and Dell computers and Cisco System telephones are on desks throughout CTU.
"Those are not really show-related as much as they are Fox related," Cassar said. "Big Fox makes a deal, and we have to abide by their deal."
'24' strives for timely advances in plot, technology during HDTV era
Zap2it.com
April 12, 2007
With two episodes in production at any one time, a huge cast, overlapping story lines, large action sequences and relentless forward motion, the crew members of Fox's "24," currently airing its sixth season on Mondays, have set the bar very high for themselves.
"I wish I could tell you in detail how we do it, then I could market it and make money out of it," says Jon Cassar, producer and director, who worked on two episodes in Season One and has been with the show full time ever since. "I don't know how we do it, honestly. The people I've got around me are so experienced.
"We have an amazing crew. They've been with us pretty well for the duration, so they know the game. That's the reason they're still here. There are some people who aren't with us anymore, who didn't give that 100 percent that we need to make this show. These people, this is the way they are."
Fox also now broadcasts the hour-by-hour adventures of world-saving counterterrorist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) in high definition (for those with HDTVs, who receive HD signals over the air or on cable or satellite).
While the demands of HD's crystal clarity and precise detail add to the workload, Cassar thinks it's worth it.
"For me, as a director," he says, "I'm ecstatic that people get to see the show the way we get to see it. I can't even watch anything but HD now. It's fantastic. It's night and day. You can't even make the comparison."
Asked if the show plans to switch from its current 35 mm film format to shooting on high-definition videotape, Cassar says, "There's been that talk, but unfortunately, the range isn't quite where we need it. Digital needs a little more control. Film's a little more forgiving when you're working in different light sources.
"In our world, when we're outside, that's our biggest problem. When we're doing daylight exteriors, sometimes we just go with whatever the sun's doing. You can't do that in the HD world. You've got to control it. That would lose too much time for us. We move too quick."
But that doesn't mean that the occasional bit of videotape hasn't snuck in.
"We've tested it," Cassar says. "You just don't know it. We shot the finale of Season Four, on the rooftop, with the helicopters — the whole sequence, one of the cameras was an HD camera, and it was right beside the 35 mm. We cut it together, and no one knew."
Whatever its production hardships, keeping the story varied and moving is an even bigger challenge. With a seventh season looming, "24" will have to come up with a new threat facing the nation. In the past, there have been Middle Eastern extremists, Russian rebels, Mexican drug lords, angry Chinese (Jack did kill someone in their embassy) and individual bad folks of all sorts.
"We are absolutely evenly employing all the bad guys of all nations," Cassar says. "Some told me, because I'm Canadian, they said, 'Hey, why are you leaving us out? Why can't we be the bad guys?' I'm like, 'Good idea. Quebec separatists could be the terrorists.'
"I'd like to go after the Nazis, but they're not around."
'24' hours later, it's time for Audrey
By Bill Keveney
USATODAY.com
Jack Bauer's personal life is as complicated as his professional life.
After thwarting plans for detonating suitcase nukes in Monday's episode, 24's action hero was hit with a staggering good news/bad news scenario: His true love, Audrey Raines (Kim Raver), is not dead, as he had been told, but is being held by his Chinese nemeses.
Raver, back after playing Audrey during 24's past two seasons, will describe her character's situation only in general terms: "Audrey comes back not herself at all. She's definitely not in a good place."
Audrey's return is significant for both character and plot, executive producer Evan Katz says. He says Raver and Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Jack, have a chemistry that makes the relationship seem real.
Audrey's presence "provides the emotional component. In Jack's mind, this is a true love, something that was ripped from his grasp at the end of last year and apparently permanently ripped from his grasp earlier this year," he says.
As for plot, the perils of Audrey allow 24 to make one of its signature midseason story shifts. Soon, viewers will learn where Audrey has been and why the Chinese are telling Jack that she is alive.
"We stuck with the suitcase nukes a relatively long time for us. It did feel like time" to change course, Katz says. "Audrey's entry … takes the story in a radical direction."
Raver is happy to reprise Audrey, whose happily-ever-after dreams evaporated last season when Jack was kidnapped by Chinese agents after his invasion of their consulate.
Returning to the 24 set "is sort of like going back home. There's just this great crew, with Kiefer leading the group," she says.
She was especially happy with Audrey's second year. The character became a stronger person after a first season, in which she was kidnapped, saw her estranged husband tortured — by Jack — then die. "I just felt like I couldn't have her cry another season," Raver says. "The second season was much more interesting for me. Jack and Audrey were much more of a team."
Raver left after last season for a central role on ABC's The Nine, a grim drama centering on the lives of bank robbery hostages. Despite rave reviews, the series was pulled after dismal ratings.
Audrey's return is easier for Raver to take because the actress finally is getting a break from dangerous roles, with parts in the film comedy Night at the Museum and NBC pilot Lipstick Jungle, a drama that has its lighter moments. "When I was shooting 24 and The Nine simultaneously, I called my agent and said, 'If I don't do comedy soon...I have to get some laughs.'"
Kiefer forgives Julia
April 9, 2007
"24" action hero Kiefer Sutherland has finally forgiven actress Julia Roberts for running off days before their wedding in 1991 with his friend Jason Patric.
Sutherland was devastated when the actress left him for Patric, but now sees that it was all the best.
He says, "I commend Julia for seeing how young and silly we were, even as painful and difficult as it was."
However, Sutherland isn't ready to forgive his old friend and "Lost Boys" co-star Patric yet, adding, "We were friends. I never got a call."
The Saskatchewan connection
Cam Fuller, Saskatchewan News Network; CanWest News Service
April 07, 2007
SASKATOON -- Who is Lisa Miller and what is she thinking?
Fans of the TV series 24 have reason to wonder as the mysterious blonde assistant to U.S. Vice-President Noah Daniels lurks and smirks in the shadow of her boss as he scrambles to find reasons to nuke the Middle East.
We don't know much about Lisa, but we do know the most important thing: The character is played by Kari Matchett and Matchett is from Saskatchewan. The native of Spalding, about 170 kilometres east of Saskatoon, spent most of her TV and film career in Toronto before moving to Los Angeles.
Some of her previous credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Nero Wolf, Betrayed and Men with Brooms.
Life is "busy and wonderful and fantastic," Matchett said recently from Los Angeles.
She moved from Toronto to L.A. two years ago for "pilot season," the annual frenzy of auditions and new show development.
"Five weeks later, I got Invasion."
The series was a ratings champ early on but ended after one season. That's the biz, Matchett says.
"You go with it. You know you can't fight it."
The show's high profile did raise her visibility, however. Fans recognize her on the street, but she's not mobbed like her friend and National Theatre School classmate Sandra Oh from Grey's Anatomy.
"People are quite respectful about it. It's nice. It's pleasant."
Fans on imdb.com have noticed her too, posting observations like "soo sexy" and noting her "almost chameleon-like ability to move from character to character and play each one perfectly, effortlessly and believably."
Matchett says it was the "hand of fate" that got her on the Emmy-winning 24, now in its sixth season. Executive producer Jon Cassar had given Matchett her first big role, in the series Forever Knight.
"I think he was a bit of a cheerleader for me."
She'd also worked with frequent 24 director Brad Turner before. Both Cassar and Turner happen to be Canadian.
"These Canadian connections helped," Matchett said.
Indeed, the irony of 24 is how much Canadian content there is in a show that delves deeply into counter-terrorism and U.S. foreign policy. (Playing a terrorist, This Hour Has 22 Minutes cast member Shaun Majumder put a mushroom cloud over Valencia to start the season).
It's a bit of a stretch, but it could also be argued there's a Saskatchewan connection to 24. Kiefer Sutherland, the show's star and one of its executive producers, has never lived in Saskatchewan but his grandfather, former premier Tommy Douglas, certainly did. Then there's Carlo Rota, the Canadian actor who plays Morris O'Brian. He's not from Saskatchewan either, but he's in Little Mosque on the Prairie which shot its pilot in Saskatchewan and is, obviously, prairie-themed. Matchett agrees the connections are, if nothing else, amusing.
Meanwhile, her contribution to the show has grown since she joined the cast as a guest star. At first, no one told her a thing about Lisa Miller, likely because the character had no backstory.
"All I tried to do was be as intriguing as possible. I didn't know what else to do because I didn't know what (she) was thinking," Matchett says.
Later, she approached the writers for guidance. They were open to suggestions and appreciated her input because there are so many elements of the story to keep track of, Matchett said.
"Together, we kind of created this character."
Matchett promises there's more to come from Lisa. We learn "way more" about her character and "things really, really heat up."
Tension is the trademark of the show, but that's on-camera. Off-camera, Matchett enjoyed yucking it up with Peter MacNicol, who plays the tightly-wound attorney general Tom Lennox.
"We're constantly laughing between takes, right up to when they say, 'Action.' " The show is so intense, so heavy "you have to make it light, or it's ridiculous."
One person she hasn't seen is Sutherland, who never ventured into the White House portion of the studios. She's met him before, however; back in Toronto she was good friends with his twin sister Rachel and their mom Shirley Douglas. Like an intricate 24 plot, it all seems to fit together.
Matchett recently finished shooting her final scenes of the season, which take place in episode 22. Episode 17 of 24 airs next week. The most recent episode was the highest rated of the season with 1.6 million viewers in Canada. Among those fans, no doubt, are Matchett's dad, who still lives in Spalding, her aunt in Saskatoon and a cousin on a farm near Asquith.
Matchett says she'll miss 24.
"The crew is amazing. They've been together for six years, ever since the pilot. There's an amazing feeling of home and family."
It was sad to leave but necessary because she has already started working on the upcoming TNT series Heartland opposite Treat Williams. They play a recently divorced couple who work on both sides of the organ transplant issue -- he as a surgeon, she as an organ recovery coordinator. The abundance of work is something Matchett doesn't take for granted.
"I'm grateful for how fortunate I've been."
'24' movie delayed indefinitely
Cult - News - Report
Digital Spy
Kiefer Sutherland has stated that the planned movie version of 24 has been put on hold because it puts too much strain on the writers.
The actor, who plays anti-terrorist agent Jack Bauer, told The Sun: "It's impossible to ask writers to work on the show and then come up with an amazing film we can shoot in the break between series."
Currently midway through its sixth season on television, the big screen 24 was originally intended to be shot between the spring and summer of 2007 before filming of the seventh season was due to start. Sutherland had previously gone on the record stating that the film would be set in Britain.
