To fill you in, in case you haven't heard the hott news - about three weeks to a month ago the FOX network announced that there's going to be a prequel movie to the seventh season of 24.
The movie's a fan-filler prequel to make up for the way-too-long wait between Season 6 and 7 that's happened because of the writers strike at the beginning of the year.
The new season was originally supposed to premiere in January this year but it's been postposed until January 2009 so to make sure we get our 2008 fix FOX's making a two-hour movie that's being filmed right here in South Africa.
The movie premieres in the US on Sunday, 23 November and the buzz surrounding it's filming's begun in Cape Town, with a shoot that's happening here:
You may know the scene - it's the cool unfinished bridge over the Eastern Boulevard, just opposite the Waterfront - and I'm 99.9% convinced Kiefer Sutherland's going to be Jack Bauer'ing it.
I was downtown last Thursday and as I was travelling back I spotted the bridge and stopped to take a pic to tell you how I've always thought it would be a perfect place for a 24 scene - and under the bridge there was a crew setting up!
There weren't any actors or cameras but lots of filmic technical types doing things, including measuring the road - for a chase scene obviously. There were unmarked cars and vans and a huge red truck going backwards and forwards, traffic officers 'discreetly' keeping a lookout and tents with organisations going on.
The bridge often gets used for shoots but my thinking is - what are the chances that just as the movie's about to happen there's such setup happening? - the
very day I happened to stop at it 'cos of thinking it would be ideal.
Also - the discreetness to it seemed suspicious and appropriate. Film crews can make a big scene about things - with signs and branded trucks etc - but everything surrounding the shoot's been very hush-hush - right down to the script being used in the castings for it.
A Cape Town actor-mole I know went to an audition for it about two weeks ago and according to him the script was so cryptic you couldn't work out what was going on context-wise - to protect the storyline.
From what he had to say it seems that they're casting South Africans mostly in walk-on roles, with a couple of more prominent ones - my guess is they'll get a South African actor to play a lead villain ...
...who'll thrillingly face Jack on the Bridge with Table Mountain as a backdrop.
I'm so convinced it's going to happen there I'll dangle from it if it doesn't! If you pass the bridge-area keep a lookout to see if you spot anything that looks suspiciously 24-ish and be sure to be undercover to find Jack generally.
The film's going to need loads of locations and most everywhere they go he should be there. Somewhere. Hiding before kicking butt.