Kiefer smiling over new '24' season
PASADENA, Calif. — Kiefer Sutherland was passing a hot tub when he first started to realize Jack Bauer was becoming a cultural icon.
This isn’t a story about steamy, naked girls recognizing Sutherland as Jack Bauer from 24, and calling him over for some wet-and-wild fun. Well, that might have happened, too — if it did, Sutherland left that part out — but it’s more of a family-friendly tale.
“A bunch of people from the crew of 24, we all went skiing in Mammoth,” said Sutherland, recalling an incident from a few years ago. “We were coming around the back of the main lodge, and there was a series of hot tubs.
“This one kid came running from a snow bank and jumped off it, into the hot tub. In the middle of the air he yelled, ‘I’m going to Jack Bauer you’, and splashed.
“We started laughing at that.”
Well, Fox and Global are going to “Jack Bauer you” again this Sunday and Monday, with the debut of the eighth season of 24. As has become tradition, 24 kicks off its new campaign with a four-hour extravaganza, two hours on Sunday and two hours on Monday.
Early in the first episode of the new season, you will see something very unusual, and it has nothing to do with the fact that 24 is set in New York this time around.
We see Jack Bauer smile broadly.
“It felt weird to do it,” admitted Sutherland, who definitely smiles more often than his character. “The only time Jack Bauer smiled — just because it happened so rarely, we noted it — was in Season 3.
“He had finally captured Nina (played by Sarah Clarke) and was flying back with her on the cargo plane and he had her in handcuffs. He looked at her and smiled. And that was about four episodes before he got to shoot her. So this was a different kind of smile.
“But I must say, when we first shot (this season’s smile), it felt awkward for me and I think everybody else involved.”
Whether Jack Bauer will be “not smiling” beyond this season remains to be seen.
Fox has been promoting the eighth season of 24 with the slogan that Jack Bauer has to “survive one more day.” But Sutherland and the show’s producers said such intricacies are the domain of Fox’s marketing department and not too much should be read into it one way or the other.
“I’ve always said that as long as people wanted us to make it, and people were really interested in watching it, I would be interested,” Sutherland said. “There are a lot of components involved. The task of writing it is far greater than the task of acting in it.”
The task of acting it looks pretty tough sometimes, too.
“Our cinematographer and I were sitting at an event for our 150th episode, and they put together a montage from the very beginning through the 150th episode, some behind-the-scenes stuff, and we were laughing and thinking, ‘Oh, how cool all of this is,’ ” recalled Sutherland, 43.
“And then about halfway through the little documentary, they showed some pictures of us from Season 1. We realized that we had aged and we stopped laughing.”
There have to be some advantages, though, to playing Jack Bauer for so long and having people recognize you as such.
“I’ve always been shocked that people who I’m flying with actually say, ‘Oh, I feel safer on the plane,’ ” Sutherland said.
“I’m thinking, ‘You must not watch the show because everybody around me gets killed.’ ”
'Polytechnique' named top Cdn. film
TORONTO - Quebec cinema was the toast of the Toronto Film Critics Association Tuesday as Denis Villeneuve's "Polytechnique" was named best Canadian feature of 2009 and phenom moviemaker Xavier Dolan got a rising artist award.
"At least nobody can accuse us of being Toronto-centric," Brian D. Johnson, TFCA president and film critic for Maclean's, said at the awards gala attended by eminent directors including David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan.
"Polytechnique," which examines the murderous rampage at Ecole Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989, won the $10,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. It was up against another Quebec film, "The Necessities of Life" directed by Benoit Pilon, as well as Bruce McDonald's "Pontypool."
Johnson called "Polytechnique" "a film of astonishing courage," and Villeneuve said it was emotionally taxing to make.
"It was a very long and tough process to do this movie," he said in an interview on the red carpet.
"It was a fantastic, human voyage, but still it was a tough one and it was tough from the first interview until the last day of editing."
Dolan, 20, received the $5,000 inaugural Jay Scott Prize for emerging talent for his smash directorial debut, "I Killed My Mother" ("J'ai tue ma mere"), a semi-autobiographical portrayal of a teen's explosive relationship his single mom, Chantale (Anne Dorval).
Dolan also wrote, produced and starred in the searing drama, which won three awards at the Cannes International Film Festival earlier this year.
Opening Feb. 5 in Toronto, "I Killed My Mother" is now Canada's official entry for consideration for best foreign-language film Oscar - an honour that has Dolan feeling like a bit of a charlatan.
"I somewhat feel like an impostor being a contender aside many other people I admire so much," admitted the curly-haired, bespectacled prodigy, who got his start as a child actor.
"I wonder how it is that I belong there. But if people choose me, I'll be flattered and honoured."
His success, he added, has been "very unexpected."
"All I wanted with the film originally in the first place was to go to Cannes. There was no above-the-line perspective, like, I couldn't think of anything after.
"Beyond Cannes for me, there were like, no possibilities, but then there were many other festivals and things, and it's great."
Egoyan, who presented Dolan with the award that's named after the late Globe and Mail film critic Jay Scott, called "I Killed My Mother" a "remarkable piece of work."
"Jay would've loved this movie," said Egoyan. "It's a film that's raw, it speaks of an experience in a way you feel you've seen before but you've never seen it expressed this way.
"It's just so sincere and breathtakingly assured."
Canadian box office hits record in 2009
TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) – Harry Potter's broom and Michael Bay's robots helped the Canadian box office soar past CAN$1 billion to reach a new record in 2009, according to data issued on Tuesday.
Canadians paid out CAN$1.01 billion ($970 million) for theater tickets last year, with most of the money going toward studio releases, said the Motion Picture Theater Associations of Canada and Zoom Services.
The Canadian performance mirrors the industry stateside, where a string of studio movie hits and raised ticket prices helped Hollywood find box office gold last year, despite the economic downturn.
Bay's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" was the top-grossing movie in Canada last year with CAN$34.4 million ($33 million) in box office, followed by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" at CAN$31.5 million ($30.5 million) and "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" at CAN$28 million ($27.2 million).
James Cameron's "Avatar" brought in CAN$27 million ($26.2 million) over the Christmas break at the local multiplex, and continues to generate box office into 2010.
Local movie productions were virtual no-shows at the Canadian multiplex yet again in 2009, with locally-made movies accounting for just under 3% of receipts in 2009. Most of that business came in Quebec, where French-language movies enjoy some protection from Hollywood competition.
Among them, Canadian films -- including Emile Gaudreault's "De pere en flic," Mike Clattenburg's "Trailer Park Boys" and Michael McGowan's "One Week" -- earned CAN$26 million ($25.2 million).
No sequels, spinoffs for `Lost'
PASADENA, Calif. – When ABC's drama "Lost" ends in May, it will definitively end — don't look for any sequels or spinoffs.
The show's producers said Tuesday they've known the final image of the mythologically dense series about Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 since the first season, although Carlton Cuse said the last episode hasn't been written yet. It will air sometime in May.
Cuse and Damon Lindelof were giving away few secrets to the show's rabid fans at a news conference Tuesday, even refraining to show video clips. They said the show's sixth and final season will hearken back to its first, and most popular, season in 2004.
The producers were initially sweating about their two-hour season opener, scheduled for Feb. 2, when they heard President Barack Obama had been considering that night for his State of the Union address. It promises to be a challenging episode; actress Emilie de Ravin said she had to read the script three times before it made any sense.
"Get ready to scratch your heads, America," Lindelof said.
A one-hour recap special, an attempt to get uninitiated or casual viewers as familiar with the story as they can, will precede the opener.
In its lifetime, "Lost" proved that it's possible for a television series to challenge its viewers and pull off production values that rival feature films, said Stephen McPherson, ABC entertainment president.
"It will arguably be one of the most influential shows of the decade, if not of all time," McPherson said.
One secret producers did reveal: actress Cynthia Watros, who played the character Libby before being killed off in the second season, will return this year.
"Finally, all of your questions (about Libby) will be answered," Cuse said.
"No, they will not," Lindelof said.
That's something fans should prepare themselves for overall: not all of the questions raised during the series will be answered. "That would be too pedantic," Cuse said.
They're hoping that final show is something that will be talked about afterward in much the same way as the diner scene that ended "The Sopranos."
"I don't think it would be `Lost' if there wasn't any arguing and active debate among the viewers about whether or not it was a good ending," Lindelof said. "My mom will say it's a good ending, even though she doesn't understand the show."
"Lost" has gone through so many inexplicable twists and turns, and flash-forwards to the future, that one writer wondered whether fans had already seen the ending in a previous episode. Cuse said no.
Actors said filming the series has been an emotional journey.
"I'm going to cry like a baby when this series ends," actress Evangeline Lilly said.
Conan O'Brien says no thanks to NBC move
LOS ANGELES – Conan O'Brien has refused to play along with NBC's plan to move "The Tonight Show" and return Jay Leno to late-night, abruptly derailing the network's effort to resolve its scheduling mess.
O'Brien said in a statement Tuesday that shifting "Tonight" will "seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting," and he expressed disappointment that NBC had given him less than a year to establish himself as host at 11:35 p.m. EST.
O'Brien is in line to make approximately $30 million from NBC if he is replaced on "The Tonight Show" or if the show is canceled, said a source close to the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about it publicly. However, the source said the sum would not apply just for moving O'Brien to a later time slot.
O'Brien said he doesn't have an offer in hand from another network. Fox, which lacks a network late-night show, has expressed its appreciation for him but said this week that no negotiations have been held.
In his statement, wryly addressed to "People of Earth," the comic knocked his network's prime-time ratings woes, which stem in part from the poor performance of Leno's new prime-time show. "The Jay Leno Show" debuted in the fall after Leno surrendered his 17-year stake in the "Tonight" last spring to O'Brien.
"It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both," O'Brien said.
"But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my 'Tonight Show' in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Growing up watching "Tonight" host Johnny Carson and getting the chance to "one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me," and was an opportunity he worked long and hard to obtain, O'Brien said.
"Tonight" has long been the dominant late-night program on television, with O'Brien following in a line of hosts that included Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and Leno. For many of those years, an appearance on "Tonight," particularly for comics, could make or break a career.
NBC wants to move Leno out of prime-time and to the 11:35 p.m. slot with a half-hour show, bumping "Tonight" to 12:05 a.m. — the latest it's ever regularly aired. The network was under pressure to make a change from its affiliate stations, who found Leno's show an inadequate ratings lead-in for their lucrative local newscasts.
Online, many took to O'Brien's defense and applauded the host's stand against NBC. "Team Conan" was one of the most popular Twitter topics Tuesday afternoon, as young viewers pledged their allegiance to O'Brien.
An O'Brien portrait also circulated as a badge of support. Referring to the "Tonight" show host's playful nickname, it read, "I'm with Coco," and featured a black-and-white picture of a regal-looking O'Brien standing in front of an American flag. The only color: his shock of orange hair.
It doesn't make sense for NBC to try and hold him to a contract, said John Rash, a media analyst for the Chicago advertising firm Campbell & Mithun.
"An unhappy comedian is not a good premise for a program," Rash said.
Jody Simon, an entertainment lawyer with Peter Rubin & Simon, said it's very likely that O'Brien and NBC will reach some sort of settlement that might require him to refrain from working at another late-night show for a certain time.
He expected O'Brien will not boycott his show, despite the expressed desire to quit.
"Until this is settled, I would be surprised if he said he wasn't going to show up for work," Simon said. "It would be unprofessional and would expose him to liability."
The late-night shuffle has played out amid wide speculation that O'Brien might bolt for Fox. And the network's top entertainment executive, Kevin Reilly, said on Monday, "I love Conan personally and professionally."
Fox has had trouble launching late-night shows in the past, with Chevy Chase and Joan Rivers as notable failures. O'Brien offers the advantage of being a proven performer with a team experienced in putting on a show.
"Certainly Conan has a loyal audience and he's been able to effectively position himself as a victim of NBC's schedule shuffle," said Rash, who added that the tone of O'Brien's show seems to fit Fox's brand better than it does NBC's.
ABC's top entertainment executive, Stephen McPherson, said his network had no interest in O'Brien. ABC would have sought Leno if he hit the open market, but its executives believe that O'Brien's show is so close in tone to Letterman's that it wouldn't be good competition.
Fox declined comment Tuesday on O'Brien's statement, but it is taking action that would indicate the network is seriously considering bringing him to late-night, a period now largely filled by a variety of syndicated fare that includes network reruns.
Fox is asking some of its stations to study and report back on how much money is made with current late-night programming, according to a person familiar with the request. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss the request.
The syndication agreements that are in place are a costly sticking point if Fox wants to put in a late-night show across the network, the person said.
It might not be easy for affiliate stations to break profitable syndication agreements, said analyst Rash.
NBC announced the "Tonight Show" succession plan in 2004, well before Leno's departure, to try to avoid the Leno-David Letterman battle that ensued when Carson retired. (On his CBS "Late Show" Tuesday, Letterman joked that he received a call from NBC with the message, "Look, look, we still don't want you back.'") But it didn't count on Leno remaining atop the late-night ratings when he was pushed out of "Tonight."
To keep Leno from becoming a late-night competitor to O'Brien at another network, NBC offered him the daily 10 p.m. EST prime-time series. The network also saw it as an opportunity for cost-cutting, with a talk show considerably cheaper to produce than the scripted dramas that typically fill the final hour of prime-time.
"Tonight" with O'Brien is averaging 2.5 million nightly viewers, compared with 4.2 for Letterman's "Late Show," according to Nielsen figures. And the younger audience that O'Brien was expected to woo has been largely unimpressed; O'Brien and Letterman tie among advertiser-favored viewers ages 18 to 49.
Leno was drawing around 5 million viewers to "Tonight," about the same number now watching his new show.
O'Brien said he hoped that he and NBC could resolve the issue quickly so he could do a show of which he and his crew could be proud — "for a company that values our work" — raising the possibility he might go to another network.
NBC declined comment Tuesday, adding that O'Brien was scheduled to do his show Tuesday night. Leno also declined comment.
For O'Brien, it's been a stark contrast to early in his career, when he was an unknown replacing David Letterman in the 12:30 a.m. slot. He suffered brutal reviews, tough ratings and was working on a week-to-week contract. But NBC's management then stuck with him, and he blossomed into a proven performer.
The network had been counting on O'Brien's cooperation, and wanted an answer quickly, so it could get the revamped schedule ready to begin airing after NBC broadcasts the Winter Olympics, which will dominate NBC's schedule from Feb. 12-28.
O'Brien noted in his statement that he'd received sympathy calls and added that no one should feel sorry for him because he's been "absurdly lucky" to do what he loves most in a world with real problems.
He ended the statement with a punch line: "Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way."
Bill Lawrence, executive producer of ABC's "Scrubs" and "Cougar Town," said he was impressed by O'Brien's letter.
"I'm sure it's going to lead to good things for him," he said.
2 of 3 Dixie Chicks Returning With New Music
Two members of the Dixie Chicks - minus lead singer Natalie Maines - are preparing to release a new album this year.
According to CMT.com, sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison are working on a project to be released on Columbia Records.
However, Lloyd Maines, Natalie's father, tells CMT.com that the three girls are "definitely still an entity." He says the sisters are "cutting some demos" and that Natalie recorded "a little something with them" about a year ago.
The Associated Press' attempts to contact their publicist and Columbia Records were unsuccessful.
The Dixie Chicks suffered a backlash from fans and country radio over comments Natalie Maines made about President George W. Bush in 2003. The Chicks released their last album in 2006, called "Taking the Long Way."
The group has won 13 Grammys and was named the CMA entertainer of the year in 2000.
Robert Zemeckis finds Beatles for 'Yellow Submarine'
It's "all together now" for the cast of Robert Zemeckis' upcoming Beatles feature.
Cary Elwes, Dean Lennox Kelly, Peter Serafinowicz and Adam Campbell are in negotiations to portray the members of the band in "Yellow Submarine," which the director is remaking for Disney.
The original 1968 animated movie was based on the music by the Beatles and featured a storyline wherein a soldier called Old Fred meets up with the Beatles and travels in a yellow submersible to Pepperland. Among the group's encounters are the music-hating Blue Meanies.
As with his recently released "A Christmas Carol," Zemeckis is making the movie using 3D performance-capture technology. The helmer, who also wrote the screenplay, is producing with his Imagemovers Digital partners Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey.
The Beatles tribute band the Fab Four will be motion-captured as the ensemble for the musical performance sequences though -- since actual Beatles music will be utilized (licensed from Sony/ATV and EMI-Capitol Records) -- they won't actually be performing the 16 songs used in the movie.
Kelly, a British actor who is currently on the BBC's "Robin Hood" series, is portraying John Lennon.
Serafinowicz, repped by UTA and Troika in the U.K. and Principato/Young, appeared in "Shaun of the Dead" and in "Couples Retreat." He plays Paul McCartney.
Elwes, who worked with Zemeckis on "A Christmas Carol" and is in the upcoming "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," will play George Harrison. Elwes is repped by APA and Kritzer Levine Wilkins Griffin Entertainment.
Campbell will be Ringo Starr. His credits include "Epic Movie" and "Date Movie," and he will be seen on NBC's miniseries "Day One." He is repped by ICM and United Agents in the U.K.
'Up,' `The Hurt Locker' top Golden Tomato Awards
LOS ANGELES – An animated adventure about a widower who sails away in a house lifted by a bouquet of balloons and an up-close look at a bomb-squad unit in Iraq were the top critical favorites of 2009. Now "Up" and "The Hurt Locker" are top winners at the Golden Tomato Awards.
The awards honor the best-reviewed films of the year as determined by the Web site RottenTomatoes.com, which compiles reviews from critics to measure the percentage of favorable critiques.
Pixar's "Up" collected positive reviews from 98 percent of critics, earning it the Golden Tomato for a film in wide release. "The Hurt Locker" was the best-reviewed limited release film, with 97 percent of critics recommending it.
"Up" is the sixth Pixar film to rank above all others. "WALL-E" won the Golden Tomato in 2008 and "Ratatouille" took the title in 2007.
"Every year since we started doing this award, if they've got a movie, they win," said Rotten Tomatoes Editor-in-Chief Matt Atchity. "They just consistently turn out really good quality movies."
While there's no direct relationship between the Golden Tomatoes and the Academy Awards, Atchity says "Up" and "The Hurt Locker" are both likely to earn Oscar attention this year.
"The Golden Tomato winners don't necessarily win the Oscar but they usually do show up in the nominees," he said, adding that he expects both to earn best-picture nominations.
The Moldy Tomato Award, for the year's worst-reviewed film, went to "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li." Only four percent of critics gave it a positive review.