Rather unfortunate news about the 24 movie from Howard Gordon. In an interview with Assignment X he reveals that Billy Ray’s script for the 24 movie was turned down by the studio with the reason being that it “wasn’t strong enough or compelling enough” for the studio to move forward with it.

Gordon also mentions that he isn’t involved with the movie right now and doesn’t know the status of it, but repeats the rumor of Tony Scott being interested. This is an unfortunate setback for the 24 movie, but at least it shows they are trying to make a quality movie rather than cash in on the shows success and make a quick buck.

(Thanks PDFierro for the heads up)

24UK Podcast was granted an extensive tour of the 24 sets (both CTU and the United Nations) with production designer Carlos Barbosa, and they just posted the video which is in four parts.

I thought this was a pretty cute story and a creative way one of the directors worked around 24‘s limited budget.

What’s better than a book trailer, print advertising, billboards, or television spots for your book? One lucky writer landed a gigantic billboard on the set of the hit television show 24–exposing her book to millions of viewers during one of the final episodes of the popular action series.

Author Lori Lansens has a new book entitled The Wife’s Tale, and her supportive husband happens to be a producer on 24.

While planning a shot for tonight’s episode, her husband needed to block out a few pesky palm trees. Instead of expensive special effects work, he had the art department build a billboard for his wife’s book to cover up the trees–in the photo above, you can see their handiwork.

After the jump, check out a photo of a shadowy Kiefer Sutherland perched on a car roof, blasting a machine gun in the general direction of the billboard–a bullet-ridden piece of brilliant book publicity for a book with “sharp humour and delicate grace.”

Source: GalleyCat

Kiefer talks about filming a special “goodbye” feature for the 24 Season 8 DVD and how he became emotional as the cameras were rolling.

Kiefer Sutherland admits he wasn’t ready when his time on “24″ stopped the week before last.

“We had months to prepare for that last day, and I’d thought of what I wanted to say,” Sutherland tells Zap2it. Now in his last Mondays of playing antiterrorist operative Jack Bauer in the FOX run that ends May 24, he says, “We’re usually running-and-gunning so fast, it’s like, ‘We’ve gotta move on!’ Since we knew it was almost the last scene, though, we were doing extra coverage of my feet, my elbows, my hands … we were making up shots, just to have the next one not be ‘the one.’

“I thought there was still one shot left. Just as I walked out on the stairs for it, they said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, that is a show wrap.’ It kind of caught me off-guard, but I figured,’”Well, I’d better say something.’ It was going to be short, because there was nothing you could say to explain how much all of this meant.”

Sutherland thought he was doing well with that goodbye — which he says was filmed for the forthcoming final-season DVD set — until he “caught the eye of our key gaffer and our key camera operator, and my voice started to go. Then my lips started to go, and I had to look down at my own feet.

Update: Watch the 24 DVD special feature “Goodbye” here.

“We all went out afterward, and I think it was the shortest night I ever had on the show. We wrapped around 9, went across the street, then everyone was gone by 10.”

Currently reading the script for a “24″ feature-film spinoff, Sutherland will return to movies first with “Melancholia” for writer-director Lars von Trier. The role is “almost as 180 degrees a turn (from Jack) as you can go,” Sutherland vows. “My immediate instinct is, ‘You can’t pick up a gun and chase anybody for a while.’ Not unless you’re playing Jack Bauer in ’24,’ anyway. That would just be too odd … almost icky.”

Source: Zap2It

Today was the final day of production on 24 after nine years – the end of an era. Very sad to watch this unfold *ahem* in real-time on Twitter with all of the cast and crew saying their emotional goodbyes. It really started to sink in that this was the end. To the cast and crew of 24, thanks for all the memories.

Annie Wersching (Renee Walker):

9 years ago, in 2001 I had just moved to LA and started watching 24 in my beatup studio apt in Hollywood and became a forever Fan. 9 yrs later, after 3 years/2 seasons 24 has again truly changed my life forever…here’s to the end of an era and to truly one of the most groundbreaking, original and kick ass shows of all time!!!!!!!!!!!! (Facebook)

Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian):

Wow . These last few days of 24 are intense. I’ve never done anything like this before (tweet)

I’m going to miss all these damn people- 24 family… (tweet)

Jon Cassar (Former 24 Director):

After many years of shooting 24, all over L.A. and Washington DC, at the end of today the cameras will stop rolling, the cast and crew will leave the set never to return and 24 will be take its place on the shelf of television history. Thx to all the fans. U kept us in the game. And 2 the cast & crew of 24, you were the best group of people, period. Enjoy the last few hrs. (tweets: 1, 2, 3)

I’m sadder today about #24 coming to an end then when I left over a year ago. I guess there was comfort in knowing it was still being made (tweet)

Rodney Charters (Director of Photography):

Last shooting day and our last scene is 2424!!! (tweet)

Last scene with ML wow strange disjointed atmosphere on set (tweet)

list of visitors Gary Newman 2oth Chairman Joel Surnow Anil Kapoor Glen Morshower speeches choked back emotion lotta lovin Bye Kiefer (tweet)

Marci Michelle:

Sushi for lunch!Not a bad send off!by the way,the season finale is some of the best acted television I’ve seen!U will not be disappointed! (tweet)

Series wrap on Mary lynn…..ok that hurt…love u ML! (tweet)

It’s a bit weepy here and my sunglasses can only mask so much!
Hurry, someone tell me a joke!;) (tweet)

6:56pm and that’s a wrap folks~ (tweet)

the cool thing was, we film out of sequence, and the very last scene we shot was…2424……. (tweet)

Robin Charters (Rodney Charter’s son)

Kiefer seconds away from finishing his last scene on 24 ever… (tweet)

That’s it, it’s over, there is no more #24 (tweet)

Necar Zadegan (Dalia Hassan):

said goodbye to my beloved 24 set today. It’s a wrap… (tweet)

Photos

Rodney Charters also tweeted out a few photos:

- The Last Call Sheet of 24 the Series
- Guy waves good bye as we lv the stage soon to be returned to industrial space
- The lights go out on New York
- The cake

Also check out the “That’s a wrap on CTU” photo/post (thanks to Beau Bowden for sending that in).

“That’s a wrap on CTU. Taken last night around 10pm PT. These are the season 8, CTU regulars, you may not know by name (or face). Photo taken by Jason Gutierrez“.

24 Season 8 CTU extras wrap photo

Thanks Beau Bowden for sending this in (he’s the guy standing second from right and plays a CTU Field Agent in 24 Season 8).

Pretty interesting behind the scenes story here. Alex Berenson, reporter for New York Times and author of several novels was invited to consult on 24 Season 8 for a month after Howard Gordon liked his novel The Faithful Spy. He gives a look at what goes on in the writers room and just how hard it is.

We sit on couches and comfortable chairs, looking for answers. Season 8 will be set in New York. But why is Jack in New York? He’s a diplomat. No, he’s in a hospital, rehabilitating from his near-death experience in Season 7. No, he’s handling security for a rich guy.

We spitball possible plots. When the process is going well, it is like playing soccer with an invisible ball. One writer pushes an idea forward until another steps in. Someone says, “So the terrorists seize a school bus filled with rich kids. …” “except one kid hides a cellphone. …”

But all too soon someone finds a hole in the plot, or argues that it doesn’t give Jack enough to do, or that it’s too maudlin. We backtrack. Sometimes we succeed in addressing the complaint. Sometimes, after a few minutes of arguing, we fail. Howard steers us in a new direction. But the original argument will flare up a few minutes later, like a fire in a garbage dump.

Howard has a reputation as a very democratic lead writer. He likes to build consensus. The good news is that everyone gets a say. The bad news is … that everyone gets a say. The debate can seem exhausting and circular.

I wish I could say I contributed mightily to Season 8, but when I left a month later Howard and the guys were still plotting the first episode. Not one line had been written. In the end, they did find an arc for the season, and the reviews have been reasonably good. But when Howard told me a few months ago that he couldn’t imagine coming back for Season 9, I understood.

Check out the full article at NY Times.

Here’s a video showing some cool before and after green-screen shots in the first nine episodes of 24 Season 8. The entire season was shot in Los Angeles and much of the skylines were digitally replaced by Stargate Studios using technology called “Virtual Backlot”.

YouTube Link: 24 Season 8 Visual Effects

Here’s a really fantastic writeup from Masked Scheduler, someone who was involved with 24 from the start.

Yesterday FOX announced that this May 24 will be ending its 8 year run. As someone who was there from the beginning I thought I would share some moments from my small role in all this.

24 was the last drama ordered to pilot in our 2001 drama development. After I read the pilot script I emailed David Nevins, our top developer at the time, to tell him how excited I was about making this and of course he along with most of us on the 4th floor at FOX concurred…but you know….the food chain…it’s too serialized, it’s about terrorism, will women watch it, what if it bombs and we pull it before the conclusion…all valid questions but it was just too good not to make, so we did.

It was an awesome, high testing pilot with a breakout character brought to life by Kiefer, and we introduced an African American Presidential candidate to America. It was well received in our screenings. We debated the obstacles but it had to get on the schedule and we announced 24 for Tuesday nights at 9 in the Fall of 2001.

FOX did not have a very good reputation for sticking with shows back then so Sandy Grushow and Gail Berman were bombarded with questions at the Television Critics tour about our commitment to running all 24 episodes. We knew that we were taking an enormous risk on several levels and we would be skewered if we pulled it. Didn’t matter, we were going to roll the dice on this one.

One day after we announced 24, Warren Littlefield, my good friend and former boss, called to tell me that he had suggested to Joel Surnow (you all know who he is) that Joel call me and start a conversation as we were preparing to launch 24. Joel and I talked often that summer and the dialogue continued throughout Joel’s connection to the show…including one fateful call after Season 3 which I will get to later. Joel was very proud of the pilot and its unique way of story telling. I tried to tell him the obstacles to success for a show like 24 but he was convinced we had a hit on our hands……

….then shit happened on September 11.

We discussed whether we delay the premiere of the show. We looked at the pilot again and realized that there was one very dramatic scene (a passenger plane explodes in mid-air) that had to be removed. We needed to reevaluate the marketing campaign. We made the corrections and, since the show wasn’t premiering until November, we stayed the course. The events of September 11th gave 24 a whole new meaning and relevance.

Check out the rest at Masked Scheduler blog. It’s a great read and even has a nice Season 8 tease at the end.

“24: DAY EIGHT” WILL BE THE AWARD-WINNING SERIES’ FINAL SEASON

Two-Hour Series Finale Airs Monday, May 24, on FOX

In a joint decision made by 24’s star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland, executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Imagine Entertainment and Fox Broadcasting Company, it was determined that the acclaimed series will end its remarkable eight-season run. Jack Bauer’s last day on FOX will conclude when the final two hours of “Day Eight” air Monday, May 24 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). As the countdown to the series’ climactic conclusion races on, the final 11 hours will air uninterrupted Mondays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Multiple award-winning series star Kiefer Sutherland reflected on the show’s run: “This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible. While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note, so the decision to make the eighth season our last was one we all agreed upon. This feels like the culmination of all our efforts from the writers to the actors to our fantastic crew and everyone at Fox. Looking ahead to the future, Howard Gordon and I are excited about the opportunity to create the feature film version of 24. But when all is said and done, it is the loyal worldwide fan base that made it possible for me to have the experience of playing the role of Jack Bauer, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon said, “Kiefer and I have loved every minute of making 24, but we all believe that now is the right time to call it a day. I echo his sentiments of gratitude toward the show’s amazing creative team, as well as the studio and network who have always believed in us and shown us unbelievable support.”

“24 is so much more than just a TV show – it has redefined the drama genre and created one of the most admired action icons in television history,” said Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group. Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company added, “We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series and will be forever thankful to Kiefer, the producers, the cast and crew for everything they’ve put into 24 over the years. It’s truly been an amazing and unforgettable eight days.”

“We are so grateful to Kiefer and Howard who have really poured their hearts and souls into making this show over the past eight seasons,” commented Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Chairmen, Twentieth Century Fox Television. “To everyone who contributed to this iconic series over its amazing run, we want to extend our heartfelt appreciation for your incredible work.”

Added Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, “I’m so proud to have been a part of 24, which has become such a cultural phenomenon. And to Kiefer and Howard and everyone who has worked on the show, many thanks.”

Now in its eighth season with Kiefer Sutherland starring as the heroic Jack Bauer, the inventive and suspenseful 24 has been nominated for a total of 68 Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Drama Series in 2006. Over the course of seven seasons, Sutherland garnered seven Emmy nominations and one win for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series. While the series gained global recognition, Sutherland’s portrayal of the legendary character penetrated the American psyche like no other dramatic television character to become part of the English lexicon.

Premiering November 6, 2001, 24 employed a pioneering split-screen, fast-paced format with complex interweaving storylines as viewers followed anti-terrorism agent Jack Bauer through 24 pulse-pounding episodes, each covering one hour and presented in real time. Subsequent seasons combined the show’s unique and trend-setting format while delivering compelling new elements and attracting talented actors and guest stars, including the Emmy Award-winning Cherry Jones (President Allison Taylor). The series also currently stars Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian), Anil Kapoor (Omar Hassan), Annie Wersching (Renee Walker), Katee Sackhoff (Dana Walsh), Mykelti Williamson (Brian Hastings), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Cole Ortiz), Chris Diamantopoulos (Rob Weiss) and John Boyd (Arlo Glass).

The first six seasons were set in Los Angeles, and following the strike-induced delay of Season Seven, “24: Redemption,” a two-hour film bridging Seasons Six and Seven, was set in Africa. Washington, D.C. was the setting for Season Seven, and the final season of 24 finds Jack Bauer thwarting a terrorist attack in New York.

At the conclusion of Season Eight, 24 will have a produced a total of 194 episodes (including “24: Redemption”), making it one of the longest-running action television shows in history.

Tune in Monday, March 29 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) for the next all-new installment of 24 and Monday, April 5 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) for a special two-hour episode.

Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, 24 is a production of 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television in association with Teakwood Lane Productions. Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, David Fury, Manny Coto, Brannon Braga, Brad Turner, Alex Gansa, Kiefer Sutherland and Brian Grazer are executive producers, while Chip Johannessen and Patrick Harbinson serve as co-executive producers. Brad Turner will direct the series finale.

From Jon Cassar’s twitter:

News from the 24 set,the crew has been told that 24 has come to an end. There will b no season 9. Its been a great run, thanx all 4 watching

Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian)’s twitter:

Just found out we got the word officially. This is 24′s last season

Marci MIchelle’s twitter:

Well boys and girls looks like we’ll be moving onto the next great adventure…it’s official, 24 ends it’s days this season~~

RIP 24. Let’s hope Jack Bauer’s big-screen adventure gets fast-tracked.

Fox has yet to officially announce whether 24 will end its eight-season run this May but clues continue to pop up that suggest otherwise. Here’s the latest: a casting call for the role of a U.N. secretary general on 24 went out to talent agencies this week and included an advisory: “These are the final episodes, so if some of your name people would like to do something on the show, this is the time for them to do it.”

This can be taken one of two ways – the final episodes of the season, or the final episodes of the series. It doesn’t sound too promising though: when read in context, the casting call is basically telling actors ‘now is your last chance to be on 24‘.

Source: EW.com

20th Century Fox TV, where Gordon is under an overall deal, has acquired rights to the Israeli format “Prisoners of War,” which Gordon will co-write with “24″ executive producer Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff; the latter created the original series for Keshet Broadcasting, whose recent launch in Israel has drawn a lot of attention.

The acquisition and Gordon’s involvement underscore the growing popularity of Israeli formats, which have become a hot TV commodity in Hollywood and spawned two pilots this development season: Fox’s “Traffic Light,” also from 20th TV, and CBS’ “The Quinn-Tuplets.”

20th TV chairman Dana Walden said that after hearing Keshet’s pitch for “POWs,” it was an instant decision to take the format to “24′s” Gordon and Gansa.

“The format is very smart and has all of the exciting elements that go into ’24′: an ongoing story, an incredible story engine and a very emotional situation,” Walden said.

Featuring an all-star cast, the Israeli “POWs” tells the story of three soldiers who return home from 17 years in Syrian captivity and must readjust to life in Israel and reunite with their families.

Tentatively titled “Patriots,” the American version will revolve around three U.S. soldiers presumed killed during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 who are found in a cave 10 years later.

“They come home greeted as heroes, but they are traumatized by the treatment there, and their families have become collateral damage to their captivity,” said Gordon, who exec produces the project with Gansa, Gideon and Keshet’s Avi Nir.

There will be some mystery about what happened during their years in captivity and the possible threat one of the soldiers might present, Gordon said of the project, whose genre he describes as “suspense, psychological drama.”

The U.S. version also will introduce a new character, a counterterrorism agent — and no, his name won’t be Jack Bauer.

Speaking of “24,” despite the continuous drumbeat about the veteran real-time terrorist drama coming to an end, Gordon was surprisingly optimistic about the show’s chances to return for a ninth season.

“Discussions are still being held; the book hasn’t been closed,” he said. “If there is ’24′ past Season 8,” he added, “I will be part of that,” though probably not as showrunner. He also said that star Kiefer Sutherland, who has no deal for the show beyond the current season, “is inclined to do another season if there is a good story.”

The show is now in production of the final two episodes of Season 8 and Gordon is bearing down. “Every year of ’24′ has a strong thematic closure,” he said.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

While 24 seemed all but cancelled, there may be a glimmer of hope for us fans to latch onto – the show moving to another network.

24 may live to see another day after all.

Multiple sources confirm to me exclusively that 20th Century Fox has approached NBC about picking up the series should Fox opt to cancel it — and the Peacock is considering it. “There’s definitely some interest,” says an insider close to the talks.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that 20th (a.k.a. the studio) and Fox (a.k.a. the network) are nearing a mutual decision to end the serial thriller after eight seasons due to declining ratings and rising costs.

A move to NBC — while still considered somewhat of a long shot given the hefty price tag — would likely delay 20th’s plans to launch a Jack Bauer film franchise. From a production standpoint, 24 execs have long maintained that it would ne next to impossible to make a movie while the series was still on the air.

Reps for 20th and NBC declined to comment.

Source: EW.com

THR: There’s been a lot of rumors about “24″ this season. You’ve got a sense of the ratings so far, what’s the call?

Reilly: It’s a very tough call. It’s a huge part of our legacy, and there’s not a lot of shows that could do a 9 share against the Olympics. Tremendous sales asset for us still; a show we’re so very proud of creatively. So it’s not an easy call.

If you read between the lines, Reilly doesn’t say anything about wanting the show back like he does with Human Target and Lie To Me.

Source: The Live Feed/THR

NBC’s Angela Bromstad says the idea has been floated for NBC to pick up the series, but it’s unlikely (due to the same cost reasons):

THR: If Fox passes on doing another season of “24,” would NBC be interested?
Bromstad: I think it would be expensive for us. It’s been floated. It’s all going to come down to how strong our development is.

THR: But you wouldn’t rule that out as a fit for NBC?
Bromstad: I wouldn’t rule it out. I wouldn’t think it’s likely, but I wouldn’t rule it out.

Source: The Live Feed/THR