This web page is dedicated to 24's Kiefer Sutherland. You will find articles and web sites relating to him on this page. Hopefully, you will find something that will interest you.
Meet the drama queen
Kim Raver is up for the action in ABC's 'The Nine'
By David Kronke, Television Critic
San Bernardino County Sun
November 4, 2006
Kim Raver's a survivor. So far the actress — who seems to have a thing for numbers — has made it through five years of the gritty police drama "Third Watch," and two seasons and counting of ramped-up thriller "24."
Now she starring in "The Nine," the ABC drama about a group of strangers inextricably united after surviving a grueling hostage situation after a botched bank heist.
Raver— who plays Audrey Raines, a Defense Department analyst and the love interest of Keifer Sutherland's Jack Bauer on "24" — is going to be back on on the series when it returns, starting in January. But the statuesque (5' 9'') actress wasn't sure Raines was going to make it through last season, when a number regulars met violent and gruesome deaths.
While paging through a script one day on the set, she came across a scene where Audrey was fingered as was a spy.
"I thought that was it," Raver recalls with a laugh while sitting at a Santa Monica coffee shop with the equivalent of a Big Gulp of chai sitting before her.
"I couldn't (expletive) believe it. I was literally in the hair and makeup chair and I took the script I had half my makeup done and curlers half done — and I went up to Howard (Gordon, executive producer) and Kiefer (Sutherland) and said, 'Is this for real?'
Audrey was exonerated but not until after being tortured — "That was a lot of fun, actually, even though it shouldn't have been" — and shot, nearly bleeding to death.
"Being on '24,' you have (a target on your back), but because I'm in a relationship with Jack Bauer, that's like a double target!"
Raver's not sure when she'll be back the Emmy-winning series.
"The producers (on "24") know when and where I'm coming back. Kiefer and I talk all the time and try to figure out how to make that work."
But first Raver will have to find some time off from the demanding "The Nine." where she plays Kathryn Hale, a tough and driven assistant district attorney drawn after the tragedy to another survivor, policeman Nick Cavanaugh, played by Tim Daly.
Daly, going through his co-star's resume, says of Raver, "She was on 'Third Watch,' '24' and 'The Nine.' If there's a number involved, it's got something to do with her."
Raver discusses her twin dramas at a Santa Monica coffee shop, in which the equivalent of a Big Gulp of chai sits before her. "Wow, I could swim in this," she marvels, incredulously. "I feel so ridiculous to be drinking this; it's like, let me bring this pool up to my mouth!"
Over the course of the season, the serialized "Nine" will reveal what transpired during the hostage crisis. But Raver says the show's creators have been careful not to withhold too much information from viewers at the risk of alienating them.
"We're revealing enough stuff so that you're satiated and you're not frustrated," she says. "I totally get that you keep stringing someone along, they're gonna get p—-ed off if you don't tell them what's going on. I think they're definitely aware of that and dealing with that. And I think it's great that we've had those shows preceding us to point out what are the pitfalls, what should we stay away from, how do we be careful about that? What p—-es off an audience and what keeps an audience?"
Raver pronounces herself a fan of the show's inherent drama, and how it provides an actor with a lot to chew on.
"The show is about who are these people, not so much about what happened in the bank, although that's cool," she says. "You start out as one person and think you know who you are and then you're presented with some horrific situation, and how do you evolve out of that situation and who do you become? Who were you in that moment?"
But the role has kept the actress — who was a regular on "Sesame Street" as a kid and is now the mother of a four-year-old — busy, busier than she expected.
"I was thinking, 'Oh, (the show has) a large ensemble (cast); I'll get a lot of time off, but I've been working every single day, like 14 hours a day."
But before "The Nine," Raver was able to squeeze in time to make the upcoming holiday film "Night at the Museum" (out Dec. 22), in which she get's to show off her lighter side. She stars alongside Ben Stiller who plays a security guard at New York's Museum of Natural History, where all the displays come to life at night.
"Thank God!" is the New York City-native's response to landing a comedic role after so many intense ones. "It was so huge for me. People start to see you a certain way, and there's such a wacky, kooky side to me."
Raver knew Stiller when both worked in New York's theater scene as teenagers. "The only problem in the film was, I couldn't stop laughing with him. Here I was, the drama person. I should be able to keep my (stuff) together, but I had him and Paul Rudd and between the two of them, it was excruciatingly funny. I hope they keep the outtakes."
Moreover, after playing so many intense characters, Raver, who is married director Manuel Boyer, is glad to be in a role her young son can enjoy. "He says, 'Can I watch?'" she says, "and I always have to say, 'No, not this scene,' and 'No, not this scene' and 'Definitely not this scene there's a gun to my head. So I'm glad he'll be able to enjoy this."
But while Raver certainly enjoyed her time making "Museum" and enjoys working with her co-stars and creators on "The Nine," she speaks with particular relish of "24."
"I love that show and I love working with Kiefer. We have a similar way of working together. It's such an extraordinary experience."
Now she's hoping Audrey survives this season's day for a chance to appear in the "24" film that will shoot next spring.
Don't bet against her.
The Sun Online - TV: Izzard in 24 quit shock
By Derek Robins
November 1, 2006
Eddie Izzard has quit the new run of hit US drama 24 after just one day’s filming.
The cross-dressing comic, 44, was due to play a villain in the show which stars Kiefer Sutherland as agent Jack Bauer, but he’s been replaced by fellow Brit David Hunt, 52, husband of Everybody Loves Raymond actress Patricia Heaton.
Eddie’s spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately, 24 producers wanted to option further dates that Eddie was unavailable for as he was committed to the start of his new drama The Riches.
"It was decided it would be better for him to stand down."
The sixth series of 24 is due to be shown next year in the UK on Sky One. Eddie is currently working on new TV drama The Riches with Minnie Driver in which they play the heads of a gang of crooks trying to go straight in American suburbia.
He will also star as a charismatic chef with a drink problem in Channel Five’s drama Kitchen in 2007.
In the Spirit
TV Guide - November 13-19, 2006
If you're 24's Kiefer Sutherland, you try to go completely incognito as the Big Bad Wolf. And though he may huff and puff and blow your house down, he still can't keep the paparazzi away.
Sutherland had a great accessory to his outfit while walking around West Hollywood: girlfriend Catherine Bisson, who dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood.
LMR comment: If you haven't seen Kiefer as "The Big Bad Wolf" a.k.a. Bob Wolverton in the movie Freeway, make sure that you do ;)
24 Season Six Trailer!
Compiled by Ryan Parsons
CanMag.com - Television
October 25, 2006
Fox sure isn't wasting time, are they? The countdown has begun and we only have a few months before we begin hearing that addicting tick-tock again. To help prepare us for another terrorist-hunting season with super-agent Jack Bauer, Fox, as promised, has released the first extended trailer for Season Six.
The official trailer site for 24 has posted the 'Special Extended Season 6 Trailer' and it looks pretty intense. Actually, it looks like the younger Palmer is not exactly the president that his older brother was. Sacrifice Jack? Come on, that is like sacrificing all of American intelligence; well, at least when you consider his importance to the story.
I like how they play on the threat, “the streets will run red with blood.”
Day Six will have a four-hour, two-night television event Sunday, Jan. 14 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Monday, Jan. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
The fifth hour of 24 will air in the show's regular time period Monday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and the intense season will unfold without interruptions until the season finale in May 2007.
Season Six will feature Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), the strong-minded brother of the late President David Palmer; Sandra Palmer (Regina King), a determined and powerful advocacy lawyer; presidential advisors Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) and Thomas Lennox (Peter MacNicol); and CTU colleagues Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), Curtis Manning (Roger Cross) and Bill Buchanan (James Morrison).
The cast also includes James Cromwell, recurring as Phillip Bauer, the estranged father of Jack Bauer, as well as Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), Marisol Nichols ("In Justice"), Alexander Siddig (Syriana), Harry Lennix ("Commander in Chief") and David Hunt ("Everybody Loves Raymond") as villainous accomplice Darren McCarthy. Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota will reprise their respective roles as CTU contractors Milo Pressman and Morris O'Brian.
Jack Bauer - Season 6
TV.com: 24 is back with a bang
By Colin Mahan
October 24, 2006
Season six of 24 looks to be the hairiest yet.
The producers of 24 look as if they may have topped themselves after last year's season-opening assassination. The online trailer for the sixth season of the Fox action series, which went live today at the 24 site shows scenes of nationwide carnage and series hero Jack Bauer in a phony beard.
Bauer, played by Emmy-winning Kiefer Sutherland, was seen at the end of season five as a prisoner aboard a Chinese ship.
In the trailer, CTU agents receive Bauer from the Chinese--albeit a little worse for wear and sporting long hair and a beard. As a wave of terror attacks sends the US into a state of emergency, and Bauer into action, new US president Wayne Palmer asks Jack to sacrifice himself for the good of the country.
The Emmy-winning show returns for its sixth season on Sunday, January 14, at with a two-night, four-hour season premiere.
Toyota's Tie-In With '24' Plays On Times Square
By Karl Greenberg
MediaPost Publications
October 25, 2006
TOYOTA, WHICH IS A NEW automotive marketing partner for Fox's "24," got top billing yesterday in New York's Times Square as Fox aired a 2-minute, 20-second trailer for the sixth season premiere of its hit show.
Toyota sponsored the event to promote its 2007 RAV4 SUV. Actor Kiefer Sutherland, on video, introduced the extended trailer for "24"--which ran on the Panasonic News Astrovision screen, with Toyota's tagline, "Moving Forward."
Toyota branding was also emblazoned on thousands of portable radios handed out by street teams at the event, which was timed to coincide with Oct. 24.
"Fox approached us two weeks ago, and [the deal] gelled pretty fast," said Toyota spokesperson Cindy Knight. She said Toyota also has a presence on the "24" web site, www.24trailer.com. A mobile component of the sponsorship puts the trailer and a Toyota-branded title card on view through mid-January to owners of Sprint PowerVision phones.
Knight said Toyota will also sponsor a six-minute prequel, which will be included only on the DVD of season five of "24." The DVD will be available in December and carry two RAV4 ads for Toyota--"Heist" and "Frenchy Lombard."
"Toyota is getting exclusive branding and sponsorship opportunities with the prequel," Knight said, "but we are not the regular season sponsor of "24," nor do we have product placement in the show--only in the prequel."
Toyota, which launched a new model of the RAV4 in February, has seen a 104 percent increase in sales of the vehicle through September, a month when Toyota sold 11,551 of the vehicles. Through September, Toyota has sold 115,684 RAV4's versus 56,466 during the first nine months of 2005. The new version is 14 inches longer, and comes with a more powerful engine. It competes in the small SUV category, the only SUV segment to grow this year, according to Car Concepts.
In 2005, Toyota spent only $14 million on the RAV4, according to Nielsen Monitor Plus, but spent $119 million through August of this year.
Ford used an exclusive partnership with the show "24" in 2004 to promote vehicles like the F-150 pickup and Mustang. It no longer has an exclusive relationship, but still features some vehicles in the show.
Toyota, in an effort to attract younger buyers to its brand, also ran a mobile-media promotion with Fox in April for its then-new Yaris sub-compact car. Two-minute episodes of "Prison Break" included marketing messages for the Yaris as part of a reported $10 million deal.
24's Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran
By Mansha Daswani
World Screen.com - Interview
October 24, 2006
When 24 launched on FOX in 2001, few thought the high-concept show—where the entire season plays out over the course of just one day—would last its entire run, let alone return for a second season. The network continued to believe in the show and this year, five seasons in, that faith paid off, with 24 picking up five Emmy Awards, including best drama, best actor for Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, and best director for Jon Cassar. Creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran speak to World Screen about the challenges and rewards of producing what has been described as television’s most thrilling show.
WS: What has kept the series fresh season after season?
SURNOW: We start from scratch each year. We don’t have to conform to what a lot of TV shows do, which is basically tell the same story over and over again. We are constantly challenged each season with a new set of characters and a new story line. It really is difficult. We find ourselves tearing our hair out at the beginning of every season just trying to get this thing to have the right foundation and the right elements to keep it working for an entire 24-episode season. Also, there’s the tightrope act of, when you do recast each year, is this cast going to work? Do we have chemistry?
WS: Why do you think this past season in particular did so well?
COCHRAN: It might be just momentum. After a while, you get a bigger audience every year. Law & Order had a similar run; they were respected in the first few years but they didn’t really grab the attention of the TV world until they had been on for a few seasons. And it may be that people had to get used to the format.
WS: The killing off of major characters also caused quite a few headlines this year.
SURNOW: We always do it for a real reason, not for the sake of being shocking. If a bunch of people we don’t know die in the course of the show, you don’t really feel it. But when Jack’s wife died or when Edgar died, that makes us care more about our main characters. That’s what our viewers want to see.
COCHRAN: Our feeling is, if we kill someone and nobody is upset, then we killed the wrong person. You want the audience to react with some emotion, with a sense of loss. One of the themes of the show is the price we pay for the fight we’re in right now, and if the audience doesn’t feel that price, along with the characters, then it doesn’t mean much. As you know, we’ve killed an awful lot of people off!
WS: There was also controversy over some of your story lines, like Jack Bauer’s use of torture. Has the network ever asked you to tone things down?
COCHRAN: The only time was at the end of the first year when we felt that it was best for the show for Jack’s wife, his pregnant wife, to be murdered. When we first brought that up to the network, their reaction was, that’s not going to happen. But we kept after it and after a few days they began to feel as we did. It wasn’t that we wanted to make things as wretched as possible, but if you look at the season, Jack saved his daughter, he saved the president, he caught all the bad guys, and if on top of that he walked away into the sunset with his family, the tone of our show would have been violated, there would have been something very dishonest and very tacky and unfitting about that ending. Jack’s got to pay a price for the fight. The one thing he wasn’t able to save was his wife. Looking back at it, that was a signature moment of the show. There might have been some people who didn’t want to watch anymore [laughs], but for people who stuck with the show, that was the message, that anything could happen.
WS: Given the war on terror, are you ever concerned that the story lines may be too close for comfort for audiences?
SURNOW: It’s no more terrifying than what they see on the news. Hopefully there’s a sense of wish fulfillment in the fact that Jack always does end up getting the bad guy.
COCHRAN: The world we live in now unfortunately provides almost an unlimited amount of dramatic situations. We don’t consciously try to rip things out of the headlines, nor do we try to anticipate headlines. But in the nature of things we’re going to tread on territory that’s being talked about or things that happened in real life.
WS: Can you talk about some of the visual tricks used to build the tension in the show?
SURNOW: That’s a function of our incredible crew, starting with our director, Jon Cassar. One of the things that comes from the top down is that we want it to feel real. We want to feel like we’re eye level with people and we’re not doing things out of people’s point of view. The whole process of the show is to experience the suspense and the tension, and that’s always from a person’s point of view, usually Jack’s. That way you don’t see a lot of high angles looking down on people and taking you out of the immediacy of the moment.
WS: What are the greatest challenges in producing the show?
SURNOW: The challenge is always the story. We don’t want to have to be outrageous just to be different.
COCHRAN: Because we have done it several times, in the back of our minds there’s some confidence that we can do it again. But in terms of the actual mechanics of it, it certainly hasn’t gotten any easier, because every year we tend to use up a fair amount of incidents. We can’t kidnap [Jack Bauer’s] family again. We can’t fake his death again. Those ideas get used up. We just have to think of new things every year.
WS: The success of 24 has led in part to the crop of serialized dramas on the air this fall. Are you concerned about viewer burnout?
SURNOW: I keep hearing that most of [the serialized dramas] over the past couple of years have not been successful. There’s not a lot of people who know how to do this. This is a very specific type of writing. What I keep hearing now as we’re going out into the development season is that [the networks] want more stand-alone shows because they’ve been having lots of problems with the serialized format.
COCHRAN: I’ve always felt that a series works or doesn’t work almost always not because of the concept but because of how it’s carried out. [Viewers] are not going to watch a show because it’s serialized and they’re not going to not watch it because it’s serialized. There are people who say, I don’t want to get caught up in something where if I miss an episode or two, I’ll get lost. Generally speaking, despite that one exception, people watch the series because it entertains them every time they turn it on, and not because of the format. So some of these shows will work, some won’t. People may draw big grand lessons from that, but I think the only lesson you can draw is that if a show works, people will watch it.
WS: Were you surprised by the tremendous international response?
SURNOW: Our international audience is as important as our domestic market. It’s really important to us that our fans are still liking the show overseas. And just from the selfish point of view, it helps support the show financially because it’s expensive to make. The more revenue we can get in from around the world, the better the production value of the show.
WS: Given audiences’ various new sources of entertainment, does that change the way you produce television?
SURNOW: You’re always impacted by the fact that people have hundreds of choices on TV—how do you poke your nose out above the pack? That’s why we have those 24 moments, those outrageous moments that happen over the course of the show that hopefully get people talking. Jack Bauer kills people in cold blood—I think that kind of storytelling is exactly what you have to do in today’s marketplace.
COCHRAN: You do get the feeling that all television shows, or most of them, are more fast-paced now than they used to be. Even we’re more fast-paced now than we were. Those things pervade the in-dustry as a whole and they get in our DNA as you’re writing or producing. I don’t think it’s a conscious reaction to what’s going on, but you certainly can’t afford to bore anybody and you better get on with the story pretty quickly and you better come up with twists and turns of whatever kind that keep people watching. We don’t say to ourselves, there’s a lot of two-minute episodes on cell phones and iPods out there, we gotta compete with that. But it enters into the way things are done in a more subtle way.
WS: Do you have time for other projects?
SURNOW: This is a full-time gig for right now. We are trying to get the 24 movie launched. We’re going to try and write that this year.
COCHRAN: We’re trying to branch out and maybe do another show or two. We don’t want to get too far away from what’s worked for us. On the other hand, you’re not going to see 24: Miami or 24: New York. That won’t happen! And I promise you won’t see another real-time show, at least not from us. They’re just too hard to do! But we won’t stray too far from the thriller mood and tone.
WS: Is there anything you can share about the upcoming season of 24?
SURNOW: We will be dealing in the real world of terrorism in a way that we have never up until now. It will probably be the most controversial season we’ve had.
Toyota Goes Public with '24' Sneak Preview
By Steve Miller
Brandweek.com
October 23, 2006
DETROIT -- Toyota will sponsor the showing of a 2-minute, 20-second trailer of the upcoming season of Fox TV’s action-thriller 24 in New York’s Times Square on Tuesday afternoon, where viewers will be able to hear the audio via one of 5,000 radios given away by street teams clad in CTU uniforms.
The trailer will be broadcast—with a taped introduction by series’ star Kiefer Sutherland—on the News Astrovision screen beginning at 3 p.m. (EDT), a FOX rep said, with a simulcast by WPLJ-FM. Toyota will be branded on the giveaway radios, and will also have its logo and “Moving Forward” tag at the end of the trailer. The automaker will also have its logo on the 24trailer.com Web site, which will show the spot over the next several months.
Toyota is using the exclusive sponsorship deal to push the 2007 RAV4 SUV, which hit showrooms earlier this year and has sold 115,684 units through September, compared with 56,466 the previous year, a gain of 104%.
FOX will also broadcast 30-second snippets of the trailer during Tuesday night's World Series game, with Toyota as a sponsor. Through its affiliation with Sprint, FOX will also offer the trailer via the Sprint Power Vision phone between Tuesday and the season’s premier, again with Toyota as a sponsor.
"24 is the perfect stage to spotlight RAV4's abilities," said Kim McCullough, corporate manager of marketing communications at Toyota. "It's a smart crossover UTE that's ready for anything, just like Jack Bauer [Sutherland's character] and the crew at CTU. We think customers will get the message that RAV4 is the ideal accomplice for tackling the every day."
'24' agents to take over Times Square
Lifeline: Quick hits - USATODAY.com
October 23, 2006
If Jack Bauer can save the world, commandeering New York's Times Square should be a piece of cake. The super agent at the center of Fox's thriller 24, played by Kiefer Sutherland, won't be there, but on Tuesday (3 p.m. ET/noon PT), an extended trailer previewing the sixth season will be broadcast on the big screen overlooking 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue. Meanwhile, teams dressed as CTU agents will be passing out 24 souvenirs. Fans can view the trailer at 24trailer.com. 24 launches its new season with a four-hour, two-part premiere Jan. 14 and 15 (8 p.m. ET/PT).
Emmy Award Winning actor Chad Lowe to spend time on "24"
Released By FOX
October 11, 2006
Season Six Premieres with 2-Night, 4-Hour Event Sunday, January 14, and Monday, January 15, on FOX
As the highly anticipated premiere of 24's Season Six approaches, Emmy Award-winner Chad Lowe ("Life Goes On") joins 2006's most Emmy Award-winning television series. The clock for "Day Six" starts ticking with a 2-night, 4-hour television event Sunday, Jan. 14 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Monday, Jan. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The show's regular time period premiere is Monday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).
As previously announced, fans around the globe can take their first look at Season Six by visiting www.24trailer.com on Tuesday, Oct. 24 (3:00 PM ET/Noon PT).
Lowe will play savvy politico REED POLLOCK. He joins a list of notable newcomers this season, including Peter MacNicol ("Ally McBeal"), Regina King ("Ray"), James Cromwell ("Babe"), Kal Penn ("Harold & Kumar"), Marisol Nichols ("In Justice"), Alexander Siddig ("Syriana") and Harry Lennix ("Commander in Chief").
Season Five concluded with a battered and bloodied JACK BAUER (Kiefer Sutherland) captured by Chinese government agents and headed for points unknown. Season Six picks up 20 months later and will feature WAYNE PALMER (DB Woodside), the strong-minded brother of the late President David Palmer; presidential advisor KAREN HAYES (Jayne Atkinson); and CTU colleagues CHLOE O'BRIAN (Mary Lynn Rajskub), CURTIS MANNING (Roger Cross) and BILL BUCHANAN (James Morrison). Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota will reprise their respective roles as CTU contractors MILO PRESSMAN and MORRIS O'BRIAN.
24, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, is a production of Real Time Productions and Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, Jon Cassar, Kiefer Sutherland and Brian Grazer are the executive producers.
24's Jack Bauer
"24" Sets The Clock For Season Six
FOX TV
October 4, 2006
2006's Most Emmy-Winning Series Premieres With Two-Night, Four-Hour Event Sunday, Jan. 14, and Monday, Jan. 15, on FOX. FOX Broadcasting Company: 24 is to feature Season Six Sneak Peek on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006.
24, this year's most Emmy Award-winning television series (with five Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kiefer Sutherland) and Outstanding Drama Series), sets the clock for "Day Six" with a four-hour, two-night television event Sunday, Jan. 14 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Monday, Jan. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
The fifth hour of 24 will air in the show's regular time period Monday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and the intense season will unfold without interruptions until the season finale in May 2007.
As the clock ticks closer to 24's highly anticipated return, FOX will make a special, extended "Day Six" trailer available for worldwide viewing on the web. The online countdown to the trailer's debut begins today at www.24trailer.com. Fans around the globe can take their first look at Season Six by visiting the website on Tuesday, Oct. 24 (3:00 PM ET/Noon PT). The first promo for the new season is also scheduled to air during Game 3 of the World Series that night on FOX.
Season Five concluded with a battered and bloodied JACK BAUER (Kiefer Sutherland) captured by Chinese government agents and headed for points unknown. Season Six picks up 20 months later. After a series of horrific terrorist attacks, an unthinkable, nail-biting day begins.
Season Six will feature WAYNE PALMER (DB Woodside), the strong-minded brother of the late President David Palmer; SANDRA PALMER (Regina King), a determined and powerful advocacy lawyer; presidential advisors KAREN HAYES (Jayne Atkinson) and THOMAS LENNOX (Peter MacNicol); and CTU colleagues CHLOE O'BRIAN (Mary Lynn Rajskub), CURTIS MANNING (Roger Cross) and BILL BUCHANAN (James Morrison).
The cast also includes James Cromwell, recurring as PHILLIP BAUER, the estranged father of Jack Bauer, as well as Kal Penn ("Harold & Kumar"), Marisol Nichols ("In Justice"), Alexander Siddig ("Syriana"), Harry Lennix ("Commander in Chief") and David Hunt ("Everybody Loves Raymond") as villainous accomplice DARREN McCARTHY. Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota will reprise their respective roles as CTU contractors MILO PRESSMAN and MORRIS O'BRIAN.
24, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, is a production of Real Time Productions and Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, Jon Cassar, Kiefer Sutherland and Brian Grazer are the executive producers.
FOX Plans Two-Night '24' Premiere
Sutherland drama follows same Sunday-Monday pattern as last season
Zap2it
October 4, 2006
Still basking in the glow of its first Emmy win for outstanding drama series, FOX's "24" will premiere with a two-night, four-hour event in January.
Following the formula that brought the yielded boffo ratings last year, FOX plans to kick off the sixth season of "24" with two hours of clock-ticking fun on Sunday, Jan. 14, starting at 8 p.m. ET. The following night, FOX will dedicate its primetime hours to two more hours "24."
After force-feeding viewers two nights of fatty "24" goodness, FOX will then wait and give the show it's time period premiere on Monday, Jan 22 at 9 p.m. with the season's fifth hour. From that point, "24" will run uninterrupted through its finale in May.
But don't worry about remembering those dates. FOX will probably offer several reminders as the big date draws nearer. In fact, the network has already set a timetable for promoting the new season. A special sneak peak at season six will launch on the fittingly named website www.24trailer.com on Tuesday, Oct. 24. For readers who lack Internet access -- but are still somehow reading this story -- FOX will also present the sneak footage during Game 3 of the World Series, scheduled for that same night.
When last we saw Jack Bauer (Emmy winner Kiefer Sutherland), he had saved the world. Again. Instead of being thanked, though, he was beaten to a pulp by Chinese government agents who hoped to transport him off to a prison camp somewhere. Nevermind. Season six begins 20 months later, as FOX puts it "After a series of horrific terrorist attacks, an unthinkable, nail-biting day begins."
Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), brother of late President David Palmer, has become President himself. In addition to Sutherland and Woodside, the new season will feature plenty of familiar faces including the return of favorite characters played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, Roger Cross, James Morrison, Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota.
The number of new additions, though, is impressive. They include Regina King as advocacy lawyer Sandra Palmer, fresh presidential advisors played by Jayne Atkinson and Peter MacNicol and, best of all, James Cromwell as Jack Bauer's estranged father. Also joining the cast are Kal Penn ("Harold & Kumar"), Marisol Nichols ("In Justice"), Alexander Siddig ("Syriana"), Harry Lennix ("Commander in Chief") and David Hunt ("Everybody Loves Raymond").
Michael Clarke Duncan Screwed Up Opportunity To Star on '24'
PR Inside
October 6, 2006
Actor Michael Clarke Duncan blew his chance of landing a role in his favourite TV show 24, when he lost his cool in front of its star Kiefer Sutherland.
Sin City actor Duncan was thrilled to get an audition for a part in 24, but he wishes he hadn't called Sutherland by his character's name, Jack Bauer.
He tells US chat show host Megan Mullally, "I had a meeting over there some months ago. And I said, 'I'm going to be real cool, drive my Hummer over there and be like this.' "And I see Jack Bauer running to a van, and his name's not Jack Bauer, it's Kiefer Sutherland.
"So I get all crazed and I lost it and run over to him and say, 'Hey Jack! You were in the bottom of that ship. I voted for you at the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards...' And I thought, 'What are you doing? Be cool. You might get on this show.' "I became this dribbling, big black fool and he was like, 'OK, I hope we work together.' Never heard from them since."
Jack Bauer has another bad day in "24: Nightfall," thanks to Vaughn & Haynes
By Arune Singh, Staff Writer
Comic Book Resources - CBR News - The Comic Wire
Posted: September 25, 2006
Click here for cover and page illustrations for "24: Nightfall"
Editor's Note: This article contains spoilers from the first five seasons of "24."
If you've got a television, you've likely heard of "24" and Jack Bauer, the series' heroic lead played by Emmy award winning actor Kiefer Sutherland. The show has made headlines not only for its innovative storytelling style (each season takes place in real time over 24 hours) and controversial plots, but also because its audience continues to grow each year, rare for a show entering its sixth season. As one might expect, there've been a number of tie-in products created for "24," but it wasn't until the "24" video game debuted earlier this year that fans stood up and took notice of these tie-ins, as the game featured a pivotal (and untold) story in the show's mythology. IDW Publishing has been producing "24" comic books for years and it seems that their latest project may attract the same attention as the aforementioned game, as the new mini-series focuses on an oft-mentioned mission from Jack Bauer's past. Arriving in November, "24: Nightfall" delves into the pasts of not only Jack Bauer, but also of Season 3 character Stephen Saunders and the villains of Season 1. CBR News caught up with writers JC Vaughn and Mark Haynes to learn more about "Nightfall" and to address the apathy some comic fans feel towards "24" tie-ins.
"It might be true of people who like only superhero comics, but in better comic shops and certainly mainstream bookstores do you think there's more of an audience for '24' or every single superhero?" responded Vaughn. "This isn't anything against superhero comics. I read them and write them. With the success of the movies, it's great to see their broader acceptance. That isn't the same thing as being mainstream, though. '24,' on the other hand, is mainstream, and in that sense our aim for the comic book is the same as the aim for the show."
"As for whether it's meaningful or not, after we do our job it's up to the reader to decide," added Haynes. "I've read licensed novels that were awful and licensed novels that really added to the experience of a show or film I liked. Due to its unusual format, we've only seen five days out of the last eight years of Jack Bauer's life. There's got to be some more stories in there! Some '24' fans definitely want to see more or we wouldn't be having this conversation!"
Sure, in the realm of television, Jack Bauer's take no prisoners, borderline psychotic attitude may stand out, but the world of comics is much different. Comic fans are used to tough characters such as Punisher and Wolverine, who may be even more brutal than Jack, though Vaughn is quick to point of what makes Jack unique in any medium. "Aside from all the jokes, like 'Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas,' Jack is an almost idealized concept of what a man can do if he puts his mind to it," he said. "One of the reasons that people relate to Jack in a way they don't relate to some other action heroes is that there have been some pretty tough consequences relating to his commitment to getting the job done."
Haynes agrees with that assessment, but also feels that while there are a lot of complex answers available, he prefers the simple one. "A lot of people hope we have people that good protecting us," said Haynes. "The same people who profess to have problems with our military or intelligence services torturing terrorists tune in week after week as Jack pushes the envelope. It's a fascinating social dichotomy and it's a wonderful world to play around in as a creator."
"Nightfall" will differ from previous "24" comics not only because of the major story being told, but also because of the increased build up to action and increase in action itself. "The main differences up front are that it's a mini-series in the standard comic book format (rather than a one-shot), and that it's a prequel to the entire series," explained Vaughn. "'Nightfall' is actually the first story we came up with and pitched to IDW. It's the one that made them want to go get the license. In the mini-series, we have the room to get a lot more into the action."
By now you're probably wondering what "Nightfall" is actually about. "'24: Nightfall' is about Jack Bauer and his Special Forces team being dropped into the former Yugoslavia with secret orders to eliminate Victor Drazen, one of the prime movers behind the ethnic cleansing that was going on there," explained Haynes. "If someone is a fan of Season One (or "Day One") of the series, they know it took place two years to the day of Operation: Nightfall. Not only do we fill in a lot of the details that fans have speculated on, we draw a lot of the great elements of the show into our story."
You may know how this all ends, especially if you've seen Season 1 of "24," but Vaughn noted that knowing the ending certainly doesn't mean you know the full story. "Just like with 'Apollo 13,'" said Vaughn, referring to the Ron Howard film about the troubled Apollo 13 mission to the moon. "As fans we already know the ending, but in this story we have the excellent opportunity to show how things happened and throw in some great twists. Some of what we do will only add some additional depth to things we've known before, while other elements will be introduced for the first time."
The cast of "Nightfall" includes Jack Bauer, Senator David Palmer, Mike Novick, The Drazens, Stephen Saunders, and as Haynes revealed, some new faces as well. "We also introduce Anna and David Petrovic, who are new characters, as are most of the guys on Jack's team other than Saunders, an ambassador from a middle eastern nation - some of the roles are bigger than others," he said. "We have some of the characters from the show appearing in small but crucial scenes. The main thing there, though, is that we won't do it just to fit them in. I think anyone who has ever read a really bad 'Star Trek' novel has had enough of fitting characters in just for the sake of doing it."
With a story that is such a major part of "24'" history, Fox has been reviewing the scripts for each issue, though there haven't been major re-writes and neither writer has met anyone from the show, except for one character, as Vaughn revealed, "We did have dinner in San Diego with Greg Itzin, who plays President Logan, and that's how he ended up in our story."
The writers are both huge fans of "24," which they say makes a project such as "Nightfall" relatively stress free, and Haynes admits that he needed Vaughn's prodding to get him to initially check out the show. "When we were roommates, J.C. kept telling me I had to watch '24,'" said Haynes. "Then one weekend when he was away the cable went out and his Season One DVD set was just sitting there, calling to me."
Vaughn laughed and added, " I came home and Mark's eyes were bleeding and he was asking to watch 'just one more episode,' so we decided we had to do the comic. We pitched to IDW and they agreed. The basics of the story came together very quickly."
Like any good "24" story, "Nightfall" raises a lot of questions about assassination for the greater good and the effect it has on the people pulling the trigger. Both men are news junkies, taking a lot of time to research real world political and military issues so that when they portray similar situations in their writing, they can bring authenticity to the story. They famously wrote about Arctic drilling in "24: Midnight Sun," only to see that become a major issue in the real world soon after. It's that commitment to continual education that adds credibility to their depiction of broken and affected men in their various "24" stories. Vaughn doesn't want to say too much about those aforementioned themes, as he wants readers to approach those parts of "Nightfall" with an open mind. For Haynes, few shows seem to encourage as much debate as "24." "Seriously, fans of all walks of life and all political persuasions seem to take it for granted that Jack Bauer is going to do whatever it takes to get the answers out of the bad guys and save our necks," Haynes said. "A percentage of those people in real life would definitely have a problem with Jack's methods, or at least they would profess to."
Fans who look through the preview pages for "24: Nightfall" #1 will notice that the scribes seem to be taking visual cues from the same, in terms of framing the scene and the way the action occurs. "I have more of a TV background and J.C. has more of a comic book background, but it's something we both arrived at easily in the storytelling approach to '24,'" explained Haynes. "It's just a mechanism, though, and it shouldn't drive the story, but it can make it more compelling to move from scene to scene."
"TV writers rarely get to play director," added Vaughn. "Screenwriters rarely get to play director. Comic book guys, though, get to call a lot of the shots. Maybe I'm just a frustrated director? It's a lot of fun coming up with that stuff. We're pretty demanding in terms of detail - we believe the show requires it - and some of that sort of direction is really an effort to liven things up for the artist. Additionally, when we started on the series, we didn't know who the artist would be or what his or her work would be like."
Part of the controversy surrounding "24" has been due to the gritty nature of the show, where Jack Bauer's fractured psyche is on display for all to see and where Jack often gets very violent. With "Nightfall" set during his days of Special Ops work, some fans have wondered if this mini-series will be darker than a regular episode of "24," though Vaughn doesn't feel that it'll be the case. "I think it's circumstantial," Vaughn said. "I don't think there's any "Bring me a hacksaw" scenes in this one, so it's not as dark as Jack cutting off a guy's head for evidence of his (false) loyalty to a bad guy."
As you might expect, Haynes has similar feelings on the subject and added, "There are definitely some incredibly dark tones to this, but the real darkness is in the lasting elements that we know will show up later in Season One, Season Three and so on."
Diverting from "Nightfall" for a moment, CBR News had to ask the two scribes about their favorite moments in the show. "Too many moments to choose from, but the hacksaw bit I just mentioned is really up there," Vaughn revealed. "Jack just shoots a child pornographer, cuts off his head and puts it in a bag like it's a bowling ball. I like a lot of other characters, but they're all dead now."
Haynes agrees with his writing partner, adding, "There are a lot of great moments in the show in Season One when you find out Nina's the mole -- that's a really good moment. Ryan Chappell was a good character."
"24: Nightfall" hits stores this November with art by Jean Diaz.
24
Site includes:
24: Nightfall #1 Variant Cover Gallery
24: Nightfall #1 Preview
IDW Publishing Clocks In With An All-New Six-Issue Miniseries
San Diego, CA (September 15, 2006)- Here's one more random fact about CTU Agent Jack Bauer: he now needs more than one shot to knock out comics fans. Where once Jack could be contained in 48 pages, now he needs a six-part miniseries to properly do justice to his exploits. Following on the success of the three previous 24 offerings- 24: One Shot, 24 Stories, and 24: Midnight Sun- IDW Publishing is proud to present the first-ever 24 comic book miniseries, 24: Nightfall.
Jack Bauer's rough days are not only contained to the medium of television. 24: Nightfall is a prequel to the ongoing hit Fox television series. Before the clock started ticking on season one, Jack Bauer was the head of an elite Special Forces team sent to take down the mass-murder, Victor Drazen- a most challenging task by any means, especially in the war-torn former Yugoslavia. Events quickly spiral out of control, as the hunters become the hunted- and the truth behind the pivotal Operation: Nightfall is revealed.
24: Nightfall, a six-part adventure premiering in November, is written by regular 24 writers J.C. Vaughn and Mark L. Haynes, the team that brought you 24: Midnight Sun, and with pencils and inks by Jean Diaz. Variant covers on each will be provided by Joe Corroney (Spike vs. Dracula). All of Corroney's covers will make up one large poster image, as well.
"For fans of 24, particularly those who have been on the edges of their seats since Season One, this is the story that sets everything in motion for Jack Bauer," said co-writer J.C. Vaughn. "The events in Season One were directly related to events two years to the day earlier. Now our readers will get to see exactly what happened and lead to the coolest show on television."
"IDW Publishing and its talented team takes the 24 fans to a place before the series begins- and the writers continue to deliver on the taut, engaging and almost addictive quality of 24 in this creative iteration. If you're a fan of the televison series 24- then this prequel will satisfy beyond expectations," added Michael Peikoff, Vice-President 20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising.
24: Nightfall #1 (Diamond Order Code SEP063363), the first issue of an all-new, 32-page six-issue miniseries, premieres in November 2006.
About IDW Publishing:
IDW PUBLISHING is a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC, a revolutionary creative service company with a wide range of clients. Among their best-selling titles are Hasbro's THE TRANSFORMERS; Fox's ANGEL, Konami's METAL GEAR SOLID, and FALLEN ANGEL. IDW has films in development at Sony Pictures, Dimension Films, and Paramount Pictures.
About Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising:
A recognized industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising licenses and markets properties worldwide on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Twentieth Television and Fox Broadcasting Company, as well as third party lines. The division is aligned with Twentieth Century Fox Television, one of the top suppliers of primetime entertainment programming to the broadcast networks.
Coming in November. Item Code: SEP06 3363
MATURE READERS: Most of these books are recommended for readers over the age of 18.
Sutherland was a late fan of his father
Kiefer Sutherland is embarrassed he failed to realise his father Donald Sutherland's prolific status as an actor until he was 18.
The 39-year-old only watched some of his father's best-loved films when he became an adult and finally understood the importance of his dad's standing in Hollywood.
When asked about Donald's influence on him, Kiefer says, "Oh my God. Huge. Huuuge.
I left home at 15 and obviously knew he was really famous but I hadn't even seen M*A*S*H.
"When I was 18 I got tapes of Don't Look Now, M*A*S*H, Kelly's Heroes, The Eagle Has Landed, Casanova, and 1900, and I watched them in two days.
"I remember feeling like the worst son ever: I didn't know how good he was! "Forget about being famous - this was one of the most prolific actors in film."
Cromwell and Izzard Clock-In on 24
Source: FOX September 12, 2006
Oscar and Emmy nominated actor James Cromwell (Babe, "Six Feet Under") and Emmy Award-winning actor Eddie Izzard ("Dress to Kill," My Super Ex-Girlfriend) join the season six cast of "24." The clock for "Day Six" will begin to tick in January, Mondays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
The highly respected Cromwell will recur this season as Phillip Bauer, the estranged father of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), while British actor/comedian Izzard will portray a villainous accomplice, Darren McCarthy. In addition to Cromwell and Izzard, newcomers joining the pulse-pounding thriller include Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), Marisol Nichols ("In Justice"), Alexander Siddig (Syriana) and Harry Lennix ("Commander in Chief"). Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota will reprise their respective roles as CTU contractors Milo Pressman and Morris O'Brian.
Season five concluded with a battered and bloodied Bauer captured by Chinese government agents and headed for points unknown. Season six picks up 20 months later. Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), the strong-minded brother of the late President David Palmer, is now himself the President of the United States, while his sister, Sandra Palmer (Regina King), is a determined and powerful advocacy lawyer. After a series of horrific terrorist attacks, Palmer and his team of advisors, Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) and Thomas Lennox (Peter MacNicol) as well as CTU colleagues Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), Curtis Manning (Roger Cross) and Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) begin an unthinkable, nail-biting day.
"24," created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, is a production of Real Time Productions and Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, Jon Cassar, Kiefer Sutherland and Brian Grazer are the executive producers.
