Saturday, November 22, 2008

Man in the Mirror: Kiefer Sutherland

Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

The highest paid actor on television, Emmy and Golden Globe award winner, Kiefer Sutherland talks about the new season of 24 and his upcoming film Mirror...

Have you finished shooting the next season of 24?

We're filming at the moment. Because of the writers' strike we will finish the entire season by November. And it will be the first time in our history that we would have finished all 24 episodes before we show one, which is fantastic. That alone has allowed the writers to really craft something as opposed to having to work under a tight schedule. Disappointing as the writers' strike was, it allowed us to make what I believe is the best season of 24 we've ever made.

When will that air?

Well, there's a two-hour movie prequel that sets up season 7, which we shot in Africa. It's one of the things I'm most excited about and that goes in November, and then the season will start in January (in the US). I hope that the two-hour prequel will air everywhere – Europe, South America, Asia, US, Canada – at the same time, on the same night. For the second it airs in one place, it's on a DVD and people are downloading it. I don't care about that, I really don't. But I'd like them to see it on a proper screen with proper sound so that it does it justice. Do you find that taking on something completely different from 24 (say, your upcoming horror movie, Mirrors ) during the breaks reinvigorates you?

Yes. And oddly enough, I've found that I do better working in the break (from 24). To play a different character and then to go back to do Jack Bauer, yes it does reinvigorate me. As opposed to the times when I have taken the break for an off, I go through a very odd process of trying to get back into it because I haven't been working for a while.

Sometimes horror films become all about the effects and the story gets lost in the process. How did you ensure that didn't happen?

Alex (Alexandre Aja) and I got along from our very first meeting. And we talked a lot about the structure and the balance of a film like this. And it's not rocket science, but sometimes what I think is lost is the ability to make a film, where if you took out the scary bits, you still care about the characters. You have to care about the characters and have that balance. And so we struck this deal. I said, 'Look, you've written this script and I believe I can make you care about this man, his isolation, the fact that no one believes him and his absolute desire to protect his family. I think I can make an audience care about that.' But I said 'what I need to know from you is that you can scare the hell out of me..' and he took a long beat, looked down and went 'oh yeah..' in that French accent (laughs). So we knew our jobs, we knew our roles. Alex did a wonderful job and from my perspective, he kept his word in maintaining a balance between those things, but that's ultimately for an audience to decide.

Do you believe in letting the audience decide?

Yes, I do. I was the actor who went to see Stand By Me and thought my career was over. I thought the film was great, but I thought I was terrible. And that's when I learned 'maybe I'm not the best judge of that...' I remember when I first read the script for 24 and I never really read the 'real time' thing. I mean I read 'real time' whatever the **** that means, but I didn't really think very clearly about it (laughs). With Mirrors I didn't think very clearly about the fact that I would be looking into mirrors and performing scenes and that I would have to watch myself act. It was the most unsettling part of the film, but it also gives you a great insight into what you are doing because you start to watch yourself do things that are purposefully manipulative as an actor – things that are thought out and meant. To be confronted with that all the time when you are working was very disorientating; but interesting too.

It's interesting, and frightening, the way the film uses an object that is a part of every day life – the mirror – and turns it into something incredibly sinister...

It's rooted in a potential reality. There are mirrors everywhere and you are sitting there going 'I've got a home like that..' You know I had a tendency when I was a child to tell a lie to get out of trouble. Then came the day when I had done really well at school in that particular week and I got the red star sticker for the week and I took it home and my mom thought I was lying. And I'll never forget the frustration. And everything I did to insist that I was telling the truth made me sound like I was lying even worse! I think, on some level, that has trapped us all and this is just taking that to a greater extreme. At first, no one will believe Ben Carson when he tells them what is going on. I think immediately an audience will understand the frustration this guy is going through. Making the audience personalise their interaction with a story is the way to go.


For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).


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