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LOS ANGELES — As Kiefer Sutherland said in an interview this week about the cancellation of the series, 24, after eight seasons: “It's going to get sadder and sadder on the set.”
So while boxes of Kleenex are being passed around during this last month of shooting in L.A. and New York, there’ll be, at least for the Canadian actors working on the show, an ever after.
The stars seem especially aligned for Toronto newcomer Nazneen Contractor, who at 24 is the same age as the series title. Contractor was initially slotted to shoot only two episodes this season as Kayla Hassan, the daughter of President Omar Hassan (Slumdog Millionaire villain Anil Kampor). But after seeing how her heartbreakingly beautiful face lit up the screen, producers ended up using her for a full 21 episodes.
Contractor reports she’s in Dallas shooting a pilot for Fox called Midland.
Assuredly, Midland is no fly-by-night project. It stars mega screen actor Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance, National Treasure) as a Texas oilman. And it’s no bit part for Contractor: She’s been cast as Sara, a meaty lead role.
“Things are going nicely,” she e-mailed QMI Agency between takes. (No word, however, if she's got any new gossip on Voight’s daughter, Angelina Jolie.)
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Main man Sutherland is set to star in the film version of 24, now being written by noted action screen writer Billy Ray (Flight Plan, Breach, State of Play).
“I'm very excited about the opportunity, and singularly because it’s a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day,” Sutherland told Variety.
But expect more than the movie from Sutherland: Industry buzz is that he’s been approached by more than one network about the possibility of executive producing and creating another action TV drama.
As for Calgary’s Elisha Cuthbert, who plays Sutherland’s daughter, Kim Bauer, she is voicing Cleo, the feline daughter of a wealthy kitty-litter baron, in the soon-to-be released animated film, Cat Tale.
The rug was momentarily pulled out from under the 27-year-old Maxim pinup last month when she was cast alongside Christian Slater to star in the ABC show, The Forgotten, only to have the show cancelled.
But the network obviously believes in her. Just days after breaking the news of The Forgotten’s cancellation, ABC cast her as the lead actress in its comedy pilot, aptly titled, Happy Endings.
STEPPING IT UP: I was surprised to bump into Pam Anderson at a local dance studio I attend.
Anderson, 42, and her professional Dancing with the Stars partner, Damian Whitewood, were working on what appeared to either be a Cha-Cha-Cha or freestyle routine.
She was very friendly when she came out into the hallway for a break, where she was peppered with questions from the regulars about what dance she’s working on.
“It's a secret, sorry,” she said, before adding, “Don't forget to vote for me!”
Anderson’s sex-kitten act, juxtaposed with reality TV’s talentless mom Kate Gosselin, are being credited with bringing the dance show its best numbers ever.
Linda Massarella, a Canadian writer in Los Angeles, writes every Sunday about notable Canadians living in L.A.