'24' Producer Confirms 'Plans Moving Forward' for Feature Film

TV Guide Magazine reports that plans for a feature film based on the long-running Fox series 24 are definitely moving forward. Despite recent rumors that the project had been scrapped, executive producer Howard Gordon tells the magazine that the long-awaited movie will be produced. 

Production on the film was originally set to begin this May, but according to recent reports, 20th Century Fox, the studio behind the project, has been faced with budget and scheduling conflicts, as well as salary negotiation disputes with the film's star Kiefer Sutherland. 

Says Gordon, "The status was, I would say as recently as a week or two ago, pretty positive that it was going to happen as early as this May and everyone was racing to get that to happen. And I think Kiefer and Fox — everyone — decided because of everyone's schedule it was not a good thing to rush. No one wanted to rush it."

Added the producer, "It was kind of a collective decision not to do it. And it was really like, 'Let's take a beat. Let's do this next time. Let's take the script that we like and let's make it better. And let's do it with a little more composure.'"

Gordon maintains that while a script for the movie is in place, it was still undergoing last minute editing. "I was very happy with it, but it needed more work," he says. "And I think everyone feels like if we're going to do it, we're going to do it really well. I mean, there's no point in doing the movie as an exercise or as a nostalgia piece. We wanted to make it something that can stand on its own."