06.30 | POW film taught Sutherland a lesson in WWII’s grim history

From an interview with Kiefer Sutherland about his newly-released movie 'To End All Wars':

"We had just finished the pilot for '24' when I went to work on the movie," Sutherland said.

By the time filming was complete, Sutherland found out that '24' had been picked up. So he went right to work on the TV series that was unlike anything else on the air.

The entire season represents one day in the life of Jack Bauer, with each episode representing one hour of that day. It moves at a near-breathless pace.

"I'm not sure I ever thought we would now be doing a fourth season," Sutherland said. "I think we were all amazed at the reaction to the series. There were and still are some phenomenal shows out there like 'The West Wing', 'Law and Order' and several others."

Working on '24' can be exhausting, Sutherland said. "But everyone involved is so committed to the show and maintaining the suspense and pace."

Away from '24', Sutherland also maintains a similar pace. Since the series premiered, he has appeared in six movies and has two more in the works.

"If I didn’t enjoy this (pace), I wouldn't be doing it," Sutherland said.

06.28 | Flaming finale for Elisha's 'House Of Wax'

Elisha Cuthbert, AKA '24's Kim Bauer, has been involved in a huge fire that burnt down the set whilst filming 'House Of Wax' in Australia.

About 75 cast members and crew were inside when the building exploded in flames on Saturday night.

All managed to flee unscathed but the sound stage – controversially built by film giants Warner Bros and Village Roadshow two years ago with an $8 million low-interest loan from the Beattie Government – was destroyed.

06.26 | Dennis Haysbert to appear in ABC's 'Empire'

According to Futon Critic, Dennis Haysbert - AKA President Dave Palmer in '24' - has signed up to appear in 'Empire', a six-part ABC mini-series about Caesar and the Roman empire.

UPDATE: Eurweb has more: could Dennis could be seeing the end of his presidency?

06.26 | Filmakers are finding that the art is in the disc

Crafting DVD extras is becoming an art form all its own, with creative filmmakers beginning to specialize in the genre. Fox TV's thriller '24', for instance, devotes an entire second-season disc to background features, led by a 90-minute cinema verité portrait of the monthlong production process for the season finale.

Portrait director Marc Ostrick shadowed '24' producer-director Jon Cassar as his finale faced location problems, script modifications and other challenges. His lively movie echoes '24's visual style with split screens and time graphics, yet reflects a distinctive humor and the crew's personalities. While casual fans can enjoy its fly-on-the-wall intimacy, information flows about details, down to color temperature in lighting.

06.26 | Immersion television

Technology - most notably the advent of TiVo and other listings-linked digital recorders - has meant that audiences are increasingly in the habit of dictating their own programming timelines. Watching tube titles on DVD is simply an extension of that ease, says Gord Lacey, a 26-year-old website developer from Edmonton, who also runs tvshowsondvd.com.

"I'm not watching '24' this year," notes Lacey, referring to the Kiefer Sutherland espionage thriller, now in its third season. "I'm just waiting for the DVDs." Most of his friends now do the same.

06.26 | The political fantasy that drives the war on terror

If you want to understand the psychology of the times, go to popular culture. There have been few television hits in recent years quite like the US action drama '24', which, with its trail of violence and terror, has gripped audiences in Britain and America. I confess straight away to being a bug-eyed '24' junkie. I have sat on the sofa mesmerised by every episode in every series. Friends and family know they phone at their peril while it's on.

06.26 | Filming starts on River Queen

The first shoot for the Vincent Ward film River Queen went without a hitch yesterday.

The day began just after 4am with the film's stars Samantha Morton and Kiefer Sutherland arriving with crew and extras at a Waimarino site near the Ruatiti Domain and bordered by the Manganui-O-Te Ao Stream.

A 4AM start? Looks like Kiefer's having another one of his 'longest days'.

06.24 | Elisha Cuthbert's Film Embroiled in Porn Case

The makers of Elisha Cuthbert's racy new movie 'The Girl Next Door' are being sued by the producers of a porn documentary with the same title.

06.02 | Xander Berkeley in 'Great Writers Series' in Los Angeles

If you're in Los Angeles, or can get there, you can see Xander Berkeley - AKA George Mason - taking part in a reading of 'Let The Cards Decide' by Louis L'Amour tonight at the MET Theatre. It's part of the Great Writers Series which is playing through until the end of June.

UPDATE: Just to make things clear, Xander is there TONIGHT ONLY. Not for the rest of the month, y'hear.