"Randy and the Retractables" is the thirty-fourth blog post on Network 24. It was posted by Shauna McGarry, on May 17, 2010, at 8:08pm CST.
The blog was an interview with Randy Gunter.
Blog
Randy Gunter has been 24’s Property Master since Season 2.
Cameras, bombs, retractable knives and FINGERTIP-CUTTERS!:
[video transcript]
- Randy Gunter: One of the props we always carry on this truck is cameras, cause they could be asking for a security camera or... they may not be in the script but they could ask for one at the last minute. We have many, many cams in here that could fit for any type of location. This is one of my favourite camera, it can go right in the deep corner.
- Randy Gunter: (going through a drawer) There's not too many bombs in here right now. We do have other cases here of bombs. These are just parts for if we ever have to put them together. This (picking one up) is a homemade bomb, not for this show, but for a pilot I did but no-one went for it. I'd like to use it some time.
- Randy Gunter: One thing I do like about this show is that it let me design the props. Usually on other shows I've worked on, the designer will come up with the concept, others will go with it. From day one on this show they've let me come up with the concept for whatever the props are.
- Randy Gunter: We carry a lot of knife sets here. Probably more than any show out there. That's because they've just asked at the last minute for a knife kit. Here's a perfect example. We have a real knife, a retractable knife, and rubber. This is Jack's new knife that he just started using. He's probably gone through for different kind of Microtechs, but this is his choice right now in the last few episodes of 24. Also on the end of this knife, if he wants to break a window, he just punches the end of this knife and it breaks glass.
- Randy Gunter: This is a cigar cutter that I found that was used in Season 6 when Jack was in the Russian embassy and he chopped off someone's finger. When I found this cigar cutter I was amazed at how cool it was. We made some where the blades were dulled down that saved my job because this way Kiefer could not chop the actor's finger off so we made it so that it couldn't close.
Designing fuel rods and radiological bombs, scouting for the newest and coolest mobile devices, rigging bomb vests, molding rubber arms and legs, and fitting sunglasses are all just small pieces of his job that when all added up, create a believable world of movie magic.
Big Pimpin’ with watches, jewelry, fake cash & Kiefer’s sunglasses:
[video transcript]
- Randy Gunter: This show's not just about weapons, dressing up SWAT, police, all the extra stuff that we have on the prop truck that we come up with on the spur of the moment. One of the things we have is... we have probably about a hundred watches that if an actor asks for a certain watch, we have to come up with it. It could be a fancy watch or more of a rugged watch.
- Randy Gunter: Rings. We have many wedding rings, military rings, pinky rings, on the day, many times actors will ask for some designer ring or a ring they may just want for their character. Of course, on our show we bring back recurring actors like Suvarov's whose coming back. We ask our showrunner, Howard Gordon if he's still married as he was in Season 5.
- Randy Gunter: We have many many trays of sunglasses here. By example, it's best just to bring a mirror out to set and let the actor choose which sunglasses they want to wear. Kiefer wore, in the first two seasons, Raybands and then the next five seasons it was Serengeti's, and this Season he's back to Raybands.
- Randy Gunter: We've got a lot of fake money but we have to careful in the motion picture industry with fake money because the government really watches the money we use in that it doesn't go into circulation. In all the money we need to put that its used for motion picture. It can be very small, and we have to be careful on the type of paper we use as well
Randy starts work every morning at 6AM and is always prepared with a multitude of options for every prop need. In the prop cage, he keeps a museum of 24 Props of Seasons Past stacked ceiling-high on shelves. Very cool.
Jack’s Magic Bag and real guns:
[video transcript]
- Randy Gunter: We cover ourselves on this show so much with a bag or a briefcase 'cause we don't know where their parts going in the next few episodes and what they're going to pull out of a bag or a briefcase. So we try to give our characters, when they are going into a new location, a bag or a briefcase. This is a bag that Jack had at the beginning of Season 7 when he was coming out of the Senate hearing. I think he only used this for like two or three episodes. Jack will recall his "Magic Bag". I'm always looking for bags. 95% of them we won't use. But if I see something I like, maybe he'll use it in the coming year.
- Randy Gunter: All our background players we give paddle hostlers with rubber guns. Any time one of them has any fire we use stunt men instead of the background actors. We will give them the real gun. We're very careful with all our blank fire on the show. We haven't had an accident in eight seasons.
- Randy Gunter: In this box we keep all our ammo. All the different calibres we use. Up front here is what we call our "gold room". We have our safe where he keep all our weapons. File cabinets for all our paperwork. And more briefcases.
Jack’s body armor and the giant Magic Bag from the end of Season 8. Plus, an appearance by “Kiefer’s Case!”:
[video transcript]
- Randy Gunter: There's a lot more in this truck that you haven't seen. Of course, we're outfitted to do SWAT, NYPD, CTU guards, we keep a little of everything on this truck so if at the last minute they decide to dress twelve SWAT we have it at all times.
- Randy Gunter: In the last six episodes of 24 Jack's had an extra magic bag that's larger than the bag he's carried around all season. A lot of guns come out of this bag, and also his body armour that he used in Episode 21 and 22. What we also have that we carry around whenever Kiefer's on the set is what we call "Kiefer's Case" (he indicates a tool box). It has different types of cell phones, flash lights, holsters, lock pick kits, earwigs, every type of ear wig that he's worn throughout the eight seasons.
- Randy Gunter: (holding a recording device) This is the audio-video recorder that Jack's going to be using in the last couple of episodes. We changed the colour, it was blue and we vinyl skinned it black. (showing another item) This is a little tablet that Jack used the last four episodes to get his downloads on. We needed a little larger screen than the usual smartphone that people use these days.
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