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« Ausiello Report
Exclusive: Lost Boss Outlines Revised Season 4 Plan
Lost by Mario Perez/ABC
Make no mistake, out of all the shows whose fate has been left dangling in the wind by the just-concluded writers' strike, the one we're most concerned about is Lost. Good thing, then, that the sixth fifth fourth third second first call Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse made after meeting with ABC execs this evening to finalize the new plan for Season 4 was to, yep, you guessed it, Variety Hollywood Reporter Entertainment Weekly Golf Digest Mac Addict me!
Welcome back!
Carlton Cuse: It's good to be back. It'll be even better tomorrow when the writers all start rolling in and we start getting to work... pending the vote, of course.
What came out of your meeting with ABC today?
Cuse: Damon [Lindelof] and I are going to try to make five more episodes before the end of May, which is ambitious. But we've found ourselves in a situation where we had eight episodes of story planned, and we're going to try to fit that into five hours of the show. Even though it's going to be very hard to execute, we felt like any less would be doing a disservice to the story we had planned. We really want to give the fans the best possible experience and ending... to Season 4.
Any chance that the first of the five episodes will air the week after that last pre-strike episode — thus eliminating any scheduling gap?
Cuse: No, there's probably going to be four weeks between the airing of the first batch of episodes and our new episodes.
What will happen to the three "lost" episodes? Will they roll over into next season's 16, or will they vanish forever?
Cuse: Damon and I remain committed to producing the 40 additional hours of the show that we promised. We haven't figured out exactly when we'll put those other three on, but we're not eliminating them from the show. You will get those three episodes downstream.
I know it's early, but have you decided what will have to get cut from this season's arc in order to accelerate things? Are we going to lose some flashbacks and/or flash-forwards?
Cuse: All those conversations will take place tomorrow when we actually start talking about story.
Is it possible that some guest actors you were planning to use before the strike may no longer be available now? Like, for example, Andrea Roth?
Cuse: Yeah, there are a lot of issues that have to get sorted out. We're also in the middle of pilot season.... We're kind of figuring out what has happened to all of our actors who have gone on to do other things. Literally, there are cobwebs on the couches in the writers' room. Call me in a couple of days and I should have more answers for you.
OK, last question: Have you come up with a code word for this season's top-secret cliff-hanger?
Cuse: [Laughs] Not yet. That's a very good point. We'll have to get on that. If you have any ideas, Mike, let us know.
(BTW, I was joking in my intro. I'm pretty sure I was Carlton's first. Wait, that came out wrong.... )
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Feb 12, 2008 8:49 PM
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No! The one I'm most concerned about is Supernatural. Lost comes second.
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Feb 12, 2008 10:02 PM
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Thanks, Mike, for the interview! Glad to know we will be getting more than just 8 episodes of LOST this season. I can wait four weeks.
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Feb 12, 2008 10:45 PM
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Thanks, Mike...I'm one of those who's been anxiously waiting news on what Lost was planning to do. I trust the producers and if they think they can tell their story with five remaining episodes instead of 8, I'll go along with it.
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Feb 12, 2008 10:58 PM
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This year's secret reveal : The Babka
Any chance that Richard Alpert will come back and explain how the hell he exists? And why he was wearing pirate clothes when he met Ben? And therefore, how the Black Rock ended up where it did?
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Feb 12, 2008 11:11 PM
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Oohhhhhhhhhh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.
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Feb 12, 2008 11:15 PM
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Thank you, Mike. Lost has been my biggest concern, too.
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Feb 12, 2008 11:28 PM
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So I guess we aren't going to be getting a two hour finale this year. Or maybe they will produce four episodes with the fourth being a two hour seg. I hope that is what they do. A LOST finale is an EVENT, not just an episode.
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Feb 12, 2008 11:38 PM
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It is good to hear that we aren't going to be losing those 3 episodes that were supposed to be done this season.
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Feb 12, 2008 11:38 PM
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Did Cuse have any comments about your "issues" with last weeks episode?
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Feb 13, 2008 12:32 AM
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So when Carlton says "5 episodes" can be created, does this mean (1) 4 weeks worth of episodes, with a two-hour finale, (2) 5 weeks worth of one-hour episodes, or (3) 5 weeks worth of episodes, with a two-hour finale. I'm guessing the first, but would love to have it be the third.
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Feb 13, 2008 12:38 AM
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@nicollepatterson:
Ouch!
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Feb 13, 2008 1:04 AM
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It is unlikely that Lost will retain the Thursday 9pm timeslot once Grey's Anatomy comes back on air. Any idea what timeslot the remaining 5 episodes will be given?
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Feb 13, 2008 1:31 AM
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I rather hear about Supernatural 2!
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Feb 13, 2008 1:36 AM
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thanks Ausiello!
informant- I love it! one vote for The Babka.
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Feb 13, 2008 3:43 AM
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