CTV.ca | MADD wants Sutherland pulled from Ford ads
CTV.ca News Staff
December 7, 2007

Ford Motor Company of Canada is being urged by MADD Canada to replace Kiefer Sutherland as the voice behind their advertisements now that the actor is in jail for a drunk driving conviction.

Sutherland, the star of "24," is serving a 48-day sentence in a California prison after pleading no-contest in October to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08.

The Canadian actor was pulled over after leaving a Hollywood party on Sept. 25.

Sutherland was already on probation following a drunken-driving arrest in 2004. In 1993, Sutherland was convicted of alcohol-related reckless driving.

Andrew Murie, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada, said Ford should view the conviction as a wake-up call.

"Obviously as a company they're against drunk driving, so why are they continuing to have somebody speak on behalf of their products that now has been convicted... of impaired driving?" Murie told CTV.ca on Friday.

He said companies like Ford need to use people that uphold society's standards.

"Literally, there's thousands of people out there that meet the moral standards of our society today that would love to have that kind of endorsement contract and they should be honoured for their ethical behaviour," he said.

Murie said Sutherland, as a celebrity, could have easily afforded to have a personal driver or limousine take him home.

Ford Canada spokesperson Gina Gellert said the company is monitoring the situation but that Sutherland's voice will continue to be used, reports The Canadian Press.

Under the terms of his plea, the Emmy winning actor will have to serve all 48 days in jail. He also must serve 60 months probation, pay a $510 fine, enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and attend weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months.

Kiefer Sutherland's a 'Model Prisoner'
By WENN
December 7, 2007

HOLLYWOOD - 24 actor Kiefer Sutherland is proving to be a "model prisoner," three days after beginning his prison sentence for a drunk-driving conviction.

The star turned himself into Los Angeles police on Wednesday--two weeks prior to his scheduled booking date of Dec. 21--and started serving his 48 days behind bars at the private Glendale City Jail. Sutherland was handed the sentence after he was caught driving under the influence in September.

And the 40-year-old has been on his best behavior ever since.

Prison spokesman Officer John Balian says, "He's not happy to be here, but you can tell from his demeanor that he's sorry and takes responsibility for what he's done."

Sutherland has been given his own accommodation--which is standard procedure for "long-term" inmates--and is helping out in the prison kitchen, serving meals to up to 10 other inmates.

But the actor will not come into contact with his fellow prisoners--one of which was jailed for the attempted murder of four people--because he will only slide the food trays through slots in the cell doors.

Sutherland was also sentenced to five years’ probation on Wednesday by L.A. Judge Stuart M. Rice, who insisted the star must complete an 18-month alcohol education program and attend weekly therapy sessions for six months.

Kiefer Sutherland
December 5, 2007
(Glendale Police Department/AP)

Kiefer Sutherland Sentenced to 48 Days in Jail for Drunken Driving; Starts Term Right Away
By Daisy Nguyen - Associated Press Writer
December 6, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kiefer Sutherland was sentenced Wednesday to 48 days in jail for racking up a second drunken-driving arrest in three years and immediately reported to a city lockup. The star of the Fox TV drama "24" was being processed at the Glendale city jail, said Officer John Balian.

Sutherland, 40, who pleaded no contest in October to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08, appeared in court with his attorney and politely answered the judge's questions, said Assistant City Attorney Dan Jeffries.

His request to serve his time at the Glendale city jail was granted and he was ordered to complete the sentence by March 30, Jeffries said.

"Kiefer made the decision to surrender to custody immediately," his attorney, Blair Berk, told The Associated Press.

He could have waited as late as Feb. 12.

The actor was already on probation for a 2004 drunken-driving arrest when he was stopped by police as he left a Hollywood industry party at the trendy Area nightclub on Sept. 25. Authorities said he failed a field sobriety test after being pulled over for making an illegal U-turn.

Sutherland had also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge in 2004. He was sentenced in that case to five years' probation, 50 hours of community service and ordered to attend an alcohol treatment program. Authorities said he fulfilled the community service and alcohol treatment obligations.

He was also convicted of alcohol-related reckless driving in 1993, according to the city attorney's office.

"I'm very disappointed in myself for the poor judgment I exhibited recently, and I'm deeply sorry for the disappointment and distress this has caused my family, friends and co-workers," Sutherland said in a statement issued after he entered his plea in the latest case.

Sutherland, who plays dashing federal counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer on "24," won an Emmy for best actor last year.

Under the terms of his plea, he also must serve five years of probation, pay a $510 fine, enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and attend weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months, Jeffries said.

He could have been sentenced to as much as a year and a half in jail if convicted.

Sutherland will serve his sentence at Glendale city jail, but under a county jail inmate program because of overcrowding, Jeffries said. He must serve all 48 days.

The Glendale jail is a minimum security facility with 48 cells, each of them measuring 10 feet by 8 feet. They come equipped with two beds, a toilet, washbasin and water fountain, but Sutherland won't be sharing his cell with anyone.

"Anyone here for a long period of time will get their own cell," Balian said.

The actor is classified as an "inmate worker" and will be required to perform duties in the laundry room and help prepare food for inmates in the kitchen area.

"He'll be working here for 48 days," Balian said.

Sutherland will also have access to an outdoor area and be allowed two visitors per day.

Associated Press Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.

Rossif Sutherland

Another Sutherland falls for the family biz
By Jennie Punter
Globe and Mail.com
December 6, 2007

Son of Donald, half-brother of Kiefer, Rossif fell in love with music, but acting eventually won his heart

Actor Rossif Sutherland possesses a luxurious, gentle baritone similar to the vocal tones of his father, veteran actor Donald Sutherland, and his older half-brother, Kiefer Sutherland (24's Jack Bauer).

That distinctive "Sutherland" voice, not to mention his lanky 6-foot-5 frame and relaxed, thoughtful, almost dreamy demeanour, make a memorable first impression when the younger Sutherland stands up and greets the next interviewer during the Toronto International Film Festival last fall. He doesn't immediately strike one as an actor who could convincingly play a fresh-out-of-prison boxer from a violent neighbourhood. But that's exactly what Sutherland does in Clement Virgo's latest film, the hard-knocks drama Poor Boy's Game, which picked up four awards at the 2007 Atlantic Film Festival in October and also played the Toronto and Berlin festivals.

Although both his father and mother, Quebec-born Francine Racette, are actors, the 29-year-old Sutherland, a singer-songwriter (you can check out a few of his latest folk-tinged tunes on his MySpace page), didn't heed the family calling from an early age as did Kiefer, who got his first starring film role at 18 in The Bad Boy. Rossif's sole thespian credit from his teen years was a multipart role in a high-school play about the Vietnam War. "One of my characters had no legs," he recalls. "I remember one performance I completely blanked and was so embarrassed I walked off stage. Imagine that - it's a miracle!" he laughs.

During philosophy studies at Princeton University, Sutherland directed a short film. When the lead actor didn't show up for the shoot, the director stepped in. "I showed that film to my father. He noticed the acting, not the directing, and said that's what I should do. My father isn't one to think everything his child does is brilliant, so it was a huge compliment. But I still resisted for years."

Rossif Sutherland: ‘Acting is an adventure.’ (Tim Fraser for The Globe and Mail)

Sutherland believes that his work as a musician and an actor are intertwined. "They're both about being real and truthful and vulnerable," he explains. "They are both an expression of myself, so although I'm playing somebody else, that person is rooted inside me."

But it took him a while to understand the connection. "For a long time, I thought acting was just pretending to be somebody else. After taking some acting classes in New York, getting up there and getting over myself, I realized acting is an adventure in which you get to explore a part of yourself that is dormant," he continues. "Then you can either keep it or defeat it or abandon it."

Sutherland lobbied hard to win the part of Donnie in Poor Boy's Game, a film about a community's legacy of violence and one man's struggle toward redemption that unfolds across the race divide in Halifax. Director Virgo (Lie With Me, Love Come Down, Rude), who co-wrote the screenplay with Halifax filmmaker Chaz Thorne (Just Buried), is a boxing fan and says, "I think viewers intuitively understand the metaphorical side of getting knocked down and getting back up again and going the distance."

As the film opens, Donnie is released from prison having served time for beating up a young black man so severely it left him physically and mentally handicapped for life. Challenged by local boxing champ Ossie Paris (Flex Alexander) to a match he is sure to lose, Donnie ends up being coached, secretly, by George Carvery (Danny Glover), the father of the boy Donnie almost killed.

Virgo auditioned a lot of actors for the role, who played Donnie "tough and grunting." Sutherland had something different. "He had a beard, was wearing a long coat and was about 30 pounds too heavy, but there was something about his energy I liked," says Virgo, who flew to Los Angeles to hang out with the actor. "I told him, 'You don't look like a boxer, you're too fat.' Three months later, we went to a boxing gym and I was impressed. "Rossif's gift is his ability to communicate through behaviour, finding ways to reveal character through action," Virgo continues. "During the editing process, we constantly took dialogue away from both Rossif's and Danny's characters. They both have this great ability to tell us so much without speaking."

Sutherland, who had never played a lead film role, describes Donnie as a "beautiful challenge. Here is someone who leaves prison and is actually rehabilitated, but the only way he can lead a full life is to go back and confront a past he wants to forget."

The actor, who found he had to stop occasional bouts of shadow boxing because the character of Donnie wouldn't leave him, is now playing Billy in Gary Yates's screen version of the award-winning play High Life, which is shooting in Winnipeg. He still seems a bit surprised about his "discovered" profession.

"When I found I could sing, it was like love at first sight," Sutherland explains. "But acting was more like falling in love with a childhood friend - someone I've grown up with and known all my life. One day, you look and it's like seeing her for the first time - it's a deep-rooted love."

Concert for Diana – DVD Release
Universal Music Enterprises

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 1, 2007 at the new Wembley Stadium "Concert for Diana" was staged in front of an audience of 62,000 and beamed to a worldwide TV audience of many hundreds of millions in over 140 countries. The concert, organised by Prince William and Prince Harry to celebrate the life of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, on what would have been her 46th birthday proved to be a spectacular success -- with the UK TV viewing figure peaking at a massive 15 million. The entire concert, and many extra features, is captured on a two disc DVD which will be released on November 13 from Hip-O/UMe.

Last Summer's "Concert for Diana" featured a truly unique artist line-up, spanning a broad artistic spectrum ...from Pharrell Williams to the English National Ballet, with the criteria being that the artists invited were some of the favourites of the Princess and the Princes: this resulted in an intoxicating blend of rock, pop, rap, classical and musical theatre. The two disc DVD, filmed by Janet Fraser Crook, features all of the 21 memorable performances by many of the world's greatest musicians: Elton John, Rod Stewart, P. Diddy, Joss Stone, Bryan Ferry, Natasha Bedingfield, Fergie, Pharrell Williams, Lily Allen, Take That, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp, Tom Jones, James Morrison, Orson, Joe Perry, Kanye West, The Feeling, Status Quo, Will Young, Nelly Furtado and Duran Duran. In recognition of Diana's love of ballet, the English National Ballet gave a spell binding performance of an extract from Swan Lake, and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals medley, packed with surprise guests Anastacia, Connie Fisher, Andrea Ross, Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, Donny Osmond, Jason Donovan and Lee Mead, reflected the Princess's fondness for musical theatre. Star presenters included Kiefer Sutherland, Sienna Miller, David Beckham, Ricky Gervais, Dennis Hopper and Jamie Oliver.

The "Concert for Diana" DVD, like the concert itself, is presented in three acts and includes much fascinating unseen footage. With a running time of over five and a half hours, the "Concert for Diana" DVD includes all the artists and presenters as well as a fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary. The DVD also contains all the poignant 'Diana and me' films, a series of short films about Diana which were interwoven through the concert and give compelling testimony from people of all ages and walks of life about how the Princess touched so many people's lives.

The front cover of the DVD features one of the best-loved images of Diana, taken by Mario Testino at her last official portrait session. It is one of the photographs currently on show as part of Testino's exhibition in the State Apartments at Kensington Palace. Accompanying the DVD is a 20 page booklet which contains a wonderful photographic record of the events on July 1 at Wembley stadium.

The charities benefiting from the sale of the "Concert for Diana" DVD will be identical to the concert beneficiaries -- The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, Sentebale, the Lesotho children's charity Prince Harry founded in her memory, and the six charities of which the Princess was Patron at the time of her death -- Centrepoint, English National Ballet, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The National Aids Trust, The Leprosy Mission and The Royal Marsden Hospital.

In the days after the concert, the media and public both in the UK and around the world agreed that an event that had been planned as a fabulous birthday party had succeeded in being exactly that ... an occasion full of fun and laughter, and of a sense of joyous celebration.

Jack Bauer's Creator Speaks
By Philip Klein
The American Spectator - Special Report
November 13, 2007

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Conservatives who lament the ideological bias in Hollywood need to stop acting like liberals.

That's the advice Joel Surnow, the executive producer of the hit television series 24, gave to hundreds of conservative students on Saturday at the Young America's Foundation West Coast Leadership conference.

"Our job is not to whine, that's their job," Surnow said. "Our job is to succeed despite the adversity."

Following the speech, Surnow sat by the patio bar of Fess Parker's DoubleTree hotel on a cool Santa Barbara afternoon with his wife at his side, and elaborated further to a group of conservative bloggers. He insisted that good material will see the light of day in Hollywood, no matter what the political bent, and pointed to productions such as 24, Path to 9/11, and the movie 300.

Surnow recalled that when he first entered the business 35 years ago, he was advised that, "if you write a great script, you could drop it off a freeway overpass during 5 o'clock traffic, and that movie will get made."

The goal of developing 24 was not to make an explicitly conservative show, but merely to entertain the audience with a good storyline, Surnow said. However, in an age during which moral relativism dominates popular culture, the series stands out for embracing old-fashioned notions of right and wrong, and for portraying its protagonist Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) as a heroic figure for doing whatever it takes to protect his loved ones and his nation. At a time when it has become culturally taboo to portray radical Islam in a bad light, the show does not hesitate to make Muslim terrorists the bad guys.

"Jack Bauer really represents justice," Surnow said during his speech. "This guy doesn't care about the law, he doesn't care about the courts, he doesn't care about consequences. He just cares about getting the bad guy and putting him down."

Surnow continued, "I understand all the legal eggheads who say we can't live in a society like that. I tend to agree that you can't have vigilantes running around, because eventually that could lead down to a very crazy place.

"But in a world where there's so much noise about what we've done wrong, why we're such bad people, there's so little support for just the real common sense idea, which is: they're bad, we're good, and we’re going to get them. Jack Bauer represents that. I think the fact that he's as popular as he is encouraging."

The television series is also at the cultural forefront of the ongoing debate on the use of torture, because Bauer routinely uses brutal tactics to obtain information from detainees, and critics have argued that the show glorifies the practice. Surnow sees things differently.

"In the context of our show, torture is like the only option," he said during the interview. "Does it glorify it? I don't know. I think it's hard to watch. I think Jack Bauer has paid a horrible price for having to do the things he does.... It's always done with the dark side attached. But we happen to believe that torture works, in a very simple, simplistic, way. We believe that if your kid was kidnapped and was about to be killed and you had the person who could tell you where that kid was, that if you didn't torture that person to get information, that would be immoral and irresponsible."

Nonetheless, Surnow sees Bauer as a "tragic character" who has been emotionally eviscerated over the course of his show as a result of what he has had to do. He's lost his wife, has been estranged from his daughter, and imperiled everybody close to him. This reality has made the show harder than ever to write, because "There's nothing for Jack to love or protect or care for anymore."

In a surprisingly candid admission, Surnow told students that "From a creative standpoint, his story is close to over. But from a business stand point, the show is in profit. They picked us up for two more years, and we kind of have to find ways to keep his story going without repeating itself. That's what we struggle with every day. Where does Jack Bauer go from here?"

The next season was supposed to debut in January, but will be delayed indefinitely as a result of the Hollywood writer's strike. It transfers the main setting from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., where Bauer finds himself before a Senate Committee, and faces possible jail time for his use of torture on enemy combatants.

There are also plans for a 24 theatrical movie, which has already been written, but will only be made once the series is over. It would all take place in real time over a 24-hour period, but they'd skip over parts of the day to keep it to a feature length. So, it may start with a 45 minute segment in London, then skip several hours later to show somebody arriving in New York.

In the upcoming season, there will be a woman president played by Cherry Jones.

"If she's a really good character, she may help Hillary," Surnow joked. "So we may have to turn her into a bad character."

Surnow said he would probably be supporting Rudy Giuliani, and he asks, "Are we nuts thinking Hillary Clinton could be president of this country?"

Asked about the battle over popular culture, he said that conservatives should keep their heads up. "I happen to believe that the MoveOn culture is going to have to implode at some point," he said, and also remarked that it is actually liberals who are becoming more restrictive.

"To me, the liberal movement is old and repressive," he said. "If you want drinking, smoking, and red meat, you have to hang out with Republicans."

New season of '24' hit by US writers strike
November 8, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — US television series "24" has become the latest show to fall foul of the Hollywood writers' strike, with network chiefs confirming Thursday the new season will be postponed because of the dispute.

Fox Broadcasting announced that the seventh season of the hit show starring Kiefer Sutherland as terror-busting agent Jack Bauer would be postponed in order to allow the series to air uninterrupted in its entirety.

Fox executives said the decision was taken because of uncertainty over how long the strike would last. Industry analysts have forecast it could rumble on for several months.

"The viewers have told us that this is a show that needs to be digested with minimal, if any, interruptions," said Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman.

The decision comes as series star Sutherland faces a court case later this year for drink-driving which could see him hit with up to 18 months in jail, according to Los Angeles prosecutors.

The decision to shelve "24" comes as production on new episodes of another popular show "Desperate Housewives" was shelved on Wednesday.

The shows are among the first to go into shutdown because of the strike, which began on Monday after bitter contract talks between writers and producers broke down.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is seeking to secure payment from sales of television series and films downloaded or broadcast on the Internet. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have rejected the demand.

The strike is Hollywood's first for nearly 20 years and analysts have warned losses from the dispute could top one billion dollars.

Popular talk shows such as "Tonight with Jay Leno" and the "Late Show with David Letterman" have already gone off the air because of the strike.

24 falls victim to writers strike
Reuters – Entertainment
November 8, 2007

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As the writers strike entered its third day Wednesday with no end in sight, Fox said it would not air "24" this season.

The seventh season of the hit real-time series was scheduled to begin in January, but producers had completed only about one-third of its 24-episode order as of last week.

"It's not a decision we wanted to make, but it's one based on how we feel the viewers expect us to schedule the show," said Preston Beckman, Fox's scheduling chief.

The decision to act quickly so early in the strike also was prompted by the large amounts of marketing money associated with the premieres of new series and the annual launch of "24." The network began airing promos for the upcoming season of "24" during the World Series and on a big screen in Times Square.

"Had we delayed executing and implementing of a strike schedule, it could've cost us a lot of money," Beckman said.

"24" started production late, and was affected by the recent wildfires. The show's star, Kiefer Sutherland, is also scheduled to do a stint in jail later this year in connection with a drunk-driving conviction.

The high-profile new drama "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," originally slated to run in tandem with "24," will now premiere on Sunday, January 13, and will air in "24's" Monday 9 p.m. slot, following "Prison Break" and the reality series "When Women Ruled the World."

"Women," about educated and independent women ruling over a group of unsuspecting men, is one of two reality series Fox is planning to launch midseason, along with "The Moment of Truth," a show featuring people being administered a lie detector test to be hosted by Mark L. Walberg.

With "House" running out of original episodes, "Hell's Kitchen" will land the plum post-"American Idol" Tuesday 9 p.m. slot beginning April 1.

Fox's midseason schedule also includes new scripted series "The Return of Jezebel James," "Unhitched," "New Amsterdam" and "Canterbury's Law."

CAGW Introduces www.SwineLine.org

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 / PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) launched its new blog, http://www.SwineLine.org.

For its inaugural post, SwineLine.org features an impromptu run-and-gun video of actor Kiefer Sutherland, known around the globe as the indomitable "Jack Bauer" on Fox Television's blockbuster series "24." Sutherland, in D.C. shooting an episode for the series, caught sight of Porky and proceeded to "ham it up" with CAGW staff on camera.

SwineLine.org is another tool offered by CAGW to educate taxpayers about how the feds are misspending tax dollars. It will be a platform for dialogue with taxpayers around the country on wasteful and egregious spending issues in their local areas, as well as a meeting place to share information and strategies for restoring accountability and transparency to all levels of government.

The Swine Line blog will feature biting commentary on government waste, taxes, earmarks, pork-barrel spending, and other budget issues. It will be a clearinghouse for video, photos, cartoons, and links to dozens of other national and state-based taxpayer watchdog groups which track and expose government waste.

The blog is also linked to on the CAGW home page, http://www.cagw.org.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

SOURCE Citizens Against Government Waste

Chertoff meets Jack Bauer
New York Post

November 8, 2007 -- TURNS out Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is a huge fan of "24." When he heard Kiefer Sutherland, who plays counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer, was in Washington, D.C., over the weekend to shoot the hit Fox series, Chertoff paid a visit to the set outside the Willard Intercontinental Hotel to see art imitating his life. "He observed them filming a scene and talked with executive producer Brad Turner," a rep for the L.A.-based show told The Post's Melissa Jane Kronfeld. Sutherland even met his real-life counterparts, a group of 15 counter-terrorist FBI agents, who posed for a photo with the star. Producers shot more scenes at the Jefferson and Washington Memorials, the Capitol and in Georgetown. Among the throngs of fans who shouted, "Go Jack!" and "Kiefer, Kiefer!" was Motion Picture Association head Dan Glickman. After wrapping, Sutherland was spotted eating at Nathan's and bar-hopping at Billy Martin's and McFadden's.

Producer of '24' to address youths
By Rob Gutierrez
The Washington Times
November 8, 2007

Joel Surnow, executive producer of the Fox TV thriller "24," will be among the speakers at a Young America's Foundation event this weekend in California.

The producer of the counterterrorism-themed show will join former Attorney General John Ashcroft and others addressing YAF's West Coast Conservative Student Leadership Conference tomorrow and Saturday at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Mr. Surnow is a longtime supporter of conservative politics in Hollywood, said YAF spokesman Jason Mattera.

At the conference, Mr. Surnow will discuss the background and creation of the popular show starring Kiefer Sutherland, and will present video previews. Most of his presentation will be a question-and-answer session for the approximately 500 college and university students expected to attend the conference, the largest of its kind in the nation.

Praised by talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, "24" is popular among conservatives for its "realistic portrayal" of terrorism and national security, Mr. Mattera said.

In addition to Mr. Surnow and Mr. Ashcroft, other speakers at the YAF conference will include Todd Buchholz, former White House director of economic policy; authors Joseph Phillips, Nonie Darwish and Dinesh D'Souza; former Virginia Republican Party Chairman Kate Obenshain Griffin; Seattle talk-radio host Kirby Wilbur; and National Review political reporter John Miller.

Most of the students who will be gathering in Santa Barbara beachfront hotels attend schools on the West Coast, and come from liberal campuses where public discourse about conservative topics is not always popular, Mr. Mattera said.

"While some young conservatives may be disillusioned with conservative leaders, they are not disillusioned with the conservative movement," Mr. Mattera said.

The foundation, which purchased former President Ronald Reagan's nearby Rancho del Cielo in 1998, aims to unite college students and promote values of American liberty, free markets and a strong national defense.

Jack Bauer, the artist
Remote Access » Blog Archive
November 8, 2007

Kiefer Sutherland created the cover artwork for a charitable CD compilation down in Atlanta, according to the Peach Buzz blog on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website.

Radio station 99X, which plays alternative music, has the I am 99X Foundation to raise money for local charitable organizations, such as Katrina Families in Atlanta and the Atlanta Children’s Shelter.

Songs on this year’s CD are:

Rocco Deluca – Bus Ride
The Shins – Phantom Limb
30 Seconds to Mars – From Yesterday
Silversun Pickups – Well Thought Out Twinkles
Queens of the Stone Age – I’m Designer
Rilo Kiley – The Moneymaker
Albert Hammond Jr. – 101
The Bravery – Believe
Dinosaur Jr. – What if I Knew
Plus 44 – When Your Heart Stops Beating
The Almost – Say This Sooner
The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello) – One Man Revolution
Sick Puppies – All The Same
Plain White T’s – Hey There Delilah
Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party – Ultra Payloaded Satellite Party

It came about that Kiefer contributed the artwork after co-hosts of the station’s morning show visited his Ironworks record facility in Los Angeles during the Grammys. Leslie Fram and Sean Demery got an exclusive tour of the place, including Kiefer’s living quarters.

Fram explained to Peach Buzz:

“I was just walking around and noticed this painting area and this dark beautiful painting. Sean was busy touching his Emmys and I was nosing around looking at his art. It was pretty cool.”

Later, she asked Kiefer to do the artwork, and he said yes. The rest, as they say, is history.

'24' Spends Some Real Time in Georgetown
By Richie Frohlichstein
Hoya Staff Writer
November 6, 2007

Jack Bauer and his gang stormed into Georgetown last week to film a segment of the television show “24.”

After six seasons of the president conveniently being in Los Angeles whenever hell breaks lose, the cast and crew finally came to Washington, D.C., for a week of filming in the nation’s capital.

Locations included the national mall, the Washington Monument, the Capitol building, and Georgetown. One scene called for filming at a house in the 3300 block of N Street.

“Everything you see inside is done in [Los Angeles],” Christina Northrup, an executive assistant for the show, said. “We came to D.C. to shoot a lot of exterior shots.”

“It’s hard to fake Georgetown in L.A.,” John Latenser, location manager, said.

Spectators from Georgetown and the surrounding areas gathered to watch the filming. Some of the actors present included Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer) and Carlos Bernard (Tony Almeida).

Latenser said several other VIPs from D.C. were at the Georgetown site, although he did not say which ones. Michael Chertoff, secretary of homeland security, was on hand when the show filmed Sunday morning at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel, the GW Hatchet reported.

Bernard said he is glad to finally get to shoot in D.C. “The energy in the city is fantastic,” he said, “I love it.”

Bernard also said the cast has explored the city apart from just filming.

“We’ve been having a good time,” he said. “[Friday] night we went to Billy Martin’s, which was a good time.”

As for his character, Bernard could not reveal much.

“Let’s just say he’s a changed man,” Bernard said.

No Autographs From Kiefer Sutherland
eCanadaNow.com
October 31, 2007

Los Angeles (eCanadaNow) Kiefer Sutherland is refusing to sign autographs after fans posted photographs of his DUI (driving under the influence) arrest on the internet.

The '24' star was furious when fans started snapping away at him when he was stopped by police for making an illegal U-turn in Hollywood on September 25.

Photographs of the actor looking "tired and emotional" quickly appeared on several websites following his arrest and Sutherland has now decided to snub fans in the future.

Autograph collector Michael Wehrmann told the New York Post newspaper: "He was one of the best. He would always stand and sign for a half hour, but since his arrest, he's been telling collectors, 'I don't do that anymore. You guys screwed me.' "

Last month, Sutherland pleaded guilty to DUI and agreed to serve 30 days for his DUI conviction and 18 days for violating his probation following a separate drink-driving arrest in 2004.

In a statement, the father-of-two said: "I'm very disappointed in myself for the poor judgment I exhibited recently, and I'm deeply sorry for the disappointment and distress this has caused my family, friends and co-workers on '24' and at 20th Century Fox.”

Kiefer must surrender himself to a county jail on December 21 to start serving his 18-day sentence.

He will have until July 1 next year to serve the remaining 30 days, so it will not interfere with filming on his Emmy award-winning TV show '24' - in which he plays Counter Terrorist Unit Agent Jack Bauer.

(C) BANG Media International

'24' faithful flock to sneak preview
By Adam Buckman
New York Post

October 26, 2007 -- KEEN observers of “24” might have guessed that counter-terrorism agent Tony Almeida was not actually killed in Season 5.

But they couldn't have guessed that the character, played by Carlos Bernard, would someday return as an arch-villain intent on disrupting the nation's computer networks, as was revealed yesterday in the dramatic new trailer for Season 7 of the Fox suspense series.

The new season is scheduled to begin in January.

Almeida's shocking resurrection was expected since Fox had already announced that Bernard was returning to the series.

In fact, some "24" fanatics had already guessed he wasn't dead because of the ticking clock that concludes every episode of the show. They knew that the clock is shown but its "tick" is not heard whenever a major character is killed off. In the episode in which Almeida was supposedly killed, the clock's tick was not silent. This device for determining the death or survival of "24" characters was verified yesterday by a Fox source.

Almeida seemed to have been killed in the 13th "hour" of Season 5 after he brawled with bad-guy Christopher Henderson (Peter Weller) and Henderson injected him with a hypodermic filled with a supposedly fatal dose of hyoscine-pentothal.

The approximately three-minute trailer for Season 7 made its debut on Panasonic's News Astrovision screen in Times Square yesterday afternoon.

The video was introduced by series star Kiefer Sutherland, who recently pleaded guilty to drunk-driving charges. "For this season, we have pulled out all the stops and I hope you are thrilled with what we have come up with," he said.

As the video began, Sutherland's character, Jack Bauer, was seen testifying before a congressional committee (led by Kurtwood Smith, who played Eric Forman's dad on “That 70s Show”) on the subject of torture.

The hearing was filmed in Los Angeles, but the cast and crew of "24" are headed for a few days of filming on location in Washington, D.C., next month, the first time the show has ever been filmed outside California, a Fox source confirmed.

The trailer revealed that the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) has been disbanded. With a new terror threat in the making, Bauer is recruited by the FBI to help them stop a plot that, among other things, seeks to wreak havoc on the country's air-traffic control system.

24 creator wanted younger star to play Jack Bauer
World Entertainment News Network
October 26, 2007

24 creator Joel Surnow almost overlooked Kiefer Sutherland when casting for the role of Jack Bauer - because he was looking for someone younger.

Surnow admits he was keen to cast a more youthful actor as lead in the action series, but changed his mind when he found the then 34-year-old Sutherland.

He says, "We'd conceived Jack as a guy who had a 16-year-old daughter but was still youthful enough to appeal to the Fox audience, which is skewed towards 'young'.

"When we heard Kiefer's name it was like, 'Bingo, this is the perfect guy.' He's got enough miles on him but he still has echoes of the Brat Pack films he's associated with."

24 Day 7 Trailer Coming October 25th
MovieWeb.com
October 18, 2007

As the clock ticks closer to 24’s highly anticipated return, a special, extended Day 7 trailer will have its worldwide premiere Thursday, Oct. 25 (1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT) at 24trailer.com and in New York's Time Square on the iconic News Astrovision by Panasonic. The worldwide premiere will be seen concurrently around the globe at locations, via mobile and online in the U.K., Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. The countdown to the trailer's debut begins today at 24trailer.com. The first promo for the new season is also scheduled to air during Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday, Oct. 25 (8:00 PM-CC ET/5:00 PM-CC PT) on FOX.

The innovative, addictive, Emmy Award-winning television series 24 resets the clock for Day 7 with a special two-night premiere event beginning Sunday, Jan. 13 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and continuing in the series' regular time period Monday, Jan. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The season will unfold without repeats, airing all originals through the season finale in June.

Set in Washington, DC, Day 7 opens with CTU dismantled and Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on trial. Bauer's day takes an unexpected turn when former colleague Tony Al Meida (Carlos Bernard) returns. Meanwhile, President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) leads the country alongside White House Chief of Staff Ethan Kanin (Bob Gunton) and First Gentleman Henry Taylor (Colm Feore).

A national security crisis prompts an investigation by a team of FBI agents including Agent Janis Gold (Janeane Garofalo), Agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching), Agent Larry Moss (Jeffrey Nordling), Agent Sean Hillinger (Rhys Coiro) and security specialist Michael Latham (John Billingsley). Although CTU is no longer, Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) are back for another momentous day of shocking events.

'24' makes its D.C. debut
Fox show to shoot outside of CA for first time
By Michael Schneider - Variety.com
October 24, 2007

Fox’s “24" heads to Washington, D.C., today for the show's first-ever shoot outside California.

After setting the show in Los Angeles for the past six seasons, the "24" producers opted to shake things up by moving the action to the nation's capital. But that meant having to step out of town for the first time.

As a result, series star Kiefer Sutherland and several other thesps will make the trip, shooting scenes from eight different episodes over this weekend and the next.

"The idea is to sell Washington in the first batch of episodes and, hopefully, people will have bought into the setting later on," when more of the scenes are actually shot in L.A., said "24" exec producer Howard Gordon..

Show will shoot around the city, including in Georgetown neighborhoods. Gordon hopes to also capture a D.C. politician cameo or two.

While there, the "24" crew will also lense a lot of 180-degree backgrounds into which Sutherland and others can later be inserted via greenscreen. Gordon said the technology has finally gotten to a point where it looks seamless enough -- but it will still be a challenge given the frantic camera style that's a hallmark of the show.

"Some of the technology is amazing now," Gordon said. "You can insert actors onto the Washington Mall and do things you couldn't have done even a few years ago."

Line producer Michael Klick said shooting in D.C. has been a logistical challenge, particularly when it's come to navigating the city's countless law-enforcement agencies.

"There are at least 17 different entities out there -- and what they control is not always immediately apparent," he said.

Of course, "24" has encountered some unusual problems at its home base, too: The show had to scramble on Monday after wildfires halted production at the old El Toro Marine base. Show regrouped, but lost half a day worth of filming.

The Fox series will likely return to D.C. to shoot more scenes in the spring. In the meantime, Los Angeles will double for the first time on "24" as another city -- a prospect that has reinvigorated the production team.

"We're being forced to go to places we've never gone before, like downtown L.A., and we've been looking at older architecture," Klick said. "There have been some exciting visual opportunities."

River Queen – Epic Washout
By Rebekah Kendal
entertainment.iafrica.com
October 25, 2007

'River Queen' is an epic, directed by Vincent Ward ('What Dreams May Come'), which tells the tale of Maori colonisation from the perspective of an Irish settler who is forced to re-evaluate her own identity.

The film is set in the 1860s in New Zealand - a time when the British army was locked in fierce battles with the local Maori tribes in an effort to expand the British Empire. Some of the tribes fought against the colonisers, while others, seeing compliance as the only means of preservation, fought with the British against their own people.

Sarah O'Brien (Samantha Morton) is the Irish settler who lives with her father (Stephen Rea), a medic in the British army, in a frontier garrison on the Te Awa Nui, the Great River. As a teenager she falls in love with a Maori called Tommy Boy. She falls pregnant, but before the baby is born, Tommy dies of influenza and Sarah is left to raise her half-caste child on her own.

When her child, Boy, is six years old he is kidnapped by his paternal grandfather as an act of vengeance for the British destruction of holy Maori burial grounds. Sarah's father, fearing further reprisals returns to Ireland with his other daughter. Sarah stays behind with her only friend, Doyle (Kiefer Sutherland), a bitter but caring Irish soldier.

For the next seven years, as the war intensifies, Sarah searches in vain for Boy. After the Maoris attack her home, she goes with Doyle to the main British garrison where she meets Wiremu (Cliff Curtis of 'Whale Rider' fame) - a Maori fighting for the Brits.

Having witnessed the brutal destruction of his people, Wiremu decides to return to his tribe. He promises Sarah, who has learnt medical skills from her father, that if she goes with him and cures the chief Te Kai Po (Temuera Morrison) of his illness, he will take her to her son.

Torn between loyalties to her 'own people' and the community in which her now-teenage Boy (Rawiri Pene) is living, Sarah is faced with some tough decisions when the two groups become embroiled in a bloody battle.

Although the film has all the elements of a great epic - stunning cinematography by Alan Bollinger, heroic endeavours, brutal villains, romance, and impressive acting by the leads - it falls rather flat as a result of at-times mumbled and incoherent dialogue, excessive narration, and an implausible protagonist whose actions are sometimes completely incomprehensible.

That being said, the film does provide some interesting insights into the disintegration of culture, identity and community as a result of colonisation.

California Fires Disrupt TV Shoots
Nellie Andreeva and Kimberly Nordyke
October 23, 2007

The raging wildfires that forced the evacuations of a quarter-million people in southern California are disrupting the production of several TV shows and prompting local TV stations to pre-empt network programming for continuous coverage of the disaster.

"24" was scheduled to film scenes featuring star Kiefer Sutherland at the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro near Irvine on Monday and Tuesday. Sutherland was on the set in one of the base's hangars when filming was canceled at 7:30 a.m. Monday because of health reasons; the cast and crew had blurry eyes and difficulty breathing and were coughing from the smoke.

The show's producers scrambled to get other actors not scheduled to work Monday to go to the show's stages, where they were joined by Sutherland and the crew to shoot shorter scenes that don't require extensive preparation.

"By 1 p.m. we're back here and had shot two other scenes," line producer Michael Klick said. "When the dust settles, we probably lost five hours worth of work, and we have to reschedule the two days we missed."

It was not clear if the missed scenes would be filmed at the base or someplace else.

CBS' "Cold Case" was among several other series that suffered minor fire-related production glitches. Its sets in Simi Valley were blown over by the strong winds Sunday, so the producers had to select another location.

ABC's "Big Shots" scrapped a cycling sequence it was planning to shoot Tuesday in Malibu.

FX's "The Riches" filmed in the Santa Clarita area Monday as scheduled. The production was to have used Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies for traffic control, but after they were pulled away to help fire crews get to blazing areas, the Santa Clarita Film Commission worked with the crew to rejigger the shoot so that deputies wouldn't be needed.

Production on CBS' "NCIS" -- whose stages and locations are so close to the Stevenson Ranch fire that people on the show could see the smoke -- was not affected, but producers had to sub for a number of crew members who stayed home to protect their houses from the blaze.

Local Los Angeles TV stations have provided wall-to-wall coverage of the fires.

NBC-owned KNBC was the only station to switch to network coverage at 7 a.m. Monday morning. The station covered the fires continuously Sunday with the exception of a brief switch to the network's "Meet the Press" at 8 a.m. and later with the Sunday night NFL game, which featured news updates throughout the telecast.

After an hour, the decision to switch to local coverage at 8 a.m. came about because the situation "was changing rapidly and for the worse," KNBC vp/news director RobertLong added.

Tuesday morning, "Today's" Matt Lauer was scheduled to co-anchor from San Diego, while Lester Holt was scheduled to report out of Los Angeles. But if they feel "it's appropriate," KNBC could pre-empt the morning show as well as "NBC Nightly News," Long said.

CBS-owned KCBS and Fox-owned KTTV were able to break away from fire coverage Sunday for regularly scheduled sporting events since both are part of a duopoly and their sister stations -- KCAL and KCOP, respectively -- were providing more continuous coverage throughout the day.

KCBS did feature live updates Sunday during its NFL telecast and chose to air regularly scheduled CBS programming in primetime. However, "if the situation had grown even more serious, we would have pre-empted primetime," KCBS/KCAL president and GM Don Corsini said.

KTTV also switched to sports programming Sunday, but KTTV/KCOP vp news Jose Rios noted that KCOP kept up coverage throughout most of the day, taking a break only "when it looked like the fire had died down, but when (the situation got worse), we came back on" with live coverage.

Tribune-owned indie KTLA went commercial-free Monday morning for about six hours, starting at 5 a.m. But after that, the station began airing regular programming, cutting in with live updates and directives to viewers to visit KTLA.com for more coverage.

Izzard mistaken for Sutherland
World News Entertainment Network
October 22, 2007

British comedian Eddie Izzard finds it frustrating fans mistake him for Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland.

The 45-year-old is often stopped in the street for his autograph - but leaves 'admirers' disappointed when he informs them he is not the '24' star they'd hoped for.

He says, "I get people coming up to me thinking I'm Kiefer.

"When I explain I'm not, they say, 'Well you look like him'. I say, 'No, he looks like me'."

DUI Bad-Boy Kiefer Sutherland Probably Not the Best Spokesperson for Ford
By Trevor Hofmann
Automobile.com Ford Auto News
October 15, 2007

Would you want Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Whitney Houston or Mel Gibson as your company spokesperson? Each has developed a reputation for driving while under the influence, which seems to have become a popular sport amongst A-list celebrities in recent years despite decades of effort by law enforcement agencies and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.) to bring attention to driving responsibly.

Ford Motor Company of Canada is in just such a predicament with the voice of its Canadian-only television ads, Kiefer Sutherland having just recently plead guilty to driving with a 0.08 or higher blood-alcohol level. If it was a first offense it might be reasonable for Ford, a family focused company, to let him off the hook, but in fact Sutherland violated the five-year probation of a previous DUI conviction back in 2004, in which he pled no contest to driving with a 0.22 blood-alcohol level. Facing up to a year-and-a-half in jail, the popular star of the TV series 24 will be sentenced on December 21.

“Public safety is a top priority at Ford of Canada and we are glad it appears that Kiefer Sutherland will seek treatment,” commented Gina Gehlert, Public Affairs Manager, Ford of Canada. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”

Interestingly, the very judge who prosecuted Paris Hilton, Michael Sauer, was to have presided over Sutherland's case, but the Canadian actor's savvy lawyer, Blair Berk, managed to get sentencing transferred over to Judge Stuart Rice due to Sauer being on vacation. Sutherland has been ordered not to drive between November 9 and the December 21 hearing.

With Sutherland preparing to do 18 days for violating his probation and thereafter expected to spend 30 additional days for the current DUI before July 1 of next year, not to mention awaiting sentencing which could place him in custody for a longer period of time, Ford's Canadian operation is no doubt doing some serious soul searching as to whether it's time to pull the plug on the sincere, good-natured voice of Sutherland that has long been associated with its brand image.

Making matters worse, Ford doesn't only target the young and trendy with its ultra-popular Mustang coupe and convertible, who might offer the automaker and Sutherland some slack for his indiscretion, but the core of its purchasers are parenting-aged adults, and in particular women thanks to its strong lineup of comfortable sedans and crossover SUVs. Parents and mothers in particular, may find it difficult to buy into a product sold by a DUI felon. And now that Sutherland's criminal behavior has proven to be repetitive, his chances of offending again are high.

According to the article, "Groundbreaking Research on DUI Offenders", by Thomas G. Brown, "DUI offenders are notorious for re-offending and not participating in sanctioned remedial programs following their conviction."

While Sutherland did not yet cause serious injury or death while driving under the influence, those who drive drunk are literal accidents waiting to happen, with repeat offenders being the most likely to cause harm.

"While small in number, chronic drinking drivers are responsible for most of the harm caused by drunk driving in this country ..." added Brown.

Time will tell what Ford of Canada chooses to do.

Correction: Kiefer Sutherland Story
October 10, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In one version of an Oct. 9 story about Kiefer Sutherland's no contest plea in a drunken-driving case, The Associated Press erroneously attributed information to his lawyer that he entered the plea to ensure that he could avoid a lengthy sentence. The AP also erroneously attributed to the attorney, Blair Berk, that Sutherland will serve 30 days for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit. Berk declined to comment about the case. Information about the plea came from court documents. The reason for Sutherland's plea was not provided.

Sutherland to Do Jail Time on DUI Charge
By Raquel Maria Dillon
For The Associated Press
October 10, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kiefer Sutherland pleaded no contest Tuesday in his drunken driving case and will begin serving a 48-day jail sentence while his Fox TV drama "24" begins its winter production break in December.

The show's star agreed to serve 30 days for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08 percent, as well as 18 days for violating his probation for a 2004 drunken driving case, according to court records.

The actor was not in the courtroom and his attorney, Blair Berk, entered the plea agreement. A second misdemeanor charge, driving under the influence, was dropped. The charges stemmed from a traffic stop in Los Angeles last month.

As part of the arrangement, Sutherland must also enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and attend weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months.

"I'm very disappointed in myself for the poor judgment I exhibited recently, and I'm deeply sorry for the disappointment and distress this has caused my family, friends and co-workers on `24' and at 20th Century Fox," Sutherland said in a statement.

While early releases have been granted to others, including celebrities, because of jail crowding and other concerns, Sutherland must serve all of his time, according to the plea agreement. The sheriff also was specifically ordered to not release Sutherland to electronic monitoring.

The 40-year-old actor will officially be sentenced Dec. 21, when he must begin serving the 18 days in the county jail. It also is the same day his show begins its winter production break.

Sutherland then will have until July 1, 2008, to serve the remaining 30 days in jail. He will be on probation for five years and faces fines and a driving suspension, according to court documents.

The actor's plea arrangement ensures that production of "24" will not be interrupted, Fox officials said in a statement.

"Kiefer made clear to us at the time of his arrest that his first concern was the welfare of those he worked with and that he intended to do whatever was necessary to prevent shutting down the show because of his situation," the statement said.

"He told us that even if he had to sacrifice more time in custody in order to protect the show and the jobs of those who work with him, he would do so. From what occurred today, it is evident he is a man of his word," it said.

Sutherland also has a 1993 conviction for alcohol-related reckless driving, according to the city attorney's office.

He won a best actor Emmy last year for his performance as dashing federal counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer on "24."

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.