From Hollywood Reporter:

Sutherland boosts pact at 20th TV

Kiefeer Sutherland

By Nellie Andreeva

“24″ star Kiefer Sutherland has inked a multifaceted deal with 20th Century Fox Television.

The rich pact, which is set to begin in June, calls for the actor to continue on the hit Fox drama for three more years and includes a two-year development deal for Sutherland’s soon-to-be-launched production banner.

Details on the deal were sketchy Friday, but sources pegged the acting portion alone at more than $40 million for the three seasons, which could make Sutherland the highest paid actor in drama series.

While the deal with Sutherland locks him in for three additional years beyond the current fifth season of “24″, the 20th TV/Imagine TV-produced show so far has been picked up for one additional season.

Under the pact, Sutherland also will be elevated from a co-executive producer to executive producer on “24″ next season alongside Joel Surnow, Robert Cochran, Howard Gordon and Evan Katz.

The development portion of the deal is said to include overhead and a development fund for Sutherland’s company. Sutherland will hire a development executive and will begin to develop and executive produce projects for television as well the Internet and wireless devices.

“Working with Kiefer Sutherland over the past five seasons of ‘24′ has been one of the great pleasures of my professional career,” 20th TV president Dana Walden said. “He is an extraordinary actor with amazing instincts, he’s fiercely intelligent, and he has fantastic taste in material.”

Added 20th TV president Gary Newman, “In his years on ‘24,’ Kiefer has demonstrated an incredible understanding of what makes for a compelling story or character, and he brings a passion to the process of making television that extends well beyond his own performance. We believe he could become every bit as accomplished a producer as he is a performer.”

Sutherland called his past five years on the show “one of the most creative and rewarding experiences in my career.”

He added: “The extraordinary support that we have received from Dana Walden, Gary Newman and everyone at Twentieth has made a difficult show like ‘24′ succeed on all levels, and for that I’m truly grateful. I am thrilled to extend my commitment to all my friends and colleagues at ‘24,’ and I’m looking forward to this expanded relationship with 20th Century Fox.”

In its fifth season, “24″ is enjoying some of its best ratings and critical notices. The show, which introduced the now-hot serialized thriller genre, also has become a DVD best-seller and has spawned a mobile phone series.

Sutherland’s performance on “24″ has earned him a Golden Globe award and four Emmy nominations.

On the big screen, he next will be seen opposite Michael Douglas and Kim Basinger in “The Sentinel” and also as the voice of the lion in Disney’s “The Wild.”

Sutherland is repped by WMA, Suzan Bymel of Management 360 and attorney Jamie Feldman.

From Variety:

‘24′ star stays on Fox clock
Sutherland inks 3-year deal

By JOSEF ADALIAN

The future of one of 20th Century Fox TV’s most important franchises is safe for three more years, with “24″. Kiefer Sutherland inking a rich eight-figure deal to stay with the show through May 2009.

As part of the just-inked pactpact, Sutherland will establish a production company on the 20th lot to produce series programming for both broadcast and cable networks. He’s expected to begin searching for a development exec shortly.

Deal gives Sutherland a significant pay bump, making him one of the highest-paid drama thesps on television.

Sutherland, currently co-exec producer on “24,” will be bumped up to exec producer for the upcoming sixth and seven seasons of the show. He shares that title with creators Joel SurnowJoel Surnow and Robert CochranRobert Cochran, as well as Howard Gordon and Evan Katz.

Finally, while the deal with 20th is for TV only, Sutherland said he and the show’s producers continue to believe in the idea of bringing the “24″ franchise to the bigscreen. Earliest pic would begin shooting, however, is late spring 2007, Sutherland said.

As for his new TV pact, Sutherland said 20th presidents Dana WaldenDana Walden and Gary Newman have “been amazing allies” throughout the history of “24.”

“So often the execs seem to be at odds with (the creators and thesps), and that hasn’t been our experience,” he told Daily Variety.

Sutherland said his new shingleshingle likely will focus on drama development, but he’s not limiting himself to that genre if the right comedy idea comes along. He also credited skeins such as “Sex and the City,” “The West Wing”"The West Wing” and 20th-produced “Prison Break” as inspiring his interest in trying his hand at production.

“Programming on television has opened up and jumped leaps and bounds over the kinds of restrictions it once had,” Sutherland said.

Execs at 20th said Sutherland has the chops needed to develop and execute series projects.

Walden said the thesp “is fiercely intelligent and has fantastic taste in material.”

Newman said Sutherland’s work on “24″ has shown an “understanding of what makes for a compelling story or character, and he brings a passion to the process of making television that extends well beyond his own performance.”

New deal for Sutherland comes as “24″ is experiencing some of the best ratings and critical notices of its five-year run. SkeinSkein is up 13% among adults 18-49, with its 5.9/13 making it a staple of Nielsen’s top 15.

“The writers keep managing to turn the show in on itself, coming up with something that’s well thought-out and miraculous,” Sutherland said.

He said the writers plan to take little more than a month off once the current season wraps production in the next few weeks. “It’s reinvigorated us to really attack the next season,” he said.

Quality control is the chief reason a “24″ feature couldn’t shoot during the upcoming hiatus, Sutherland added.

“It was really Joel and Bob and Howard realizing that if we were going to squeeze it in during the break, we would have been rushing it,” he said. “If we were going to do it, we would do it next summer. It’s still a big ‘if.’ We would not go forward unless we thought we could do it right.”

Pic likely would depart from the series by condensing an entire day into about two hours, rather than unfolding in real time.

Sutherland isn’t shooting a feature this hiatus in anticipation of working on a “24″ pic next summer. He’ll next be seen opposite Michael DouglasMichael Douglas and Kim BasingerKim Basinger in “The Sentinel,” opening April 21. He also voices a lion in Disney toontoon “The Wild.”

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