Lidge
6 Mar 2005, 10:28
From today's' Herald Sun
The 'Lost' secrets
By GARRY WILLIAMS, TV Editor
06mar05
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,423686,00.jpg
It is hard to believe a series based on the vague idea of a dramatic version of reality show Survivor would become such an instant hit.
But Lost has been pulling more than two million viewers a week for the Seven Network and, for the past five weeks, has been battling it out with Desperate Housewives for the title of Australia's most-watched show.
Even co-creators JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof said that when they heard the initial idea for Lost from a US network executive, they were sceptical.
"I was told it was about a plane that crashes on an island," Lindelof said. "And I said, 'Where can it go?"'
But the pair soon found a few twists. They invented a terrifying, unseen "monster" that stalks the survivors and the idea that everyone on the island has secrets and none of them are who they first appear to be.
"JJ and I came to the same conclusion: if they crashed on an island that was really mysterious and, more importantly, that the people who crashed on the island were even more mysterious, people might want to watch." Lindelof said.
The pair wrote, cast, shot, edited and turned in the two-hour pilot in only three months.
"It came together very quickly," Abrams says. "The biggest problems were the ballooning main cast and budget.
"The studio said you can have six (main cast)," Abrams says.
They ended up with 14 in the main cast, including Party of Five star Matthew Fox as Dr Jack; newcomer Evangeline Lilly as fugitive Kate; and Lord of The Rings' Dominic Monaghan as drug-addicted Charlie. At $13 million it was one of the most expensive TV pilots of all time.
The creators believe the flashback device that allows pieces of each character's past to come to light is one of the secrets of the show's success.
But it is full of secrets, so here's 10 juicy ones revealed . . . without spoiling any surprises.
1 Dominic Monaghan, who plays Charlie, became so frustrated with "monster theories" that he had a T-shirt made with the words "I don't know" printed on it.
2 Here is a hint about the monster -- it's not a dinosaur. Lost creators JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof indicated the mystery would be resolved at the end of the first series, but do not expect a straightforward solution.
3 Abrams is obsessed with the number 47. All his TV shows, including Alias and Felicity, are full of references to 47 and it is no coincidence there are 47 survivors (after the marshall who was taking Kate to prison dies). The other significant number in the show is 40, the number of days in the first series. It is no coincidence that it relates to the 40 days and 40 nights in the Bible.
4 Evangeline Lilly almost lost out on her role because she is Canadian. "We couldn't get her a visa so we started shooting on the first day without her," Lindelof says. "We needed her on day two and if couldn't get her, we'd have had to go with someone else."
5 One of the main cast members will be killed off by the end of the series. "We've been told for sure that one of us will die," Lilly (above) says. "We're all on our best behaviour. I'll do whatever, but please don't kill me."
6 When the cockpit is found, the name Oceanic is seen. It is a fictitious airline but the name has been used in other shows, including JAG.
7 The Australian farmer (played by Aussie actor Nick Tate) who betrays Kate has a prosthetic arm. That detail is a tribute to one of Abrams' favourite series, The Fugitive, which featured a mysterious one-armed man.
8The actor who plays the monster's first victim, the airline pilot, is not credited. He is played by Abrams' childhood friend Greg Grunberg, who stars as Eric Weiss in Abrams' other hit, Alias. "I didn't know I was going to get yanked out of the plane," Grunberg says. "But if you're going to have a cameo, it's a cool one."
9 Grunberg "saved" Matthew Fox's character. In the original draft, Dr Jack died in the first episode. "I remember reading it and thinking, 'No way'," Grunberg says. "This is the character everybody connects with and everybody loves. You can't have him die, so they rewrote it."
10 There is a big Australian connection to the show. The ill-fated flight leaves from Sydney and one of the main characters, the pregnant Claire (played by South Melbourne's Emile de Ravin), is an Australian -- but all the flashback scenes set in Australia were done in Hawaii.
The 'Lost' secrets
By GARRY WILLIAMS, TV Editor
06mar05
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,423686,00.jpg
It is hard to believe a series based on the vague idea of a dramatic version of reality show Survivor would become such an instant hit.
But Lost has been pulling more than two million viewers a week for the Seven Network and, for the past five weeks, has been battling it out with Desperate Housewives for the title of Australia's most-watched show.
Even co-creators JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof said that when they heard the initial idea for Lost from a US network executive, they were sceptical.
"I was told it was about a plane that crashes on an island," Lindelof said. "And I said, 'Where can it go?"'
But the pair soon found a few twists. They invented a terrifying, unseen "monster" that stalks the survivors and the idea that everyone on the island has secrets and none of them are who they first appear to be.
"JJ and I came to the same conclusion: if they crashed on an island that was really mysterious and, more importantly, that the people who crashed on the island were even more mysterious, people might want to watch." Lindelof said.
The pair wrote, cast, shot, edited and turned in the two-hour pilot in only three months.
"It came together very quickly," Abrams says. "The biggest problems were the ballooning main cast and budget.
"The studio said you can have six (main cast)," Abrams says.
They ended up with 14 in the main cast, including Party of Five star Matthew Fox as Dr Jack; newcomer Evangeline Lilly as fugitive Kate; and Lord of The Rings' Dominic Monaghan as drug-addicted Charlie. At $13 million it was one of the most expensive TV pilots of all time.
The creators believe the flashback device that allows pieces of each character's past to come to light is one of the secrets of the show's success.
But it is full of secrets, so here's 10 juicy ones revealed . . . without spoiling any surprises.
1 Dominic Monaghan, who plays Charlie, became so frustrated with "monster theories" that he had a T-shirt made with the words "I don't know" printed on it.
2 Here is a hint about the monster -- it's not a dinosaur. Lost creators JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof indicated the mystery would be resolved at the end of the first series, but do not expect a straightforward solution.
3 Abrams is obsessed with the number 47. All his TV shows, including Alias and Felicity, are full of references to 47 and it is no coincidence there are 47 survivors (after the marshall who was taking Kate to prison dies). The other significant number in the show is 40, the number of days in the first series. It is no coincidence that it relates to the 40 days and 40 nights in the Bible.
4 Evangeline Lilly almost lost out on her role because she is Canadian. "We couldn't get her a visa so we started shooting on the first day without her," Lindelof says. "We needed her on day two and if couldn't get her, we'd have had to go with someone else."
5 One of the main cast members will be killed off by the end of the series. "We've been told for sure that one of us will die," Lilly (above) says. "We're all on our best behaviour. I'll do whatever, but please don't kill me."
6 When the cockpit is found, the name Oceanic is seen. It is a fictitious airline but the name has been used in other shows, including JAG.
7 The Australian farmer (played by Aussie actor Nick Tate) who betrays Kate has a prosthetic arm. That detail is a tribute to one of Abrams' favourite series, The Fugitive, which featured a mysterious one-armed man.
8The actor who plays the monster's first victim, the airline pilot, is not credited. He is played by Abrams' childhood friend Greg Grunberg, who stars as Eric Weiss in Abrams' other hit, Alias. "I didn't know I was going to get yanked out of the plane," Grunberg says. "But if you're going to have a cameo, it's a cool one."
9 Grunberg "saved" Matthew Fox's character. In the original draft, Dr Jack died in the first episode. "I remember reading it and thinking, 'No way'," Grunberg says. "This is the character everybody connects with and everybody loves. You can't have him die, so they rewrote it."
10 There is a big Australian connection to the show. The ill-fated flight leaves from Sydney and one of the main characters, the pregnant Claire (played by South Melbourne's Emile de Ravin), is an Australian -- but all the flashback scenes set in Australia were done in Hawaii.