Hollywood Deep

Kiefer Sutherland pleaded no contest Tuesday in his drunken driving case. The “24″ star agreed to serve 30 days for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08 percent, as well as 18 days for violating his probation for a 2004 drunken driving case, according to court records. As part of the arrangement, Sutherland must also enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and attend weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months.

“I’m very disappointed in myself for the poor judgment I exhibited recently, and I’m deeply sorry for the disappointment and distress this has caused my family, friends and co-workers on ‘24′ and at 20th Century Fox,” Sutherland said in a statement.

While early releases have been granted to others, including celebrities, because of jail crowding and other concerns, Sutherland must serve all of his time, according to the plea agreement. The sheriff also was specifically ordered to not release Sutherland to electronic monitoring. So Paris doing only 13 days for her drunk driving escapades, Nicole Ritchie’s 2 hours in jail for driving the wrong way on the Freeway, Lindsay Lohan getting only 1 day for chasing people around drunk with cocaine in her pocket, kind of ruined it for Jack Bauer. The judge is going to make sure the Kiefer does the whole 48 days in the plea agreement, he cannot get out early, as part of the agreement.

Sutherland also showed to be a stand up guy in all of this. Fiercely protecting the production of his show, the Fox TV drama “24″, and it’s crew. Just like Jack Bauer would have done, sacrificing himself for the good of others. The actor’s plea arrangement ensures that production of “24″ will not be interrupted, Fox officials said in a statement.

“Kiefer made clear to us at the time of his arrest that his first concern was the welfare of those he worked with and that he intended to do whatever was necessary to prevent shutting down the show because of his situation,” the statement said.

“He told us that even if he had to sacrifice more time in custody in order to protect the show and the jobs of those who work with him, he would do so. From what occurred today, it is evident he is a man of his word,” it said. So the Judge will let him do his time around the show’s shooting schedule so there is no interruption. He’ll do 18 days in county jail during the show’s Christmas break. Sutherland then will have until July 1, 2008, to serve the remaining 30 days in jail. He will be on probation for five years and faces fines and a driving suspension, according to court documents. He must also enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and attend weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months. Well, Jack Bauer has done it again, this time successfully manipulating the LA court, so he can continue saving the world, in the upcoming season. Jack has wiggled out of tight jam, once again.

Now if the Emmy Award winning actor can just keep his pants on while in public places he can put all this behind him. Maybe that 18-month alcohol-education class, can help him with that, it did wonders for Mel Gibson. Mel went almost a year without being seen drunk in a bar, and he went all the way to Bali to do it. I’ll tell you what, he better not try the old pull my pants down routine in jail, or he’ll end up being someone’s jail house Paris Hilton.

Great idea for a new one night special TV show extravaganza! Mel Gibson and Kiefer Sutherland, Hollywood’s 2 biggest drunks, in a Celebrity Drink Off. Put them both face to face at a bar, surround them with some hot chicks to cheer them on, maybe even throw Vince Vaughn in there for some laughs. Let them go, last man standing, is the winner. The loser has to leave Hollywood, the champion goes right to county jail to be somebody’s bitch… quick, someone call FOX.
…Drunken DEEP!

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