The nail-biting US TV series 24 is to get the big screen treatment. According to MTV, Kiefer Sutherland is to play sleep-deprived federal agent Jack Bauer in a feature-length version of the drama. "The script is actually in development right now," Sutherland told the music channel. "It's something that we would shoot next summer, during the next break [in filming the series]." This could be the beginning of a long saga, with Sutherland acknowledging that several movies could be made alongside the TV series. "I actually believe that they can co-exist," said the actor. "The series can go and the films can go - or film - can go."
After conquering the US box office, Ice Age 2: the Meltdown is taking on the rest of the world. The animated feature is the highest-grossing film outside America this week. It cashed in $95m (£54m) in its second week of release in 49 countries, bringing its total earnings to $157m (£90m). It proved especially popular in the UK, Germany, France and Mexico. Other films on release were pretty much crushed into extinction: the nearest thing to competition, the Spike Lee thriller Inside Man, earned $8m (£4.5m) across 33 nations.
Perhaps Love, China's first musical in three decades, swept the board at the 25th Hong Kong film awards yesterday, winning six gongs out of 11 nominations, including best actress for Xun Zhou and best cinematography. The awards for best director and best actor went to Peter Chan and Tony Leung respectively for the gritty triad film Election. Seven Swords, Tsui Hark's sweeping martial arts epic, went back empty-handed despite 11 nominations.
Actor Robert Blake will not be getting a retrial in the wrongful death of his wife, a Los Angeles court ruled yesterday. Blake, who was last year acquitted of killing Bonny Lee Bakley by a criminal court, was found responsible for her death in a civil case last November. The In Cold Blood actor wanted the $30m (£17m) verdict in the civil case to be thrown out, accusing jurors of misconduct. He said he will appeal yesterday's decision. Ms Bakley was shot dead in a car outside a LA restaurant in 2001.
