'24' helmer finds time for Fox deal
Hopkins to develop, direct projects
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Under the mid-six-figure, one-year deal, Hopkins will develop and direct projects for the studio on an exclusive basis. He's currently directing the USA Network miniseries "Traffic" and is also helming the HBO Films project "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," starring Geoffrey Rush.
Hopkins was nominated for an Emmy for the "24" pilot, which earned raves for its use of time codes and multiple on-screen boxes to feature several scenes at once.
Hopkins has directed several episodes of "24" since then.
"What you hope for in a director is someone who will be able to enhance the storytelling while creating an individual style for the show," said 20th Century Fox TV prexy Dana Walden.
"It's a real delicate balance. Everything Stephen did with '24' enhanced the urgency, the drama, the emotion of the storytelling, and at the same time created a unique style that the show lives in today."
That style has since been copied in other TV projects, which Walden called "the highest form of compliment."
Hopkins, who's repped by William Morris, began his career in graphic design and storyboarding before turning to directing. He first went behind the lens in 1987's "Dangerous Game."
Hopkins' feature credits also include the Gene Hackman/Morgan Freeman thriller "Under Suspicion," the 1998 film version of "Lost in Space," 1996 Michael Douglas/Val Kilmer vehicle "The Ghost and the Darkness" and 1994's "Blown Away."
"The guy is just brilliant," Walden said. "We've been trying to put together a deal with him for two years."
