24 Spoilers

The eighth Scenemakers of 24 Season 8 with director Brad Turner, actors Julian Morris and Rami Malek, and stunt coordinator Jeff Cadiente.

The seventh Scenemakers of 24 Season 8 with director Brad Turner, actors Katee Sackhoff and Freddie Prinze Jr, and special effects coordinator Stan Blackwell.

The sixth Scenemakers of 24 Season 8 with director Milan Cheylov, actor Jurgen Prochnow, stunt coordinator Jeff Cadiente, and special effects coordinator Stan Blackwell.

20th Century Fox Television has temporarily shut down production of “24″ so that Kiefer Sutherland can undergo a surgical procedure related to a ruptured cyst near his kidney.

Although the cyst ruptured while he was working, the star and executive producer of “24″ was able to work through Friday. His publicist, Evelyn Karamanos, issued the following statement on Sunday to the Times:

“While Kiefer Sutherland is frustrated to miss even one day of work, he and Fox decided together that it would be best to complete this minor elective procedure now as a precaution as opposed to six weeks from now when production wraps. He looks forward to returning to work next week.”

Production will probably resume in one week. 20th Century Fox Television also issued a statement on Sunday:

“We are temporarily suspending production of ‘24′ while our friend and colleague Kiefer Sutherland undergoes a medical procedure. We hope to resume production shortly and do not anticipate any disruption in the broadcast of this season’s episodes.”

I hope everything goes according to plan and wish Kiefer a swift Jack Bauer-style recovery.

Source: Los Angeles Times

The fifth Scenemakers of 24 Season 8 with director Milan Cheylov talking about the new CTU cast.

Twentieth Century Fox’s film and TV studios are conspiring to finally bring hit television series “24″ to the bigscreen.
The film side has hired scribe Billy Ray (“State of Play,” “Flightplan”) to pen the script for the feature version. Ray’s pitch, which takes Jack Bauer to Europe, was a hit with Fox execs and producers of the high-concept television series.

Ray also wrote and directed “Breach” and “Shattered Glass.”

Script is said to have come through “24″ star Kiefer Sutherland, who’s also an exec producer on the series — and is said to be eager to turn the long-running TV skein into a feature franchise.

Feature would be produced the TV show’s key exec producers, including Sutherland. “24″ was created by Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, and while exec producer Howard Gordon runs the show through his Real Time Prods. banner.

Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, which produces the show along with 20th Century Fox TV, also would be involved.

Insiders cautioned that a “24″ feature is still very much in the preliminary stages. There are a number of factors influencing how quickly it moves ahead, including the fate of the TV show.

Fox doesn’t have a deal for a ninth season of “24,” and hasn’t yet decided whether to order another season. Insiders said the network is waiting to see this week’s ratings before making a decision, but the betting is that this will be the final season.

Even if Fox winds up passing on another year of “24,” 20th Century Fox TV could possibly shop the show to other nets. In that case, a feature might have to take a back seat.

“24’s” producers have been kicking around making a film for several years, and came close to doing one several years ago.

But the prospect of shooting a feature while the show was still on the air was a daunting one for the cast and producers. Critics and fans of “24″ have always enthused about how the show is produced like a feature — and the film studio would want to move most of the “24″ series crew to work on the feature. That’s difficult to do while “24″ is in production, as hiatuses aren’t nearly long enough to shoot a movie.

The show’s producers did take advantage of the writers’ strike to make a TV movie, however. “24: Redemption,” which aired prior to the show’s seventh season in 2008, was nominated for five Emmys.

The allure of spinning a popular TV series into a bigscreen film is hard to ignore for studio execs, since there is a built-in audience and brand awareness. “24″ has also been a mammoth hit for the studio in foreign markets, which suggests that a feature adaptation would travel well.

Fox saw big rewards from turning TV toon “The Simpsons” into a feature film. In 2007, “The Simpsons” grossed $183.1 million domestically and $343.9 million overseas for a worldwide cume of $527.1 million.

Studio saw strong returns when adapting TV series “The X-Files.” Feature film “The X-Files,” released in 1998 when the show was still on the air, grossed $83.9 million at the domestic B.O. and $105.3 million overseas for a total cume of $189.2 million.

The second outing wasn’t nearly as successful, however. “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” released in 2008, six years after the series went off the air, grossed just $68.4 million worldwide.

Source: Variety

Jack Bauer may finally hit the big screen. Though Fox has yet to decide whether to pick up a ninth season of 24, an insider confirmed that the film side is in talks with Billy Ray (State of Play) to write a screenplay for the franchise. Word is the scribe came in and pitched his version of the flick.

Any movement on a film may hinge upon the show’s future with the network; Fox toppers Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly will likely want to see how the show performs over the next few weeks before deciding whether to commit to another season of Bauer racing the clock. Through Jan. 31, 24 is down versus last year by 10% in total viewers (11.9 million versus 13.3 million) and by 15% in adults 18-49 (3.9 versus 4.6). The drama remains Fox’s third-most watched show behind American Idol and House.

A decision is needed soon; a source close to the show said the producers are preparing to write the 23rd and 24th episodes of the current season so they need to know whether to pen a series finale. Production on the drama is scheduled to wrap March 24.

In January, star Kiefer Sutherland told EW that he’d love to do a movie (“It would be a two-hour representation of a day”) and thinks the TV show can actually be done at the same time. ”I actually tried to convince a few people of this. In a media world that is changing unbelievably fast, a television series can either act as a great trailer for a film, or a film can act as a great trailer for a television series. And I think the first person who actually does that is going to change the way television interacts with feature films.

“I think the resistance to it is because, in my father’s generation, if you did films, you didn’t even think about television,” Sutherland continued. “That was a death knell. And if you did television, you wouldn’t be allowed to do films. That was when we had three networks. We have six hundred now, and if I want to see Paul Newman in a movie, I don’t have to go out. And so the game has changed. And I think we’re going to have to adjust with it.” – With additional reporting from Nicole Sperling

Source: EW.com

**EXCLUSIVE** Kiefer Sutherland and co-star Katee Sackhoff gear up and film scenes on the streets of Downtown LA for the Emmy and Golden Globe award winning show “24″. The Fox TV series stars Kiefer Sutherland as Agent Jack Bauer whose co-star Katee Sackhoff plays Dana Walsh, a computer analyst who has a background she’s trying to keep hidden. Both Sackhoff and Sutherland are seen with guns and running down empty streets in Downtown LA. In between takes, Sutherland re-loads his prop gun and takes direction from crew members. Apparently, cops were called to the scene since the noise disruption was thought to be a real gun shooting in the area. (February 2, 2010 – Photo by PacificCoastNews.com)

Source: Zimbio

The fourth Scenemakers of 24 Season 8 again with Carlos Barbosa and Carlos Osorio – this time giving a tour of the United Nations set.

The Copper Spoon blog reports on recent 24 filming along with some pictures:

From Wednesday through Friday, the cast of the hit Fox show 24 took over the lobby, elevators and outdoor area of my office building, One Bunker Hill. Kiefer Sutherland and gang could be seen throughout the day acting in various different scenes, from some sort of bank heist, to action scenes in the elevators and on-foot chases overtaking the sidewalks.

LA’s blogdowntown offers the actual filming notice used:

DESCRIPTION OF SCENE: Weapons brandished. Driving shots. Emergency vehicles with flashing lights. Equipment on sidewalk, curb lane and across the street. Interior dialogue. Exterior dialogue. Occasional traffic and pedestrian control. Wetting of the street. Condor and crane. Generator. Picture vehicles. Bus move at 5th St & Grand Ave. Talent climbing down fire escape, running across Grand Ave. Camera ladder on 6th St & Grand Ave. People and equipment on library steps. Near hits & misses.

Although none of the reports mention it, it appears that Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff) is in the field with Cole and Jack. If you look closely in one of the photos, Dana appears to be holding a gun while walking through the crowded sidewalk of pedestrians.

Thanks to Copper Spoon blog and @er17a on Twitter for the set pictures.

The third Scenemakers of 24 Season 8 with production designer Carlos Barbosa and art director Carlos Osorio giving a tour of the new CTU.

Here is the second behind the scenes with director Milan Cheylov showing how they accomplished a major car stunt in the third episode of 24 Season 8.

Here is the first Scenemakers (behind the scenes videos) of 24 Season 8, showing how the helicopter explosion was done for the premiere.

YouTube Link: 24’s Katee Sackhoff set visit with TV Guide Magazine! Behind the scenes of the new 24 set!

Howard Gordon shows off the amazing new underground CTU New York set showing us the fancy elevators, palm readers, the 24 foot jumbotron-style display, the slick new interrogation room, and more.

Video Link: Inside the New CTU on Fox’s 24

Here is a new Featurette from Fox that includes Kiefer Sutherland and showrunner Howard Gordon talking about the new season and introducing all the new characters. There is LOTS of new footage in here and it looks great!

YouTube Link

24 writer and co-executive producer Chip Johannessen is leaving 24 to pursue a new job as showrunner on Showtime’s popular Dexter series.

This is the second 24 writer departure this year, with Juan Carlos Coto leaving before the start of the eighth season to join Heroes.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

No idea when these photos were taken or the story behind them, but hopefully Glenn was on the set as an actor and not simply visiting his old friends to say hi! Aaron Pierce is the only character besides Jack Bauer to appear in all seven seasons of the show and I’d like that streak to continue.

Thanks Kim for the photos!

24’s Director of Photography Rodney Charters has been giving us fans a behind the scenes look via the new live video-streaming uStream app for iPhone, this time of CTU New York.

Ustream Link

Another day brings us more pictures from the 24 set. The scene being filmed involved Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) running out of a building with lots of pigeons around him. You can also see Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) and President Hassan’s wife (played by Necar Zadegan) in the photos.

Source: Belgapicture and SpoilerTV