Official ABC Teleconfrence With Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof
Hey Losties,
Today was the official ABC Teleconfrence call with LOST Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and I was one of the lucky few who had an opportunity to listen in.
It was a great experience to listen to the producers again and you can truly get a sense of their passion and love for the show.
Here are my notes from the call:
NOTE: I did my best to write as much down as possible and note where the question came from. Also this is just a summary and I put quotes around the actual words the producers used. Also, for those that do not want to read the whole thing I will post a little summary of the spoilers soon.
They start off with confirming the remaining schedule with the extra hour being added and part 2 of finale moving to May 29th - They confirmed that the finale breaks down as follows"
May 15th Season finale Part 1 - No Place Like Home Part 1
May 29th Season Finale Part 2 (2hours) - No Place Like Home Part 2
TV Guide:
Why the push for 2 Hr Finale? Because of story or things you wanted to do?
Little bit of both we thought of Season 1 Exodus and felt that the emotional and "epic" story telling needed the extra time. Plus we had an 8 hour story planned and to have it crammed to 5 was tough. So we felt it would be a little rushed and we needed and wanted the extra time to do it right. They also talked about the initial script being like 80 pages and they wanted to make it 100 hundred but had to be cut to 50.
O6 - Will any fates of the non 06 members be sealed via death before the end of the season - We teased with Shannon and it was spoiled, so we really do not want to say too much. However, large and "seismic" events will happen for all the Losties before the end of season with some fates clear while others will not be as clear
NY Post: The show ends in 2010 how do you figure out this whole process to reach that point? Do you know the last scene or line??
YES last scene has been determined, but say they do have some wiggle room with last line but have been working towards it. They talk about having two pieces of the bread of a sandwich and that they working on the insides of sandwich and want to know how much mayo they need to use and then of course they laugh.
Will the FF/FBs ever end or blur? - They view the show as a "mosaic" it is possible that what is past, future or present could change. All depends on the Point Of View of telling the story. No hard rules just approach it all with a certain narrative and figure out best story to fit it.
AP:
How many people know how the show will end?? Any family members/friends trying to get secrets?
Can count it on our hands - not many. They joke about telling Dick Cheney. LOL
Wives and significant others do not want to be spoiled. Cuse said something about his wife always saying "shhhsh".
Following Grey's Anatomy -Do you think those viewers will tune in? - Thur night is best night to watch and happy to be there and can't complain about being behind such a big hit.
Niagra Pub:
Finales are always historic, what add pressure you have...?
It is hard and we are not trying to employ smoke and mirrors each season is like a book and last chapter is most exciting
Question about Locke being key component of show: Jack and Locke are two significant opposite poles of the show. Conflict is the central conflict of show the show and we continue to explore it this season with it culminating in season finale.
Will we see Emilie de Ravin next season...!? No Comment but there are very "compelling events" before season finale
Philo/Sci Theories - Lindelof confirms that his Philo 101 class proved to be bountiful for show because he learned all about Locke and Rousseau from that class. Cuse confirmed that America History degree from Harvard was key and that it is amazing what they have read has played into the show so much.
New Journal - You seem to listen an pay attention to fans and then "course correct"?
They say that they are big fans of TV so they are able to react based on fans reactions because they understand what they think. Also say that they have the same tastes as fans.
34 Episodes left after this season
Confirm that season finale is written and in the process of revising
We will see more of Jeff Fahey (Lapidus) and deferred some of Fahey's scenes until next season
Enhanced Episodes - Cliff notes for the show, if you are a show expert then it is below you, but they are mainly for casual fans that do not spend time digging into everything
Love triangle: Saywer is not part of O6 but Jack and Kate are which will ultimately will decide Sawyer's fate. Skaters and Jaters will have many romantic scenes to be happy about
jacket will be revisited in epi 10
Jon from UGO - Any plan for after season for online?
Beginning discussions about it. They loved Find815 and hope to do similar type of prolouge to lead into S5
Discussing what to do with ComicCon - Orchid will pay off in "big way" in finale this year.
Two hour finale - What are you planning to do with extra time? A little more stuff with freighter folk will be incorporated make things more "fluid", plus a few other things.
Use of music in storytelling is important and they are picky about using music because characters are actually "listening" to it instead of it being played over the show. Nirvana song was "haunting" to focus on Jack's character in S3 finale
Second half of season is the "payoff" of the first half setup. Still a lot of missing pieces from S3 finale to now plus we have to move forward from there as well.
What suprised you most this season...!?
How much we liked the Freighter folk....we really liked our casting and they have worked well with what we pictured and visioned. Unfortunate we haven't had enough time to explore that.
S5 planned for last week of Jan
Des/Pen impact on you and fans will we get more? Yes, we intro Penny in S2 finale and it was certainly our intention to make it one of the central and "epic" love stories. We know some of the best episodes have been because of Des/Pen relationship.
We will return to it but Sonya Walgner is in high demand in her current show on HBO, but we will use her again when she is available.
Widmore - We will see more of him and sooner than we think. Plays a bigger part of the narrative of the story.
"Game Changer" fb/ff?? There might come a time where the word "flash" will not be relevant based on what has been happening and it depends on the point of view of the story. For example now we are off island and question is will that become present time...!? Trying to keep us on our toes
Next season time slots - Depend on what happens with these next 5 episodes after being after Grey's Anatomy so no one knows
Smokey in episode 4x09
We will get a "healthy dose" of Jacob before the end of the season.
4-Toed Statue will return - Clarify about the "weird" comment actually saying that the story posted was INCORRECT. That the confusion with 4-toed statue happened because we were talking in a general about a pre-draft script with ABC before the season and there was a little debate of 6-Toe v 4-Toe.
No comment about if there were recent filming scenes in London.
The end of the series is the END not planning on leaving it open ended. Reference Harry Potter and JK Rowling again.
Said that they are very good friends and get along great...!!
No comment about "frozen donkey wheel" The secret codes start as inside jokes
Danielle and Karl fate decided in Episode 4x09 - They were shot with bullets.
Sometimes being dead means more work so if Danielle is dead don't worry because her backstory is very interesting and they would love to tell it at some point
They do NOT regret picking an end date and they lobbied for it since Season 1 and it is what they always wanted to do.
Thanks for reading and I will try to update and edit because of typos or anything I missed.
Today was the official ABC Teleconfrence call with LOST Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and I was one of the lucky few who had an opportunity to listen in.
It was a great experience to listen to the producers again and you can truly get a sense of their passion and love for the show.
Here are my notes from the call:
NOTE: I did my best to write as much down as possible and note where the question came from. Also this is just a summary and I put quotes around the actual words the producers used. Also, for those that do not want to read the whole thing I will post a little summary of the spoilers soon.
They start off with confirming the remaining schedule with the extra hour being added and part 2 of finale moving to May 29th - They confirmed that the finale breaks down as follows"
May 15th Season finale Part 1 - No Place Like Home Part 1
May 29th Season Finale Part 2 (2hours) - No Place Like Home Part 2
TV Guide:
Why the push for 2 Hr Finale? Because of story or things you wanted to do?
Little bit of both we thought of Season 1 Exodus and felt that the emotional and "epic" story telling needed the extra time. Plus we had an 8 hour story planned and to have it crammed to 5 was tough. So we felt it would be a little rushed and we needed and wanted the extra time to do it right. They also talked about the initial script being like 80 pages and they wanted to make it 100 hundred but had to be cut to 50.
O6 - Will any fates of the non 06 members be sealed via death before the end of the season - We teased with Shannon and it was spoiled, so we really do not want to say too much. However, large and "seismic" events will happen for all the Losties before the end of season with some fates clear while others will not be as clear
NY Post: The show ends in 2010 how do you figure out this whole process to reach that point? Do you know the last scene or line??
YES last scene has been determined, but say they do have some wiggle room with last line but have been working towards it. They talk about having two pieces of the bread of a sandwich and that they working on the insides of sandwich and want to know how much mayo they need to use and then of course they laugh.
Will the FF/FBs ever end or blur? - They view the show as a "mosaic" it is possible that what is past, future or present could change. All depends on the Point Of View of telling the story. No hard rules just approach it all with a certain narrative and figure out best story to fit it.
AP:
How many people know how the show will end?? Any family members/friends trying to get secrets?
Can count it on our hands - not many. They joke about telling Dick Cheney. LOL
Wives and significant others do not want to be spoiled. Cuse said something about his wife always saying "shhhsh".
Following Grey's Anatomy -Do you think those viewers will tune in? - Thur night is best night to watch and happy to be there and can't complain about being behind such a big hit.
Niagra Pub:
Finales are always historic, what add pressure you have...?
It is hard and we are not trying to employ smoke and mirrors each season is like a book and last chapter is most exciting
Question about Locke being key component of show: Jack and Locke are two significant opposite poles of the show. Conflict is the central conflict of show the show and we continue to explore it this season with it culminating in season finale.
Will we see Emilie de Ravin next season...!? No Comment but there are very "compelling events" before season finale
Philo/Sci Theories - Lindelof confirms that his Philo 101 class proved to be bountiful for show because he learned all about Locke and Rousseau from that class. Cuse confirmed that America History degree from Harvard was key and that it is amazing what they have read has played into the show so much.
New Journal - You seem to listen an pay attention to fans and then "course correct"?
They say that they are big fans of TV so they are able to react based on fans reactions because they understand what they think. Also say that they have the same tastes as fans.
34 Episodes left after this season
Confirm that season finale is written and in the process of revising
We will see more of Jeff Fahey (Lapidus) and deferred some of Fahey's scenes until next season
Enhanced Episodes - Cliff notes for the show, if you are a show expert then it is below you, but they are mainly for casual fans that do not spend time digging into everything
Love triangle: Saywer is not part of O6 but Jack and Kate are which will ultimately will decide Sawyer's fate. Skaters and Jaters will have many romantic scenes to be happy about
jacket will be revisited in epi 10
Jon from UGO - Any plan for after season for online?
Beginning discussions about it. They loved Find815 and hope to do similar type of prolouge to lead into S5
Discussing what to do with ComicCon - Orchid will pay off in "big way" in finale this year.
Two hour finale - What are you planning to do with extra time? A little more stuff with freighter folk will be incorporated make things more "fluid", plus a few other things.
Use of music in storytelling is important and they are picky about using music because characters are actually "listening" to it instead of it being played over the show. Nirvana song was "haunting" to focus on Jack's character in S3 finale
Second half of season is the "payoff" of the first half setup. Still a lot of missing pieces from S3 finale to now plus we have to move forward from there as well.
What suprised you most this season...!?
How much we liked the Freighter folk....we really liked our casting and they have worked well with what we pictured and visioned. Unfortunate we haven't had enough time to explore that.
S5 planned for last week of Jan
Des/Pen impact on you and fans will we get more? Yes, we intro Penny in S2 finale and it was certainly our intention to make it one of the central and "epic" love stories. We know some of the best episodes have been because of Des/Pen relationship.
We will return to it but Sonya Walgner is in high demand in her current show on HBO, but we will use her again when she is available.
Widmore - We will see more of him and sooner than we think. Plays a bigger part of the narrative of the story.
"Game Changer" fb/ff?? There might come a time where the word "flash" will not be relevant based on what has been happening and it depends on the point of view of the story. For example now we are off island and question is will that become present time...!? Trying to keep us on our toes
Next season time slots - Depend on what happens with these next 5 episodes after being after Grey's Anatomy so no one knows
Smokey in episode 4x09
We will get a "healthy dose" of Jacob before the end of the season.
4-Toed Statue will return - Clarify about the "weird" comment actually saying that the story posted was INCORRECT. That the confusion with 4-toed statue happened because we were talking in a general about a pre-draft script with ABC before the season and there was a little debate of 6-Toe v 4-Toe.
No comment about if there were recent filming scenes in London.
The end of the series is the END not planning on leaving it open ended. Reference Harry Potter and JK Rowling again.
Said that they are very good friends and get along great...!!
No comment about "frozen donkey wheel" The secret codes start as inside jokes
Danielle and Karl fate decided in Episode 4x09 - They were shot with bullets.
Sometimes being dead means more work so if Danielle is dead don't worry because her backstory is very interesting and they would love to tell it at some point
They do NOT regret picking an end date and they lobbied for it since Season 1 and it is what they always wanted to do.
Thanks for reading and I will try to update and edit because of typos or anything I missed.
If you enjoy this site and want to help support in it's continued running, there are a number of ways that you can help: