Watching Lost

Photo: Matthew Fox arrives at Speed Racer premiere

How did Matthew Fox’s latest film do after it opened in theaters this weekend? It failed to crush down Iron Man, and received mixed reviews. I’ve rounded up some it:

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The Daily Script has a collection of authentic scripts written for Lost. Apparently, it’s one that is common in the industry. The Defective Yeti describes it “as if the writer has just hit his thumb with a hammer” and gives this example from Season 1, Episode 9 - All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

And as Jack slowly looks up — standing right in front of him — just FIVE FUCKING FEET AWAY — Is ETHAN.

ETHAN
Hello, Jack.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Jack looks at him, ragged breath, but EYES BURNING. And he asks the question that hopefully all of America has been asking for the past week –

JACK
Who are you?

And we’re LOOKING UP at Ethan. SOAKING WET but seemingly oblivious to the rain. And his EYES. His FUCKING EYES.

According to the same site, who has consulted with Alex Epstein, the author of Crafty TV Writing, the writers churn out scripts in this manner because, “Everybody does it ’cause their boss, JJ Abrams, does it. It gives an ‘energetic read’ Network execs like it. They don’t have to put too much energy into reading it.” But at the same time, he calls these screenplays vulgar and cheap, and definitely not something every writer should adopt to.

More insights from Defective Yeti .

Lost, Lost Script, Lost writers

I’m in the habit of compiling lists. But for some reason, I have yet to try making one for Lost.

I don’t know how others can pick and rank the best characters, the best couples, the best moments or the best episodes so far. Although, it is impressive how others can remember facts as far back as Season one. I, on the other hand, would need more than one round of viewing so that a few facts are retained in my memory…only, I’d soon forget about this in a couple of weeks! I’m actually following Season 2 on cable TV for the nth time and there are some scenes and episodes there that feels like I am watching them for the first time.

So, instead of compiling my own list, I’ve rounded up the list of others. Here are the many Top 10 Lost related lists from 2006 to present, compiled around the world wide web:

• The Top 10 Lost Deaths
• The Top 10 Gifts for Lost Fans
• The Top 10 Lost Characters
• The Top 10 Hottest Lost Characters
• The Top 10 Lost Unsolved Mysteries
• The Top 10 Most Annoying Moments of Lost
• The Top 10 Episodes

And finally, the Top 10 signs you’re obsessed with the Lost series (as aired on the Letterman show few years back):

And well, I can probably add “compiling a list of Lost’s Top 10, making me twice the loser” to this one!

Have you got a Lost Top 10 List we should know about?

Lost, Lost Top 10 List, Lost Top, Top 10 Lost Deaths, Top 10 Gifts for Lost Fans, Top 10 Lost Characters, Top 10 Hottest Lost Characters, Top 10 Lost Unsolved Mysteries, Top 10 Most Annoying Moments of Lost, Top 10 Episodes

This video is supposed to be 2 minute recap of everything that has happened in Lost in the previous seasons. And it’s cleverly summed up in one word: WHAT?

Pretty hilarious! I counted 330. Were you crazy enough to do the same? How many did you count?

Lost, Lost recap, Lost summary, Lost videos

This is the third one from the guys from RavenStake.

They sure made use of those action figures other than just leaving them for display!

Lost Parody, Lost & Harry Potter, Lost Action Figures, RavenStake

Executive producer, writer and creator of Lost, J.J. Abrams, is going to have two more television series to offer viewers in the coming season (2008-2009).

The first one is “Fringe”, which is sounds very much similar to the X Files. It’s centered on a female FBI agent who has to work together with a seemingly mad or crazy scientist (someone like Daniel from Lost?) in investigating a series of unexplained phenomena. It doesn’t exactly say whether this is related to aliens.

The program will air on Fox and will mark the return of Joshua Jackson (from Dawson’s Creek) to television.

Not quite buzzed about as Fringe is another drama series from Abrams called “Anatomy of Hope”. It’s a medical drama specifically aimed at telling stories about cancer patients and is based on the book, “The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness.” by Jerome Groopman. HBO is going to air about 10 episodes of the said program.

“Star Trek” is Abrams’ movie project set for release in the summer. It’s rumored to take place in several time elements, one before the TV series from 1966 even came to be, and one after. So, we’re going to see a younger Spock or Captain Kirk and their older versions.

I can’t call myself a Trekker but this is something I’d look forward to watching. The movie stars Zachary Quinto (from Heroes), Eric Bana, Winona Ryder and Chris Pine,  with a special appearance by Leonard Nimoy.

JJ Abrams hasn’t been exactly very involved in Lost, has he? If anything, it’s Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse who are really the show’s front runners, and who are very much visible and accessible to the media and fans. But since JJ and Damon has worked out the mythology of the series from the very beginning, he’s still greatly credited for his work and ideas on Lost. Half of this show’s ingenuity may still be because of him.

Lost, JJ Abrams, Fringe, Anatomy of Hope, Star Trek

In very few ways Vantage Point is like Lost because we keep flashing back to one very scene, as seen from the viewpoints of different characters. But it had none of the that complicated plot twists and brain bleeding moments like that of the TV series. Without the “replays” or flashbacks it would have to a very simple sorry. Telling it from different perspectives was clever. It felt like one season of Lost cut into two hours or less, that way.

Halfway through the movie, my husband already called it — Matthew Fox’s character would play one of the baddies. But earlier before that, I knew the President had a double. Which is to say, there are some predictable moments to this film.

Matthew Fox’s character served as a secret service agent. But he’s actually leading a double life, and is working with the group that was out to get the President. The movie didn’t clearly explain his connection to them, though. In fact, there were several things that were implausible about the plot. And sure, in that aspect, the movie was messy and not well-developed. But then I wasn’t looking for a perfect storyline.  I was after a good edge - of - your - seat moment, a way of story telling that I can engage in  (really, really love the rewind moments) and a couple of car chase scenes. The action sequences were on an all time high.  And for that, the movie did deliver.

The movie originally played in theaters last February and also stars Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt and Thandi Newton. All of them had less than 20 lines uttered in the movie, I think.

Lost, Matthew Fox, Vantage Point

Incidentally, the Washington Post has an interesting piece on why Losties are also addicted to spoilers.

Now that producers have announced that the series will end in two short years, why can’t we just let ourselves sit back and be entertained? The answer to that lies, partly, in the phenomenon that psychologists and behavioral economists call “dynamic inconsistency” — our brain’s inability to reconcile what we want now with what we will want later.

Or, blame it on the Internet.

Read more at Washington Post

Lost, Lost Season 4, Lost addiction

Click on the thumbnails for a bigger photo.

But there are more of it on this site: 1 | 2

This is the 100-page special of the season.

Or you can subscribe to this or check Amazon or E-bay for copies.

Lost, Lost Magazine

I’m supposed to be writing a recap to Lost’s latest episode but I think I’m also having a nosebleed and my brain is really fried. What the hell did I just watch? Best episode ever!!!! I’m still very much disoriented like Desmond, and yet I was very, very entertained. That was some piece of wicked writing, that episode!

Be back in a few to gather my thoughts…

I’m not exactly mad about Lost action figures or any TV character toys for that matter, but I’m sure there are a lot of you who would enjoy these:

It’s a 60mm figure of the following characters:

• LOCKE
• JACK
• KATE
• SAWYER
• SAYID
• CHARLIE
• HURLEY

Sadly no Ben nor Juliet! And Kate looks freakishly mannish, I was figuring out who the hell did I miss from the line-up. The set is sold in Japan for about $87 (or 9,360 YEN) and will be released in August. The site also sells other Lost toys and memorabilia, including the island’s polar bear and a 1/6 scale of Jack in his suit and tie. | Via

If you’ve missed their interviews on television, it’s all here. Thanks to monkeyboy who has uploaded it all on Redlasso.

Terry O’ Quinn on The View
Feb 19, 2008


Matthew Fox on Regis and Kelly
Promoting his new movie, Vantage Point
Feb. 19, 2008


Matthew Fox on Good Morning America
February 18, 2008

Terry O’ Quinn, Matthew Fox, The View, Regis & Kelly, Good Morning America

The third episode for Season 4 is entitled The Economist and is supposed to be Sayid-centric. Sayid is played by actor Naveen Andrews.

The Economist
Season 3 Episode 3
Synopsis
Locke’s hostage may be the key to getting off the island, so Sayid and Kate go in search of their fellow castaway in an attempt to negotiate a peaceful deal.

ABC has been airing the teasers on television. In case you missed it, we’ve got the video:

Evidently, aside from finding out who is the latest member of the Oceanic 6, this episode is one you shouldn’t miss for it’s great ending. Spoiler sites say, it would make you wanna curse at your TV set again. Naveen Andrews in earlier interviews also said this episode should define who is clearly with whom and some form of power struggle is about to take place, as stated in these spoilers (SPOILER ALERT!):
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I haven’t actually seen any copies from any of the issue of the magazine. But apparently, it has about fifteen issued by now and these scans are from that latest issues.

Are you a subscriber of the official Lost Magazine? If not, this is one online store where you can buy one, or enroll for subscriptions. I’m told that they are also available on Amazon and on E-bay (especially if you are looking for back issues.)

If you would like to see more of those scanned pages from the latest issue, I saw loads of it from ODI.

Lost, Lost Magazine

There have been so many dissenting opinions about this movie, but count me among those who simply enjoyed it. Yes, I enjoyed Cloverfield and I enjoyed it without having to feel nauseated or dizzy. My main concern before watching this film was exactly that. I don’t exactly have a 20/20 vision so anything that affects it like that, is sure to give me a headache (those first-person gaming videos? I detest those exactly because of the camera angles).

But surprise, surprise! In the middle of the screening, to be more specific, the moment I saw Liberty’s head come crashing down on the street, I told my companion — “Why did people say this was a bad movie? This is so well-made!”

In between scenes, I felt the hair on my arms rise. It was riveting, the screams, the view from the camera. Just so riveting. It was like being there. And as what others have probably told you, it was like watching a video footage from when the World Trade Center collapse in 9/11.

As for the story though, it was simply a story of human survival, of human nature…of which we’ve seen plenty already. I could not completely empathize with the characters, they were annoying. And the guy holding the camera was the most annoying. But that didn’t bother me and hindered me from liking the movie.

I went to watch Cloverfield not expecting anything. I actually and purposely stayed away from any spoiler, the moment I read about this movie sometime last year.

If the purpose of this movie was to give the audience a good fright, then it was very, very successful in that area. I didn’t even need to see what the monster looked like to actually fear it. The camera was very effective in bringing that.

Cloverfield