Ausiello keeps talking about ...
Kiefer Sutherland, 24
Question: Ausiello keeps talking about a film version of
24. Am I the only person who thinks making a
24 movie is, well, a total oxymoron on a level with "military intelligence" and "sugar-free caramel?" The real-time format is the show's trademark, even if some stretching has to happen to make everything fit without people getting stuck in L.A. traffic. In general, I don't think many shows, especially those still on the air, would make a good translation to the big screen. (I'm ignoring remakes like the recent
Dukes of Hazzard.) To me, the best TV shows are about the development of characters and their relationships over time.
24 is more action-oriented than that, but wouldn't making a movie just be a grab at more money and exposure, as opposed to a real organic evolution of the show? (The
X-Files movie was especially superfluous, since it wasn't even a stand-alone story. Maybe I'm just a medium purist, but it should just have been a two- or three-episode story arc. Not to say I wouldn't enjoy another movie now, especially as the series has been off the air several years.)
Answer: At the risk of prejudging, which I usually live to regret, I'm also at sea as to why
24 would want to risk cheapening or diluting the franchise with a feature-film version. It does sound like an unnecessary exploitation of a format that works uniquely well on TV. And I worry that expending energy on a feature film while the weekly series is still underway (with at least three more seasons to go, according to
Kiefer Sutherland's new contract) could be counterproductive. But then I begin to look at the upside, at how
24 is so often trapped by its formula. This season alone there have been a ludicrous number of public calamities, any one of which would be enough to stop the world in its tracks for several days, let alone requiring these characters to keep the adrenaline going for
24 consecutive hours of action. But that's the suspension of disbelief we sign on for when we come along for the ride. A two-hour movie could condense the events of a single day (always with clock ticking) in what potentially would be a less credibility-straining adventure. And given how cinematic the TV show is, I would think a larger budget and a tighter focus could make for a blockbuster. But still, why do it when the weekly series is still around? (I agree the
X-Files movie would have been a better idea if it came after the series had wrapped.)
