Nov 16 2008
Do the LOST writers know where they’re going? — redux
Yesterday, LOST producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse answered questions at a Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles.
They were asked if they knew the answers to questions raised by the plot in advance, or if they figured things out as they went along. IGN.com reports that the producers said:
… it was a combination of the two. Lindelof recalled how the entire pilot was put together – including writing, casting and production – in 12 weeks, which didn’t allow much time to come up with any long-term mythology. However, once the series was given a full season order, beyond the initial 12 episode order it received, Cuse said he and Lindelof sat down and discussed, “What the overall mythological underpinnings of the show would be. We quickly landed on the ending, and then constructed this broader road map of other mythological points we’d hit on this story.”
They say that now, they are planning it out: “Certainly since we got an end date, that sort of fly by the seat of your pants story is gone now. Showing scenes [set] three years from now, you can’t change it.”
They discussed some of the major changes that had been made earlier to the storyline:
The Ben Linus character was originally going to appear in only three episodes, but actor Michael Emerson was so good, the producers decided to make the character a regular, which in turn affected the storylines of some of the other characters.
While Ben Linus’ storyline got extended, Mr. Eko’s got cut short. He had been one of my favorite characters, and I was shocked and disappointed when the show killed him off so abruptly, just as his story was getting to its most interesting point. Well, it turns out, as this interview reveals, that it wasn’t the writers who wanted to kill Mr. Eko — it was the actor, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje:
… Akinnuoye-Agbaje did not like living in Hawaii. Lindelof said, ” Our Mr. Eko plans very quickly derailed. Adawele’s unhappiness was almost instantaneous. On his second episode, he was expressing extreme dissatisfaction.” This led to them quickly changing Mr. Eko’s storyline to one that would only last one season. Asked what might have happened with Eko had he been the long term character he was going to be, Lindelof answered, “Originally he was going to be someone who challenged Locke for the spiritual leadership of the castaways.”
What a missed opportunity for the show!
A story in USA Today, though, from two years ago, gives a more charitable view of why the actor wanted to leave:
Akinnuoye-Agbaje asked to be written off the series. After losing both parents last year, he wanted to return to his London home and work on a film he’ll direct.
I hadn’t heard that about Mr. Eko. Love the actor and loved the character. Very sad to lose him.
I would have loved to have seen him face off against Locke. The two had such great screen chemistry.