24 - Precisions on why the movie was postponed

Kiefer Sutherland is furious at 20th Century Fox, which has called a halt to the movie version of the hit television show, 24. The movie based on the conspiracy-terrorism-action drama series was in pre-production and set to start shooting next month, but has now ground to a halt because Fox will greenlight a budget no higher than $30 million, while Kiefer Sutherland and producer Brian Grazer feel the budget needs to be in the low $40s at its tightest.

A 20th Century Fox spokesman confirmed that the movie was on hold and said it was related to timing : "We are still working on a script, and we hope to make it when Kiefer next has time. But this all came down to timing. Seven weeks is not enough time to prep a movie like this".

But insiders on the project refuted that version of the situation. According to them, the FOX television star feels insulted that FOX has offered him a relatively measly salary of $2 million to do the movie. Kiefer Sutherland, star and also executive producer of 24, who has helped FOX make hundreds of millions of dollars off the hit show, wanted $5 million.

Talks between the two sides continued up until the last 24 hours, with FOX co-chairman Tom Rothman getting involved, according to individuals with knowledge of the situation. The sides were meeting via conference call yesterday to try to work out their differences, though that meeting was not confirmed by other participants.

The 24 budgeting problem may cause potential problems with FOX, which needs Sutherland for its new television series, Touch. That show debuts March 22, and Sutherland recently returned from travelling abroad to promote it.

24 was meant to go into production in April, when Touch went on hiatus, according to a television studio spokesman. Now all of that has been thrown into question, and all of the talent attached is apparently furious.

Overall, Kiefer Sutherland's impression was that "the studio didn't seem to be paying attention or be consistent with notes and thoughts", said one person in his camp. In other words, the guy feels dissed.

I know times are tough in this business, but I can't quite figure out why FOX would nickel-and-dime a star like Kiefer Sutherland, whose show has an international as well as a strong domestic audience.

Individuals involved with the movie pointed out that FOX has gone through similar troubles in the past and its reputation has been hurt as a result. Said one of those individuals : "At the end of day it's not only hard to make movies at 20th Century Fox specifically, but it's also no fun".
Source : The Wrap.

Meanwhile, A Good Day to Die Hard, another big action film of a 20th Century Fox franchise, shooting nowadays in Hungary (release set on February 14, 2013), gets a $110 million budget and Bruce Willis is paid $25 million.