Lost

[Deleted]

Martini Girl, I am so damn jealous! I think I might have geeked out and just been incoherent in their company, brain frazzled by too many questions.

Did they talk about the love triangle at all and whether that became bigger (and more obnoxious) than they had planned?

Any comment on killing off so many interesting female characters?

Were there any other actors specifically mentioned as being very good or bad behind the scenes? I've always wondered how that big cast gets along...

Did they have any thoughts on Kate's level of annoyingness?

[Martini Girl]

May 8, 2010 20:30:48 GMT -4 unimpressed said:

May 8, 2010 19:34:59 GMT -4 Martini Girl said:

So Damon and Carlton came to DreamWorks on Friday. They were amazing. We had them for a private lunch and then they spoke to our campus for an hour. It was so interesting talking to them about their process. I also got an autographed poster.... which shall remain in my office!

• They were asked to make a pilot about a plane crash. They did, then thought how the hell are we going to sustain this? Mythology came in the 2nd season. They both have fantastic memories, but rely on a continuity man to keep them in check.
  
• They've been frustrated by folks focusing on things like polar bears, Nikki and Paulo, and why did Jin choose Sun over their daughter.
  
• The actor who played Mr. Eko was so poisonous to the overall atmosphere that they killed him off before they were ready to. He was suppose to be the ultimate man of faith.
  
• They've been crying like crazy all month... so be prepared to grab tissues for these final episodes.
  

Obviously, there was quite a bit more. If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

Thanks for the dirt Martini Girl ( I am completely envious BTW)
I have a question pertaining to the "rules" of the show...Lindelof gave an interview with SciFi in which he was quoted as saying ..." As the show progresses, he added, it won't venture too far into science fiction as its mysteries unfold. "We're still trying to be ... firmly ensconced in the world of science fact," he said in an interview. "I don't think we've shown anything on the show yet ... that has no rational explanation in the real world that we all function within. We certainly hint at psychic phenomena, happenstance and ... things being in a place where they probably shouldn't be. But nothing is flat-out impossible. There are no spaceships. There isn't any time travel."
forum.thefuselage.com/showthread.php?t=107730
So WTF? how did the show stray so far from the original canon? Did he address this at all? many thanks in advance

What they said during the lunch was this. They were basically flying blind the first season.Once they realized they had to come up with a lot of stories, they started having mini writing camps at the end of the 1st season. What did they want the next season to look like? They wanted it to be character driven. What do people do in their daily lives? Do they worry about the world at large, or their own personal dilemmas? It's usually the later, so they focused on that.

Then they started looking at what they were seeing on the screen. Michael Emerson was a prime example. He was so good, that they kept his character. Elizabeth Mitchell was vibrating at a level of a lostie... not a baddie, so they brought her into the group.

For season 5, they decided they really wanted to be more sci-fi, and create stories that they wanted to tell, so they started time traveling. They would vehemently argue that they moved "so far away from canon". The show had an over-arching storyline, but they made it up as they went. They totally gave themselves the freedom to be able to tell stories the way they wanted to, while still staying true to their overall goal.

They really started mapping out the story in the mini-camp before season 3.

I hope that answers your question.

Mimmillina-- I purposely stayed away from specific questions like that-- though I did say to their assistants that I hoped Kate's magical vagina wasn't the end all be all of the series- to which they snorted with laughter! (I think that means it's not!)

I came to realize that they really LOVE all the characters (They are acutely aware what the fans think, but they love her). There is a stable of writers on this show. You can go to wikipedia and see what episodes D&C have written... I don't know that Kate is someone they're writing a lot for. --Their fave episode is The Constant. (squee!)

Their main goal with storytelling is this: This is a series about redemption and love. That means something to both of them. Everything has been coming to this point. The characters finding redemption and love.

They also know that 10-20 years down the road all people will remember is the ending. They've spent a lot of time on it.

Also, Carlton believes in his faith, and wants to share that-- write that. He did really well in physics, and read a lot of philosophy and literature.That's why these have appeared in the series.

Damon loves comics, Star Wars, Stephen King (they both do)... When books appear in episodes they were letting the audience know that these works meant something to them. I found that interesting.

[bklynred]

I really think the show's themes have been mixed throughout. IMO, the writers contradict themselves in their explanations about story development, but ultimately? It doesn't matter. They kept me watching for six seasons.

[unimpressed]

May 8, 2010 22:15:21 GMT -4 Martini Girl said:

May 8, 2010 20:30:48 GMT -4 unimpressed said:

Thanks for the dirt Martini Girl ( I am completely envious BTW)
I have a question pertaining to the "rules" of the show...Lindelof gave an interview with SciFi in which he was quoted as saying ..." As the show progresses, he added, it won't venture too far into science fiction as its mysteries unfold. "We're still trying to be ... firmly ensconced in the world of science fact," he said in an interview. "I don't think we've shown anything on the show yet ... that has no rational explanation in the real world that we all function within. We certainly hint at psychic phenomena, happenstance and ... things being in a place where they probably shouldn't be. But nothing is flat-out impossible. There are no spaceships. There isn't any time travel."
forum.thefuselage.com/showthread.php?t=107730
So WTF? how did the show stray so far from the original canon? Did he address this at all? many thanks in advance

What they said during the lunch was this. They were basically flying blind the first season.Once they realized they had to come up with a lot of stories, they started having mini writing camps at the end of the 1st season. What did they want the next season to look like? They wanted it to be character driven. What do people do in their daily lives? Do they worry about the world at large, or their own personal dilemmas? It's usually the later, so they focused on that.

Then they started looking at what they were seeing on the screen. Michael Emerson was a prime example. He was so good, that they kept his character. Elizabeth Mitchell was vibrating at a level of a lostie... not a baddie, so they brought her into the group.

For season 5, they decided they really wanted to be more sci-fi, and create stories that they wanted to tell, so they started time traveling. They would vehemently argue that they moved "so far away from canon". The show had an over-arching storyline, but they made it up as they went. They totally gave themselves the freedom to be able to tell stories the way they wanted to, while still staying true to their overall goal.

They really started mapping out the story in the mini-camp before season 3.

I hope that answers your question.

Thanks it does. Lindelof's claim that the show would be scientifically plausible was the big hook for me and kept me watching and wondering. I started hating the show after the donkey wheel/ time traveling but kept watching because I was invested by that point. I'm still hoping TPTB pull it out of the hat , but like many at The Fuselage I think the show has developed a "making it up as we go along" feel.
Bklynred- they squeezed 6 seasons out of me too - the last 2 begrudgingly. Only 3 more episodes to see if it's all been worth it. *crosses fingers*

[Deleted]

I always liked how the show landed on the side of science-y explanations to seemingly supernatural mysteries in the past. Like when we saw Alpert interview Locke as a child, it turns out he wasn't there because he had foreknowledge, but because LOCKE told him to go visit him! (Sure, the whole time travel thing was slightly outer-edge-of-science but still.) And the Others even use a machine to measure evilness, rather than just pronounce someone evil. But yea, lately they are definitely veering into spiritual/supernatural it seems with the dead trapped on the island for example. I don't know yet if I really mind that... I will reserve judgment until I see the final act play out.

This interview in Wired is reassuring and unsettling at the same time when it comes to this subject. While I do think that they have always known what the ultimate end of the show will be, it is also obvious that the way there has been "made up as they go along" in many ways. And like that other GQ article shows, that may be the only way to really make a TV-show... I mean, Eko is one example. I loved the character on the show and was hugely disappointed when he was killed off. But then you realize that there were "real world" considerations there. Same thing with the lady who played Rousseau (she didn't want to be in Hawaii anymore)... So it's not just the writers' original ideas that end up shaping the way the story is told, because it's impossible when a show stretches over many years. I mean, imagine if Terry O'Quinn had wanted out? What would the show have been like then?

Also interesting to find out how scared the network was of the whole sci-fi angle. Apparently they wanted to have Rousseau, in S1, tell Sayid when they first meet that her research team was investigating "time", but the network made them drop that line.

I still think that flaws and all, this has been the most original and interesting series I've seen in a long long long time. Maybe ever. And as long as it's not all in someone's head, I think I'll be ok with the ending.

[Babycakes]

Congrats Martini Girl! I'm very envious of your experience. I got the "Hurley" cover. I would have preferred Jack, but I am thankful I didn't get Kate.

Can't wait for the finale.

[save lilo!]

I thought this was pretty funny.

Lindelof: I watch two kinds of TV. Procedural TV, and Joss Whedon's shows and JJ's shows. [Abrams'] Felicity, in my opinion, was heavily serialized. There were inside jokes that made no attempt whatsoever to make sense to people who'd just started watching. It was almost like you resented people who dared to show up in Season 3.

Abrams: We had nothing else to go on! There was literally no engine to that show. We got to Episode 3, and we were like, "What the fuck are we gonna do?"

Orci: Didn't Alias happen because of that exact problem? Because you were like, "I wish Felicity could become a spy"?

Abrams: Yeah. I was frustrated by the lack of bad guys. I needed a villain. One that wasn't "bad grades." It would be a different thing, if you did it now.

Burk: Do you think you could do Felicity now?

Abrams: Yeah. It would be different.

Burk: And would it still be on the WB, you think—or, I guess, the CW?

Abrams: Probably.

Burk: As just a straight character [drama]? Because even those CW shows are, like, supernatural now.

Cuse: Felicity would have to be a vampire.

Abrams: She wouldn't cry as much as she used to.

Orci: She'd cry blood.

Cuse: That would solve a lot of problems, if she was a vampire.

Abrams: It would. It would be awesome.

Orci: Should we pitch that tomorrow?

Lindelof: You always said, when we were writing the Lost pilot, that on Felicity, you could have turned her into a spy at any point in the series, as long as, in the pilot, there was one moment where she answers a call and you hear someone talk to her, and she's like, "The Queen is not ready to move off the board"—click. And you wouldn't have to do anything for two seasons, but then you'd be like, "Oh—that's what that was." So we were like, "Let's just drop as much of that kind of shit in the Lost pilot as possible."

Burk: Polar bear!

Abrams: That was my favorite thing about writing that pilot. Our joke was that we jumped the shark at the end of the first act of the pilot.

Orci: What was the end of the first act? Oh—the smoke monster?

Abrams: Yeah.

Lindelof: You don't see it—you just hear it.

Abrams: We got that far, and then said to the audience, "You're watching a show where crazy shit will happen. So do not question. Just go with it." And we thought that would give us license to do anything. But people still thought it was a dinosaur.

Read more.

[Deleted]

--Their fave episode is The Constant. (squee!)

Their main goal with storytelling is this: This is a series about redemption and love. That means something to both of them. Everything has been coming to this point. The characters finding redemption and love.

They also know that 10-20 years down the road all people will remember is the ending. They've spent a lot of time on it.

Also, Carlton believes in his faith, and wants to share that-- write that. He did really well in physics, and read a lot of philosophy and literature.That's why these have appeared in the series.

Damon loves comics, Star Wars, Stephen King (they both do)... When books appear in episodes they were letting the audience know that these works meant something to them. I found that interesting.

Ok, I love that they love The Constant. Talk about redemption and love! It's right there in that episode. Makes me wonder if the finale will be a mega-version of The Constant somehow...

As the show winds down, I find that all of this "behind the show" stuff intrigues me more and more. You know, the whole: how did they make this show? why did they make the choices they made with storytelling? how much did they plan out and how much was made up on the fly? Which means I'll have plenty to obsess over even when it's all over...

[bklynred]

OK, the Felicity what if's are pretty funny.

[Martini Girl]

May 9, 2010 1:15:05 GMT -4 @mimmilina said:

--Their fave episode is The Constant. (squee!)

Their main goal with storytelling is this: This is a series about redemption and love. That means something to both of them. Everything has been coming to this point. The characters finding redemption and love.

They also know that 10-20 years down the road all people will remember is the ending. They've spent a lot of time on it.

Also, Carlton believes in his faith, and wants to share that-- write that. He did really well in physics, and read a lot of philosophy and literature.That's why these have appeared in the series.

Damon loves comics, Star Wars, Stephen King (they both do)... When books appear in episodes they were letting the audience know that these works meant something to them. I found that interesting.

Ok, I love that they love The Constant. Talk about redemption and love! It's right there in that episode. Makes me wonder if the finale will be a mega-version of The Constant somehow...

As the show winds down, I find that all of this "behind the show" stuff intrigues me more and more. You know, the whole: how did they make this show? why did they make the choices they made with storytelling? how much did they plan out and how much was made up on the fly? Which means I'll have plenty to obsess over even when it's all over...

That's the sole reason I wanted them to come and talk. I find their process fascinating. And listening to them in person helped me let go of some of my annoyances (Kate and Claire's acting, Juliet dying (apparently they were looking to kill her after season 4), and most recently Jin and Sun suddenly speaking English instead of Korean), and focus on the big picture. No show's perfect. Not even Arrested Development (Scott Baio's inclusion stunk it up for me).

I do believe they knew the overall story, but I liked how they explained that they gave themselves freedom to explore how to get there, based on: the acting they were seeing (Juliet and Sawyer's chemistry, Michael Emerson's acting), real world happenstance (Mr. Eko for example), fan reaction (Nikki and Paulo), ABC suits (giving them an end date so they could then figure out exactly how they wanted the mythology to play out) etc..

Someone @ DreamWorks asked them if they would have preferred to have written the series like a book -- all 6 seasons in one fell swoop. Would it have produced a better series. They said no for all the reasons I mentioned above. There would have been very little Ben. God knows what would have happened with Mr. Eko. Nikki and Paulo might still be with us. Juliet would have been a chief baddie etc.....