This guy sure likes to keep busy. Despite being the showrunner of not one but two potential series (Showtime’s Homeland and NBC’s REM), Howard Gordon is somehow still finding time to write a sequel to his debut novel Gideon’s War.
Simon and Schuster announcedHard Target (formerly known as Allegiance) scheduled for release in January 2012. The book is a follow-up to Gideon’s War and continues the story of Gideon Davis. No other details at this time but it’s supposed to focus on a larger set of characters than the first book.
Howard Gordon is interviewed about his three television projects, his novel Gideon’s War (and the upcoming sequel) and the 24 movie which he says is “on hold” (despite Kiefer saying otherwise). He also claims that the 24 series had “run its course” and was “time to end”.
The first January in a decade with no ’24′ just passed. Are you missing the show as much as fans are, or is it nice to have a break?
I miss it, but I’m really glad it’s over. Because I’m so sure that it had run its course and it was time to end. So there’s really no regrets. But that doesn’t mean I won’t miss it. I actually had lunch with Kiefer not that long ago, and he and I mixed it up quite a bit over the years, and we both looked at each other and said, “I miss you, man.” It was really nice.
It seems like there’s a different rumor about the ’24′ movie every day, including one recently that Ron Howard would be directing the movie. What’s the latest news on the movie?
The ’24′ movie is on hold for now, although conversations are ongoing. Beyond that, there is no news — at least as far as I know.
What’s the biggest challenge in taking ’24′ to the big screen?
The challenge is just not making it a movie for the sake of making a movie version of ’24,’ but really having a compelling story … simply making it good, frankly. I know that sounds non-specific. But nobody’s interested just to do it as an exercise. If it’s going to be out there, it has to be out there for a good reason.
Looks like Howard Gordon’s own “Legends” pilot for NBC didn’t get picked up, but he was made showrunner of another upcoming NBC show called REM (a situation very similar to how he got the job on 24).
24 showrunner Howard Gordon will serve as executive producer/showrunner on REM, Kyle Killen’s drama pilot for NBC described as an Inception-style thriller about a cop living in two different realities. The gig falls under Gordon’s overall deal with 20th TV. In addition to REM, Gordon has the pilot Homeland, which he co-wrote, in contention at Showtime. If the two projects go to series, Gordon could conceivably run both the way Shawn Ryan juggled showrunner duties on The Shield and Lie to Me.
Although Howard Gordon was executive producer and show-runner of TV’s “24″ and is a producer on the movie, he’s not writing or directing, and its ultimate fate is beyond his control.
Talking to Zap2it on Friday, Jan. 28, he says, “We talk about it, ‘we’ meaning I’ve had conversations with Imagine Entertainment [one of the other production entities involved in the series], with Kiefer, and with Fox sporadically. There’s nothing substantial as far as I know.
“I don’t have the ability to greenlight something, so something might be happening without me. It’s always possible. But as far as I know, it’s an ongoing conversation, but nothing definitive has been decided.” [click to continue…]
CNN has interviewed Howard Gordon about his novel Gideon’s War (and the upcoming sequel Allegiance) and even linked to my review/website in the article. Sweet, thanks CNN! :)
“Gideon’s War” is not by any means Gordon’s first effort to connect with an audience. As a former executive producer for The “X-Files,” and a consulting producer for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” he clearly has shown a knack for keeping things exciting. But will people line up to shell out money for his latest project?
“It’s hard to break out like this guy,” says Gail Ross, a nonfiction literary agent based in Washington who admits to being a closet fiction reader. “But he’s got enough notoriety, and once you have the blurb from people you trust and the brand recognition, the readers will talk to each other.”
Gordon is getting a little help from his friends for sure. Kiefer Sutherland, the star of “24,” has offered a blurb for the back cover of Gordon’s book. [click to continue…]
Long-time 24 fan Chief (a.k.a @tvisgreat) attended the Gideon’s War book signing at Park Road Brooks in Charlotte, North Carolina tonight and got to ask the former 24 showrunner Howard Gordon why exactly Billy Ray’s 24 movie script was rejected:
Howard Gordon said the reason 20th Century Fox passed on the Billy Ray screenplay was because they felt like it was too much like an episode of the show only super-sized. They didn’t think there was enough of a reason for that script to get the film treatment rather than TV. [click to continue…]
Here’s an interview I recorded this morning on FOX 5′s Good Day New York. It’s almost entirely about his novel Gideon’s War, but he gets asked about the 24 movie at the very end (final 20 seconds) to which he replies it’s not happening right away but is still happening.
This is actually a pretty candid interview where Howard Gordon gets grilled about the “political correctness” of the 24 in recent years with the numerous “Go Green” PSA’s in Season 7 (which he says was a Rupert Murdoch mandate) and the Season 4 pro-Muslim PSA’s with Kiefer Sutherland.
A bunch of former 24 castmates and colleagues came out to support Howard Gordon yesterday at the book signing for his debut novel Gideon’s War (in stores now, read our review).
Actors Dennis Haysbert (David Palmer), Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida), Gregory Itzin (Charles Logan), Peter Weller (Christopher Henderson), Chris Diamantopoulos (Rob Weiss) and former 24 writer Evan Katz showed up to lend their support. Check out the pictures below: [click to continue…]
Normally 24 fans have a new season of the show to enjoy in January – unfortunately that’s not the case this year. But Howard Gordon, longtime executive producer and showrunner of 24, is hoping to fill that void with his novel debut Gideon’s War (previously known as “The Obelisk”).
Gideon’s War tells the story of two estranged brothers. Gideon Davis is a expert peace negotiator at the United Nations who has travelled the world. His older brother Tillman is the complete opposite, a man accused of being a ruthless terrorist that goes by the name of Abu Nasir; a drug smuggler, arms dealer, and pirate that seizes ships for large ransoms. [click to continue…]
Howard Gordon is interviewed by Jamie Samuelsen of Mornings on 94.7 WCSX about his novel Gideon’s War. He also speaks about 24 and says the network petitioned them to change the heavily serialized real-time format during the first year of the show.
He talks about the low point being 24 Season 6 and says his favorite character aside from Jack Bauer was Charles Logan (the other being Dennis Haysbert’s David Palmer). [click to continue…]
His main character hates guns, searches for peaceful solutions and comes across as a genuine ambassador of good.
A little different from Jack Bauer, right?
“A little different, yes,” says Howard Gordon, the executive producer who turned “24″ into a ratings juggernaut and helped make Jack Bauer a household name.
But Gordon, a Long Island native who has immediate family living in Bergen County, was not looking to create another rules-be-damned, cross-every-line hero. So when he sat down to write “Gideon’s War,” his debut novel, he left Bauer’s eight seasons of footprints behind. [click to continue…]
Here’s a lengthy (24 minute) live radio interview I recorded where TV Confidential interviews Howard Gordon, showrunner of 24 and the author of Gideon’s War.
Comparisons of the Gideon Davis and Jack Bauer characters come up, Howard shares his writing past, reveals what other writers and stories he was inspired by, they talk about Gregory Itzin (who was recognized by LA Times as one of TV’s top supporting characters in 2010) and Dennis Haysbert, Howard’s favorite episode of 24, his two television pilots, and briefly about the 24 movie.
After being asked by fans on Twitter, Howard Gordon took to his other Twitter account, @24Season8 (shh… I think it’s supposed to be a secret) to explain why bloopers weren’t included on the DVD. The answer is pretty insulting in my opinion. [click to continue…]
Howard Gordon is interviewed by Newsday’s Verne Gay about his upcoming debut novel Gideon’s War, the 24 movie, and a possible Jack Bauer novel should the movie deal fall through. The interview also mentions a planned sequel to Gideon’s War, “Allegiance,” due out next year.
The ninth season of “24″ should have been starting just about now – except, of course, “24″ ended (sob . . . sob again) last year. There may be a “24″ movie someday, but in the meantime, bereaved fans may wish to consult “Gideon’s War,” a new novel by Howard Gordon, the show’s longtime executive producer. [click to continue…]
