Kiefer Sutherland Reveals 24 Movie Details; Shooting to Start This Spring
Posted 01.09.12 by Ryan
Since the Fox TV show 24 went off the air, Kiefer Sutherland has been talking up the return of CTU Agent Jack Bauer in a big screen version of the popular series. Even after 20th Century Fox rejected the 24 script written by Breach writer-director Billy Ray last January, Sutherland continued to promote the movie to fans. Then, last month, Fox hired screenwriter Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard, Unstoppable) to do some "last minute tweaking" to Ray's script, and, according to speculation, production could start when Sutherland's schedule opens up in April.
Sutherland answered questions about his new TV show Touch at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, where he also discussed the 24 movie. Collider was there and reports that Sutherland confirmed the production start for 24. "The status on the movie is that, hopefully, we will be shooting the end of April, beginning of May," said Sutherland, who added that he's "very, very excited" about the script which won't exactly conclude the long-running series.
I see it as a continuation [of the series]. The script that we’ve got right now, which I’m very, very excited about, is relatively a direct continuation. It’s within six months from the end of the last episode. We’ll see where it goes from there.
While clearly Sutherland will be in the movie, he couldn't confirm that the rest of the 24 cast would be back, but did say that the movie will not exactly represent the "real-time" aspect of the TV show.
It’s two hours, representing 24 hours. The movie is not in real time. It’s a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day.
There's still no word on who will direct 24. Sutherland has said that director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Man on Fire) was a possibility to helm 24, but Scott is no longer attached. No other director was mentioned, as it was the one question that didn't come up. Fox reportedly has "five director in mind" so expect an announcement soon if the studio wants to make the April/May production start.