Damon Lindelof

Our apologies for being away so long, but now that Lost-related news is heating back up in preparation for Comic Con, you will be seeing more frequent updates. Most of you that signed up to the Octagon Global Recruiting website after the finale of Season 4 probably have already received, or will receive this email sometime this morning:

Octagon Global Recruiting, on behalf of the Dharma Initiative, is pleased to announce that Dharma’s Head of Recruiting, Mr. Hans Van Eeghen, has confirmed his availability for the launch of our latest recruiting drive at Comic-Con 2008.

“My colleagues at Octagon Global Recruiting assure me that Comic-con hosts some of the brightest minds in the country,” said Mr. Van Eeghen. “As Head of Recruiting it is my intention to personally assess the very best of this talent in the hope that they may join us.”

The Dharma Initiative will be conducting eligibility assessments at Booth 3529 at Comic-Con, San Diego between July 24th - 27th.

If you are attending Comic-Con and would like to submit your name for a randomly selected drawing to secure one of ten (10) pre-release appointments with one of our recruiting officers, please click here.

The volunteer eligibility assessment will be available online from July 28th for a limited time at www.dharmawantsyou.com

The Dharma Initiative hopes you will spread the word. Invite your friends to join the team at www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com

Looks like things will be pretty interesting at Comic Con - a description of the Lost-related panels are below:

Friday, July 25th: 1:45-2:45 Entertainment Weekly’s The Visionaries: Showrunners— Carlton Cuse (Lost), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Josh Schwartz (Chuck, Gossip Girl), Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies), and Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) are the television producers who are changing the face of television with deeply immersive entertainments marked by distinctive, cutting edge storytelling. They have also been at the forefront of bringing “genre programming” or “cult TV” to the mainstream. Prepare for a candid conversation about creative integrity in a commercial medium and the future of broadcast TV in an increasingly digital world. Spoiler Alert! Upcoming plot developments may be teased. Moderated by Entertainment Weekly senior writer Jeff Jensen.

Saturday, July 26th: 12:00-1:00 Lost— If the most recent season finale was any indication of things to come, you will not want to miss this panel. Co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse will discuss season 4 of Lost, leading up to the season finale. They will answer your questions and maybe even offer up some surprises of their own.

There has also been a little news that is a derivative of the recent ABC press tour, which included Cuse and Lindelof - most notably the following excerpt, taken from The Star - Ledger:

In terms of actual “Lost” news, the session was pretty light, though Carlton did say Daniel Dae Kim would appear on the show in the future “in some form” — which prompted Damon to add, “In human form!” And when someone asked Carlton how they planned to use next season to set up the final year, he called it “a tricky year for us; like ‘Two Towers.’ It’s the year that links us from the past to the final season… We’ve known a lot of what we wanted to do there for a long time. The challenge we have now is how to make this season exciting and engaging.”

So, let the Jin speculation continue!

*Doc Arzt posted the audio from a press conference call with Lindelof and Cuse yesterday, and there is some really good information about what we can expect in the future:

-The title of the finale is “There’s No Place like Home”, part one on May 15th and part two on May 29th.
-They are planning an online prologue for Season 5, similar to ‘Find 815.’
-The story’s that were dropped because of the writer’s strike will be picked up in later season’s
-Season 5 should be launching in the last week of January
-They will not comment on the fate of Rousseau, but they can confirm that she was indeed shot with bullets
-The Orchid video will pay off in a major way by the end of Season 4
-The rattlesnake in the mail box (i.e. gamechanger in the season finale) is officially called “The Frozen Donkey Wheel” - according to Darlton this is going to be something that will absolutely make sense to all of us ;) The best allusion to this came from Lindelof during the call:

“There might come a time in the show where the word ‘flash’ becomes irrelevant,” Lindelof says. “If you stop and think about what we’ve done this year, there’s the story on the island which we perceive to be the present, then there’s the story of the Oceanic 6, which is happening off the island in the future.

“But if you were to switch perspectives and were off the island, focusing on the Oceanic 6 trying to get back, that would be the present, and what happened back on the island would be either a parallel present, a possible future a possible past, who knows. When you hear the ‘whoosh’ noise, the question becomes, Where does it take you?”

Wow - exciting things to come and it’s great to know that we will definitely be getting another ARG-like shot in the arm for the off season hiatus!

*The Extra Hour is Confirmed: Basically, we are going to get an hour on May 15th, and then two additional hours on May 29th - a 3 hour season finale that spans over two distinct episodes

Thankfully Season 4 resumes in two weeks - here is some info to keep you thinking until then:

*As many of you have noted in previous post commentary, there is current speculation that we may get an additional hour of programming this season, as reported by Michael Ausiello of TVGuide.com - but it has not yet been confirmed if that will take the shape of another episode, or the more likely scenario of a two-hour season finale.

• If the dream becomes a reality, how would it work? As it stands, Lost’s Season 4 climax is slated to air on May 22 on a season-finale-themed night that also includes the cappers of Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy. So would the additional Lost hour be broadcast the following Thursday? Or would it perhaps run on another night?

• What does this do to the finale that was going to air on May 22? Would elements of it be incorporated into the new finale? Would this 14th hour come before that episode? And since we were originally supposed to get 16 eppies this season before the strike cut that number back to 13, does this mean we would now be getting a season finale that is more in line with what Darlton intended? Or more exposition that they ran out of time to include? The mind boggles.

I would prefer a two-hour finale vs. an additional episode that’s mashed into the mix somewhere - what do you think?

*Kristin Dos Santos of E! Online is also confirming this news, as noted in this post from yesterday afternoon:

It is looking “highly likely” (yay!) that there will be an additional hour of Lost for season four, for a total of six hours coming up in the spring run, starting April 24.
Producers pitched the idea of a two-hour finale to ABC, and if they end up getting an extra hour but it is not to extend the finale, well…that could be messy.

The sense among insiders is that ABC execs very much want to make this happen, but like I said, they have not yet had a chance to respond. Fingers crossed they will soon and it’ll be the right (i.e. “yes”) decision!

She also referenced that ABC and the producers were at a point in the discussion where this was “much too early to report”…

I have to say that the first four episodes of Season 4 have definitely delivered - we may not be getting all the answers we are looking for, but you can definitely feel that the storytelling is moving forward at a much more rapid pace than in past seasons. There was a lot of really great commentary associated with the episode post, and here are a few things that caught my eye:

*Could Miles Be Ben’s Man on the Boat?

-This is something I did not initially consider, but thanks to reader adriennez for bringing this to light. The exchange between Ben and Miles was extremely peculiar, as many of you noted in regards to the precise amount of money that Miles is looking for - $3.2 million:

Miles was the one who talked about using a secret code with Naomi when we first saw him…the whole “tell my sister I love her” thing. I think when Ben said “why $3.2 million, why not $3.3 or $3.4?”, that he was confirming whatever message Miles was trying to tell him. Mile also said that Ben had 3 days and Ben said that he needed a week, which Miles agreed to. I think this was more code talk.

I still think it is more likely that Michael is Ben’s man on the boat - but perhaps that is a unlikely scenario given that the freighties are probably well aware of the identities of those people who were on Flight 815. Something to consider…

*Is that really Claire’s Aaron?

-I am kind of torn on this one - Lindelof and Cuse typically chide the fandom for over thinking some of the stuff they blatantly put out there for us, but I am not 100% sold that the Aaron we saw in the future is Claire’s son. I’ll give you two scenarios I think are within the realm of possibility:

1) My too much time to think Scenario: Something bad happens to Claire and Aaron - Kate is pregnant with Sawyer’s child and ultimately names him Aaron in some weird homage to her Lost-mates. This could also explain why Jack has such a hard time seeing the child - because it is Sawyer’s and because in the future he knows that Claire/Aaron were related to him and he is having a hard time dealing with whatever happened to them. I know this is a bit far reaching…

2) My more plausible Scenario: Something bad happens to Claire and it ultimately has something to do with a decision that Jack made - or, Claire has to give Aaron up for some reason (either she is compelled to stay on the Island, or Aaron is taken from her for some reason). Jack laters finds out Claire was his sister and it makes things even worse. Kate takes custody of Aaron and Jack cannot get over what happened to Claire - hence his unwillingness to see the child.

*The Oceanic 6 (of 8)

-Many of you, like myself, found Jack’s testimony at Kate’s trial extremely interesting, partially because of his fabricated recollection of what happened, but more specifically that the the Oceanic 6 were the Oceanic 8 at some point - it will be interesting to see which characters they position as the two who did not make it (and, are these characters already gone, or will we see two major characters perish in the near term?).

Also, I do not think Aaron or Ben will be or should be considered one of the 6. Aaron was still in utero when the plane crashed (or conceived on the Island depending on which theory you subscribe to), but either way he would not have been listed on the manifest and therefore should be removed from consideration IMHO. We now know that Ben has the wherewithal to come and go as he pleases - and I am sure he finds a way to stay on his beloved Island.

*Kate’s Deal

-Stuck in California for 10 years? Sounds like foreshadowing to me, and at least we can fully understand why Kate was dismissive of Jack’s pleas to return to the Island at the end of Season 3. I imagine Kate will have a big decision to make at some point in the next couple of seasons - related to whether she will jeopardize her freedom to make an attempt to return to the Island.

Finally, I wanted to reiterate the need to be congenial in the comment section associated with the posts. Given the level of post-show activity we see, it can be difficult to thoroughly follow and read through hundreds of comments - the problem is further exacerbated by the timing delays that can be seen when a ton of people are trying to post at once. We have a lot of loyal readers who contribute and I would hate to see anyone alienated. Please try to follow the rules we have set forth:

*Read all comments before commenting. If something has already been said, there is no need to say it again.
*Stay on topic. If your comment is about last week’s episode it belongs in that comment thread. Search and find the right post.
*Be constructive, don’t complain about Lost unless you want to discuss your complaint.
*No spoilers or discussion of episode previews.
*Be kind and helpful.

I am looking forward to Thursday night!

Lots going on in the Lost world this week heading into Episode 4 tomorrow night:

*Lost Podcast Returns - A link to the official Podcast is below, and in an effort to not push any spoilers out there I would suggest you listen and pay attention to the conversation about how a DHARMA polar bear can end up in the desert… Pretty cool stuff.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=podcast#t=3421

*Doc Jensen’s Interview with Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse - This is a great read, but is also riddled with spoiler-esque information, so be warned before you read the entirety of the article:

On Naomi’s bracelet:

DAMON LINDELOF: Naomi’s bracelet in the Sayid episode is a key point here. I got some e-mails from people who wondered if there was a connection between Naomi’s bracelet and the bracelet worn by the woman Sayid killed in his flash-forward. There is no connective tissue. Sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet. We just thought it would be a cool emotional touchstone for Sayid; Elsa’s bracelet reminds him of Naomi. But some people interpreted that, ”Is there something more there?” We might need to address that.

On the concept of alternate realities:

CARLTON CUSE: We want people to believe in the stakes of the show. The problem with alternative realities is that you never know when the rug is going to be pulled out from under you. We want the audience to believe that the jeopardy is real. Postulating alternative realities would be an escape valve that would be damaging that as a narrative value.

Enjoy!

What a week for Lost. Seriously, I think that the season was kicked off with an urgency we have yet to see from the show, and definitely lived up to the hype (if that is even possible with the ABC hype-machine in full effect). Everywhere you turned this week, there was something about the show, and this episode in particular. Here is an overview of some of the more interesting occurrences:

*Christian Shepherd was definitely in Jacob’s chair - To make things even better, when that scene was originally shot, Hurley was the one in the chair and then Cuse/Lindelof changed it after the fact; read Jorge Garcia’s interview with Kristin from E! Online for more

*Abaddon - Not sure if you caught his name, but the corporate guy (originally posing as an Oceanic employee) that visited Hurley in the mental institution is CREEPY and his name literally means “destroyer, or place of destruction” - I am sure we have not seen the last of him

*Jack’s Downward Spiral - Being a serious fan of the good doctor, I think it is going to be compelling and difficult to watch how future Jack gets from where we saw him this week (to Hurley “WE’RE NEVER GOING BACK!”) to where we saw him at the end of last season (to Kate “WE HAVE TO GO BACK!”). I think we are going to see the Oceanic 6 tormented by the people they left behind in visions throughout these flash forwards, much like what we saw with the dialogue between Hurley and Charlie.

*Two Factions - At the end of last season I was seriously doubting Jack’s leadership after seeing his sad state of existence. But, I think we were thrown for somewhat of a loop this week when we see Hurley apologize to Jack in the flash forward for going/siding with Locke. I cannot imagine what happens to the group that ends up following Locke back to the DHARMA barracks

This episode would dictate that Hurley will play a much larger role this season and moving forward (Garcia’s acting in this episode was top notch!). On Thursday we should get some better indication of who the people are that show up to the Island and just how nefarious they may or may not be. I still believe there are two distinct groups looking to get to the Island - both for different reasons (one to exploit, one to protect), and that the people legitimately with Naomi are perhaps not “bad guys” at all. The six that get off the Island (Jack, Kate and Hurley are 3 confirmed) become part of some much larger conspiracy to either protect the identity of the Island or perhaps what happened to the people left behind.

As I write this post, there is extremely positive news breaking that the end of the writer’s strike is imminent. My basic understanding is that it’s likely we will get the entire 16 episode season this year based on the strike being resolved in the next few days - great for us and the show!

Video Courtesy of DarkUFO

This definitely contained many more characters than the previous episodes we have seen thus far (Hurley, Jin, Sun, Michael, Dr. Arzt), but aside from comic relief, I’m not really sure what to take from this mobisode, though it was written by Lindelof so maybe there is something here. Arzt mockery of Jack is probably the high point:

Hurley - Hey, if Jack says it’s a good idea, maybe we should, like, trust him.
Arzt - Why? You tell me. Because he’s a doctor? Is that what qualifies him for leadership here? How do we know he’s not a nut case? I want to tell you something. [leaning down and speaking quietly to Hurley and Michael] The other day I’m in the jungle, and I’m taking a leak, and Jack runs through the jungle, crying for his Daddy.

Enjoy!

Finally, a week where we have some interesting things to discuss!

*Season 4 Trailer - DarkUFO broke this originally, but if you have yet to see the trailer, here it is:

*Season 3 DVD Release - The Washington Post had a good article about the Season 3 DVD release - this represents a pretty comprehensive (and compelling) overview related to the content within the boxed set, if you are on the fence about your purchase. Lindelof and Cuse also sat down for an interview related to the DVD release here.

*WGA Strike - Some rumors are circulating that the powers at ABC or debating whether to only release 6, or all 8, of the episodes already finished for Season 4. The story goes that there is a more “natural” break in the storyline after episode 6, and the thought is to push the other two episodes to the second half of Season 4. The problem there, obviously, is that the WGA strike goes on and who knows when production will resume.

Kristin Dos Santos, of E!Online, posted an interview with Damon Lindelof yesterday about the strike and its potential effect on the arc of the remainder of the series. Pretty compelling stuff, specifically related to the idea that Episode 8 may end up being a huge cliff-hanger for fans of Lost.

Lindelof on the Strike:

It looks like Lost will air eight episodes and then go dark. Does it sadden you that you’re not able to deliver those 16 in a row that were promised to the fans?
Yes, it does. I feel like the worst thing we could have done was to plan for a strike and plan accordingly. Everybody had to be optimistic, because then it would have felt like why does episode eight feel like such a conclusion? We learned last year that the show moves at a certain pace, and you can’t build up critical momentum in the first six episodes. In fact, when you are doing 24 straight episodes of a show, the first six episodes are a lot of tap dancing and some writers are able to tap-dance very effectively. Cable writers don’t have to tap-dance at all, which is why all their shows are so great.

Lindelof on Season 4 Ending after Episode 8:

At the end of the eighth episode, is there any sense of conclusion whatsoever?
It’s as much of a conclusion as, say, Ana-Lucia and Libby getting shot.

Wow. Really?
Yes. And you’d be, like, oh my god, I can’t believe I have to wait another year and two months for episode nine of this season.

So, it’s a cliffhanger?
Yes. And that’s the thing, we really planned out the three seasons of 16, 16 and 16…so the idea of having to come back and maybe do a 24-episode season, and that would be season five is just…I can’t look the fans in the eye and tell them that we’re executing the original plan anymore.

Obviously, this whole strike is unfortunate for a number of reasons, but I believe the writers are just in what they are doing and ultimately deserve a piece of the action related to any distribution channel their creation is available through. And honestly, Big Business in Hollywood could have resolved this entire issue with a little more forethought related to their online and mobile distribution strategies. We are talking about the writers asking for pennies on the dollar… Could that not have been a cost of business thought out beforehand?

This happened with DVD’s, and history repeats itself everytime a new method of distribution breaks through to the masses. Benjamin Franklin said, quite appropriately, that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That the PGA and studio executives expected the writers to bury their collective heads in the sand while huge rewards were reaped through new media is short-sighted at best.

Pretty good clip of Damon Lindelof and Marc Cherry, creator of “Desperate Housewives”, picketing and speaking about the strike: