| Here
are a series of quotes all in relation to 24: The Movie:
"[Plans for a 24
feature film have been shelved until the series is retired - which won't be
until at least 2008]." says Sutherland.
"I'm finding it
increasingly challenging. [It's the challenge of] coming up with ideas that
aren't redundant, that are interesting, that are organic to this character.
… I think to see Jack's last day on earth would be an interesting thing to
see. But that's just me. I don't know whether that's season 7 or season 8 or
whether that's a movie. I don't know what that is. … I don't think Jack
Bauer will be walking off into the sunset happily. I don't think that's his
destiny." says Gordon.
"You know, we always
really have to tend to the garden, make sure the show's good, and then if the
movie happens, it will be because Season 6 was successful." says Gordon.
"We’re still talking
about it. Still talking about it. It’s so difficult and it always comes down
to the writers. It is so difficult to do the show, to expect them to now bang
out a phenomenal 2-hour film script for us to do. Uh, I think was unfair and
so it’s looking less and less likely that we’ll ever be able to do it
while we’re making the show just because it would require a lot of work. And
it’s not something that we want to just slap together. So I think we are
gonna have to wait a little while. [It has the potential to be] a franchise.
Absolutely. Very much like a Bond character. Absolutely. And that’s why I
think, wisely, Joel and Bob really want to take their time and make sure they
do it right. Um, what I was upset about, or disappointed in, is that I think
the relationship between film and television is changing dramatically. And I
think that they can actually co-exist where a film can actually help a series.
And my dream scenario would have been to do the series, shut down in May,
start filming the movie, have the movie go through post-production and be
ready for release at the very beginning of December. And that would basically
almost be the your commercial for your Season. And I would have loved to have
been able to, if there were just only 13 months a year. There’s just not
enough time. But it would have been amazing to see if that kind of worked
because I think there was a sort of nice symmetry to it." says Sutherland.
"We've been really trying
very hard to make the film in the break between Season 6 and Season 7. But
it's so difficult, it's almost impossible to ask the writers, who are working
so hard on the show, to take the time out and now come up with a great movie
script. So unfortunately I think it's gonna take a little longer than we had
hoped." says Sutherland.
"But it would be amazing
to explore his past when he was training in the military. In [Season 6],
you'll understand a lot of his history in conversations with other characters.
But it would be really interesting to see that explored on film. Also, the one
thing that holds Jack Bauer together is this very odd hope, this faith in
mankind. I think it would be interesting to find out what the hope is based
on. Maybe [that could be explored in the upcoming 24 movie]. The
writers have finished the screenplay. Right now, we're knee-deep in the middle
of the season, so it's about being able to pull [exec producers] Joel Surnow
and Bob Cochran off the show to prep the movie. So many things have to happen
between now and May, when we would like to shoot the film. It's something
we're certainly striving for." says Sutherland.
"We have been asked [if
it would work as a movie] a lot. We have gone down that road. I think it would
work as a movie. Sure, I think... We'll do it one of these days. We will. More
likely towards the end of the run." says Cochran.
"[Will my character
appear in the movie?] Oh boy, just like the character in the show, I'm taking
it one day at a time." says James Morrison.
"One of the difficult
things about setting up the film is that it's hard ... to pull any of the
writers off to work on the movie script. We did hand in a script, we're
certainly moving towards trying to make the movie happen in the hiatus. We're
just concerned about the time we have for prep, but it's something we're
certainly shooting for. And trust me, if we get the opportunity to do it, rest
would be the last thing on my mind." says Sutherland.
"It’s something that we
really, really want to make. The real key difference would be that the 24 hour
film would be a 2 hour representation of a 24 hour day. It would be the first
thing that we didn’t do in real time. Mainly, you have to understand,
we’re making two episodes every three weeks. We would have three months to
make a two hour [movie]. Just to have that kind of time to really allow our
cinematographer and our director and the writers to focus on such a finite
thing. And actually be able to do a film that really has a conclusion, I think
would be really exciting not only for us to make but I think for an audience
as well. But the thing that I’m most excited about that is that we’re
going to make it within the context of still running the show. Everybody
compares it to X-Files the movie, except with X-Files the movie, the
show was done or at least he was done with it at that point. I actually
believe that the film and the show can actually coexist and for quite some
time. I think once that starts to happen, the dynamic between television and
film will really change in a major way. [I think it'll work without the real
time format] because I think after five years and specifically when we go to
shoot it after six years, the characters have been even more defined. I think
that the sensibility of the show is really entrenched. The audience that it
would be going after really understands those characters and has a certain
expectation and we will do everything we can to meet that. It will be outside
of the TV show. [Before or after one of the Seasons?] That is the writers’
option. They’re working on it now and in all fairness, I’ve heard rough
ideas kind of in every direction" says Sutherland.
"It's a little concern that while the show is still on
the air, it may be an oversaturation. I think if the show is off the air for
two years, they'd love to release a movie. [No official decisions have been
made.]" says Surnow.
"There's a ["24"]
film next summer. My hope would be if I'm available and they want me, I'll get
to do the feature." says Raver.
"[I'm hoping Audrey
survives this season's day for a chance to appear in the "24" film
that will shoot next spring]." says Raver.
"[Jon Cassar said on the
fan phone] the script for the movie is sitting on his desk. It's not like
television where you get a script and then two weeks later you're shooting. A
decision will have to be made between the end of December and early January if
they intend to make it during the break before a 7th season - which of course
isn't definite yet either. But, he said they don't get to the point where
there's an actual draft for a script without the intent to go forward."
says Dixiehank (Member of the
Message
Board)
"It will be weird because
the film will be a two-hour representation of the 24 day, which will
really give us an incredible amount of freedom. [We will film the TV show
until May and hopefully we'll have a movie script soon after]." says
Sutherland.
"This is a full-time gig
for right now. We are trying to get the 24 movie launched. We’re
going to try and write that this year." says Surnow.
"I have to be a little coy
in talking about this, but in 2007 there will be a feature film for 24, and if
they want me, I’d love to be in it." says Raver.
"You just never know on 24. I mean, as of this moment, Audrey is alive, um, and the producers are
keeping her alive for a very specific moment and, uh, I’m hoping that that
moment carries me over to the film this summer." says Raver.
"Eventually, the show
will reach a point where we might be going through complete cast changes
season to season. We've known from the very beginning that it can't run
forever with the same characters - and I'm one of those characters. After that
we're talking about a film franchise for Jack Bauer." says Sutherland.
"The movie will be probably Afghanistan, London and Washington, D.C.
That's our thinking right now." says Cochran (Source credits Surnow).
"We were kind of able to work
it out where -- and hopefully it stays this way -- we were able to keep the
character alive, Audrey's going to hopefully stay alive. And there's a
future, they're going to do a movie, and they're keeping her alive for a
very specific reason… which of course I can't say. I am allowed to go and do
some shows, and you know, there's a lot of like, fine print, but yes,
hopefully [I will return] to keep the story alive, for Audrey and Jack, and
then the ideal world would be to then continue the story on the hiatus. What
I've heard -- and like I said, everything could always change -- it is a go,
not for this summer, but the following summer; '07. It's going to take place
I think in three different cities. They are not going to do the entire thing
in real time, because that just… I mean, Jack can't travel from Paris, to
anywhere… London, to Washington, while you're watching it. And I think, I'm
hoping -- and you know, again, this could change -- when I talk to Kiefer
and when I talk to the producers, one of the main reasons to hopefully keep
the story alive for Audrey and Jack, is that we have something that I can do
in the film." says Raver.
"The film will really be
a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day. There will be a timeline but not
in real time. Yes, [Mary Lynn Rajskub will be in the movie]." says
Sutherland.
"It’s something we really really
want to make. The real key difference would be, the 24 film, would be a
two hour representation of a 24 hour day. It would be the first thing we didn’t
do in real time. Mainly, we’re making two episodes every three weeks. We would
have three months to make a two-hour movie – just to have that kind of time to
really allow our cinematographer and director and writers would be great. To
actually be able to do a film that has a conclusion would be exciting not only
for us to make, but I think for an audience as well. The thing I’m most excited
about is we’re going to make it within the context of still running the show. I
believe, the film and the show can co-exist and for quite some time and once
that starts to happen, the dynamic for film and television will really change in
a major way." says Sutherland.
"Kiefer Sutherland nodded and
grinned when I asked him whether Chloe would be a part of the 24 movie." says
Michael Ausiello.
"Nothing is a 100% sure right
now but yes, I'm the upfront director for the job [.] our goal is to get the
whole crew working on the series involved in this movie. We don't want to
give it to a director who's never done a single episode of the show. As for
the actors, the only one I can confirm is a 100% sure right now is Kiefer."
says Cassar.
"We've talked about it with
Kiefer and we have a couple of options so that Audrey, my character, should
appear in season 6 while I'll be shooting The Nine [.] we'll see if it's
possible to do both at the same time. Furthermore, I would also very much like
to be part of the upcoming movie." says Raver.
"We’re gonna hopefully start
that at the end of the sixth and potentially the beginning of the seventh. We’ll
be finishing that film hopefully a year from now. And one of the nice things
about the film is we’re not gonna do it within the same time constraints of the
series. The 2 hour film will be representative of a 24 hour day so that gives us
a lot of freedom that we certainly don’t have on the show." says Sutherland.
"[A 24 movie, if
it goes ahead, will be filmed after the sixth series], but it won't be in real
time." says a reassuring Sutherland.
"We're in the process of
writing a movie for 24. It's not going to be in real-time, and it's probably
not going to be CTU Los Angeles. It's going to be, it's going to take place in
24 hours, it will be more international, we'll go to locations that we've
never been to, and actually shoot on location. And it will be more, as
conceived right now, as sort of Jack Bauer is the new James Bond. I mean, like
the Bourne Identity movies where you know.... what Jack does is, in the way we
depict him, fighting terrorism, I think actually against a bigger canvas like
putting him internationally... in the Middle East or in Europe. It could be
very exciting for us to really not be constrained by the fact that we have to
get from one place to another in 10 minutes, and that's 10 minutes of real
time. Uh, so right now, the plan is to make this a big epic action with Jack
Bauer front and center in this thing." says Surnow.
"It'll take place in a 24
hour period. We don't know if we'll use the device of the clock quite the same
way. One of the things we want to do is give the audience something different
in a movie that you can't get in the series. It'll take place around the
globe, probably in three or four really distinct locations. We're looking at
this as a Jack Bauer franchise. This is about 'Jack Bauer: International
Terrorist Hunter.'" says Surnow.
"It will follow along the
continuum of Jack's life but won't be tied to the TV show narratively. The
film would probably shoot after the sixth season in locations outside of L.A.,
such as London. We felt too constrained by [the real-time aspect] and we
realised one day that Jack Bauer was such a strong character that he could
fill the big screen." says Gordon.
"[Kiefer wants to reprise
his role as Jack Bauer in the movie], but the deal is not final yet." says
Sutherland's publicist.
"It's something that we
would like to shoot in between the sixth and the seventh season. We would be
able to travel a lot more, and show some different locations, and all of those
things are exciting for us." says Sutherland.
"Yeah, London is awesome.
But you've got to give me a lot to do while I'm over there. I haven't heard
anything. I know there was big talk about it and meetings have taken place,
but we're about to go back into production, so they're not going to do
anything for real until next summer, probably." says Rajskub.
"Yeah, absolutely. If we
do the movie it will be [filmed in London]. [Shooting] will be basically a
year to the day." says Sutherland.
"As far as I know the
movie will be filming next year, with parts shot in London." says Kim
Raver.
“One of the ideas that the
writers have for the film and this is why actually I believe the film can
co-exist with the series while it’s running. I think we have an opportunity
actually to completely change the relationship between film and television. The
film will be a 24 hour day told over a 2 hour span. So it would be the first
thing we do that will not be in real time, the television show would obviously
be in real time. So right there, they’re very very different. It’s all being
talked about right now. I know the writers have got a very strong idea of what
they want to do with the film and they’re dealing with FOX right now on that.
Our goal would be to shoot that between Season 6 and Season 7 which would be a
year to the day. Why they would be working on that now is so that it would not
interrupt the production of the show and that once we finish the show we would
hit that running, because we have such a small finite time with which to
accomplish that. [We will stay with the same group of writers and directors]. A,
it wouldn’t make sense on a creative level [if we didn’t use them]. These are
the people that have made the show work, and on a loyalty level. These guys work
their butts off and there’s no way that anyone’s gonna get left behind out of
that.” says Sutherland.
"The shoot will take
place in London and Prague. Then we will use Morocco as a location - probably
as an aspect of the Middle East. We'll do the filming a year from now."
says Sutherland.
"We're
working on that. We'll shoot part of the film [in the UK]. The film will be
very different. It will not be done in real time. The two hour movie will be a
representation of a 24-hour day. By virtue of that it allows us to break the
format so we can actually travel. We're really excited about it." says
Sutherland.
"Well, that would be a
fantasy. I just want to get out of L.A. I feel like L.A. is starting to get a
little battle worn. And we're still flirting with the idea of doing an arc
somewhere, London, Japan. I know those territories where the fans are strong,
we'd love to get there and change the color, so that it's a different time
zone. But the timing may not allow for that, and maybe the movie will give us
that opportunity." says Gordon.
"We're working on it. We
would love to do it, and we're all very excited about the idea, so, we'll see.
We are breaking out stories for it." says Gordon.
"I'd like to think that
maybe one day...you know there is some preliminary discussions about a feature
film for 24 in the not too distant future and I think that would be the
next... obviously at that point it would be another live endeavour and that
would be just an extraordinary time." says Sean Callery.
"What we want to do with
the movie is take the story places we can't go. Because of the real time
element we can only stay in Los Angeles, we can't move the story around. What
we want to make is sort of international. In a strange way the show, the Jack
Bauer character will become in a sense a realistic modern James Bond. The plan
is to do it in the course of a 24 hour day. So it's a 2 hour movie and take
places over the course of 24 hours. So you could start with an hour in say
Asia and fly eighteen or twelve hours to Europe and then another seven hours
you fly to the United States. You could actually have people be in three
locations over the course of the day and play out these 45 minute story lines.
It's not going to be the show. We're not going to give them CTU Los Angeles
the show, it will be the Jack Bauer story with the elements and intensity of
the show. It's sort of the same story telling elements but we want it to be
its own entity. The goal for us is to do sort of what they did with the Bourne
movies and just make it our own. I mean I think we have higher stakes than
those movies. I mean those movies are great but Jack Bauer's about saving the
world and we want to continue to do that but make it a big screen experience."
says Surnow.
"The script is actually
in development right now. It's something that we would shoot for doing next
summer, during the next break. I actually believe that they can co-exist. The
series can go and the films can go — or film — can go. The 24 movie would
be a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day. That would be the first time
that we would not do something in real time, but the characters would
obviously all be derivative of the show. If we ended up doing [the movie] as a
prequel and going back before the first season, obviously there's a lot of
things that could change. If we go for it much further down the line from
where the show is, again, there's a lot of room to change. It depends on the
timing that they choose to set the film in. [The timing issue] is something
the writers are working on right now. But the sky's the limit at that point
for them, because we would not be restricted by the time element." says
Sutherland.
"Myself and the production
team continue to believe in the idea of bringing 24 to the big screen. The earliest
we would begin shooting is late spring 2007. Quality control is the main
reason a 24 movie couldn't shoot during the upcoming hiatus. It was really
Joel and Bob and Howard realizing that if we were going to squeeze it in
during the break, we would have been rushing it. If we were going to do it, we
would do it next summer. It's still a big 'if.' We would not go forward unless
we thought we could do it right. I'm not involved in anything this hiatus in
anticipation of working on the movie next summer." says Sutherland.
"I heard that [it was
supposed to start shooting after the season wrapped]. I heard that they have a
script written, like a rough draft, but there's no way you could get it
together that quickly. I don't know [if I'm in it]. I think Rachel McAdams is
playing my part. No, I have no idea. It's not going to be a 24 movie
without me, let's put it that way." says Mary Lynn Rajskub.
"It’s definitely
something in the works, but who knows when and who knows what. But it’s
definitely being discussed. Not sure [if it would film this hiatus or next
year]." says Katz.
"It's definitely not
shooting this summer. The earliest it could theoretically be shot would be
after the 2007 season." says a Twentieth Century Rep.
"We want to do a 24 movie. We want to write it this year and shoot it after next
season's production, which would be next summer to air the following summer
after that, so that would be 2008. But, you know, we're in the very first
steps of a long, long journey on this thing, and we have to basically prove it
all along the way. We have to write a great script that they're going to want
to make. The thought for the movie is the whole movie would take place in a
24-hour period. It wouldn't be a two-hour real time period. It would be three
segments of real time in the course of one day, and this way it allows us to
travel more and not be grounded in Los Angeles. We want to do a much more
international story for the movie. Oh, we [have a plot idea]." says
Surnow.
"We’re working on it.
The Movie will be considerably different than the show if in fact we ever get
the time to make it. The show takes up so much time. We are working about 10
months a year just on the show. But the show’s obviously in real time and
the film it would be impossible to do that so the film would actually
represent a 24-hour day. So we have some of it figured out. But that’s just
the very beginning. Now we just need to cast it and do the story! We are
worried about it. I think that’s why it’s taking us this long. I think if
we are going to do a film we have to make sure that we can deliver something
very special." says Sutherland.
"I think it's going to
end up happening next summer. It's not going to replace the show, they are two
very different entities and I think they can co-exist." says Sutherland.
"[The writers are working
on a 24 movie now. But the story of the movie won't have anything
to do with the TV show, much like [24:
Conspiracy]. Production will start when we finish shooting the series]." says Sutherland.
"The goal for the movie, like
the game, would be to bring new people to the show. It would be great if it
did fantastic but it would be even better if it brought people who watch
movies to the TV series. And then they would go back and buy the previous DVD
sets and Rupert Murdoch could afford everything he ever wanted (laughs). We
would make the film for a year from this summer. That’s what we’re
trying to do. We have an idea and we’re going to start the script and I’m
not going to tell you what it is! We kept coming up with ideas and then used
them on the show! But we’ve come up with an idea that couldn’t be used on
the show. In fact, that really kind of helped us crack it. What can we give
the audience that they can’t get on TV? So it’s not going to be Los
Angeles, it’s going to be Jack Bauer internationally." says Surnow.
"As has been previously reported, there have
been discussions about a potential feature film based on the television series.
However, those discussions remain preliminary, and at this time there are no
firm plans for any 24 project starring Kiefer Sutherland other than the current
acclaimed television series now in production on its fifth season." said a
spokesman for 20th Century Fox.
"I'd like to see a 24 movie... what
24 fan
wouldn't?" writes Manny Coto.
"I think the argument could be made that
it might be fun to work outside [the real-time format], to broaden the franchise
for a movie..." says Evan Katz.
"It's something we really need to decide,
or, I should say, [20th Century Fox] needs to decide within a month or so
[because] we'd like to shoot it sooner than later. I wouldn't put stock in
anything just yet, but I think there will be news in short order," says
Howard Gordon.
"It's certainly something that I have
expressed an incredible amount of interest in doing. It is something that
[producers] Joel [Surnow] and Howard [Gordon] and Bob [Cochran] and -- we've all
talked about. One of the real difficulties, and Joel's expressed it in a number
of interviews, is that any time they got really close to having a great idea for
having a film, we needed it for episode 18, so there it went. I love playing the
character and it's something I care an awful lot about. And I think certainly it
is a genre of film that I have always loved as an audience person. I think there
is an audience out there for that. I think there's always a way to actually deal
with an idea of 24 as a film that would completely be separate from 24 the
television show. And by that I mean the characters could be different. They
could be completely unrelated, and I think that that would still be effective.
Obviously, it's something that I would be very eager to do, and it requires a
lot of other people to feel the same way. There are some real-time aspects that
are certainly presenting challenges," chuckles Sutherland.
"It's something that we've talked about
and something that I'd love to be apart of if it comes in fruition. You would
think it would be easy now that the character is defined?! Um… you know… The
film business, it requires a lot of people to agree," says a smiling
Sutherland.
''It can be an amazing series of movies. One of
the things I've experienced making this show is that an audience can handle a
lot more than we thought when we started — the tension, the anxiety.... If we
could [compress] all the energy we spread over 24 hours of programming and put
that into 2, I think we'd knock your socks off", says Sutherland.
"We have talked about it. Our biggest
problem right now is getting the writers to find enough time to write a
screenplay. There are certain inherent challenges in trying to make something in
real time over a two-hour period that's going to allow enough to be engaging. I
certainly believe that they're going to accomplish that, but I don't think
that's going to happen…well, it might happen for next year – for next year's
hiatus. We're not sure yet, but they have been working on it," says
Sutherland.
"With the show there's no time [for the
movie]. A script hasn't been written yet," says Carlos Bernard.
"The last I heard, the first hour will not
be in real-time, but then something big will happen and real time will kick in.
It still has to be worked out -- it's at a stage where they need to write it. It
could still be two years from now, so it's far too early to say," says Jon Cassar.
"I think it would give the writers an
amazing opportunity. Let's say we'd do a less-than-two-hour movie. It could be
someone just dealing with a hostage situation at a bank. It could be quite
intimate — and still quite desperate," says Sutherland.
"I think obviously you'd have to call it
TWO (laughter) because it wouldn't be a 24-hour movie. But it's something that
we've talked about. It may be a TWO movie. Yeah, two hours of real time,"
says Joel Surnow.
"You'd have to cover the exact amount of
time as the movie. You wouldn't do 24 hours in that movie," says Robert
Cochran.
"It's a natural progression, yes. It's
usually the other way around - TV Series become movies - but in this case we
think we've created something that's far more entertaining each week, and much
better written, than some of the movies out there. If we can take this great
weekly series and turn it into a two-hour cinematic movie, why not. I know
everyone is looking forward to that happening. We've got a big Die
Hard style spectacle planned in the back of all our minds. The show itself
is big enough in itself, but the movie is sure to bring it on," says Kiefer
Sutherland. |
