Abrams addresses Lost rumors

Lost News

Official News Poster
From Sci Fi Wire:
Abrams Addresses Lost Rumors

J.J. Abrams, co-creator of ABC's hit SF series Lost, denied to SCI FI Wire that producers were planning to kill off any characters because of an actor's off-screen behavior. In an interview at WonderCon in San Francisco on Feb. 11, Abrams specifically denied rumors that the character of Ana Lucia would die as a result of actress Michelle Rodriguez's recent highly public run-ins with the police.

"While we don't want to report on the fate of any of the characters in the show, I would say without question that any reports that anything that's going on with any of the actors as being problematic or certainly resulting in changing the storyline to sort of, you know, get rid of them is just erroneous and silliness," Abrams said.

Rodriguez grabbed headlines in December, when she was arrested in Hawaii for drunk driving. Rodriguez, 27, is scheduled to stand trial March 30 after pleading not guilty. She was also cited for speeding in Hawaii three times last year. Lost shoots in Hawaii.

Abrams, who was at WonderCon to promote his upcoming Mission: Impossible III, added: "There's a lot of stuff that has happened that's extracurricular, and it's in the news. It becomes fodder for speculation. The truth is that the cast is the greatest. I don't know if you saw the SAG Awards, but ... most of them, those who weren't working, were there and got up. ... You see who they are and how they are. They're an amazing group, all of them, and we're just blessed to get to work with them. "

For his part, Abrams said that he will dive back into Lost next season, now that M:I III is nearing completion. "I will be more involved in the show next year," he said. As for this season, he added, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse "are finishing up this season. They have a very clear picture of this year and the beginning of the next. My dream would be to be able to go back and ... definitely direct an episode and at the very least ... be more involved than this year, which was incredibly peripherally because of the movie. So. People come to me and say, 'Oh, my God, I love Lost this season,' and I'm always flattered. ... I always have to say, 'I wish I could tell you that I had much more to do with it than I do, you know, this year.'" Lost airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Mission: Impossible III, starring Tom Cruise, opens May 5.
 
Abrams Laments Missing 'Alias' Finale, 'Lost'

By Daniel Fienberg
Monday, February 13, 2006

Even when J.J. Abrams seems tired -- and at San Francisco's WonderCon, he arrives looking as if it's been weeks since his last night's sleep -- it's difficult to believe that he's approaching his 40th birthday later this year. Hearing Abrams confess that he only has so many hours in his days is even more striking.
Abrams is addressing a crowd of rabid devotees about "Mission: Impossible III," the high pressure, megabudget summer sequel that marks his feature directing debut. It's kind of a big deal for Paramount, but for the genre fans in attendance, it may pale in comparison to Abrams' ABC dramas "Alias" and "Lost." Unfortunately, for the past year or so, Abrams has been eating, drinking and breathing fireballs, high-tech gadgets and Tom Cruise. That commitment has caused his involvement on both shows to be seriously reduced.

"I wish I could take more credit for 'Lost' this year, but I can't," Abrams says, referring to the show's second season. "Everyone's like, 'I love 'Lost' this year!' and I'm like 'I had nothing to do with it!'"

It was during production on the "Lost" pilot that Cruise called Abrams and set "Mission: Impossible III" plans in motion. With the franchise sequel already running behind thanks to several director shifts, Cruise was ready to get rolling, but Abrams recognized his responsibilities to "Lost." He asked the most powerful actor in Hollywood for a one-year delay, which Cruise granted.

"I said to [co-creator Damon Lindelof], 'Look, this has come up' and he said, 'Dude, you've got to do it.' He was so cool about it," Abrams recalls. "I'm not just grateful that meeting Damon was sort of the catalyst for and the alchemy to create the pilot and series, but that he and Carlton Cuse really took all the reins to run the show this year. I've been perfectly involved this season, but I'm as much a fan of theirs as anything."

Abrams has more regrets about having to let go of his older series. After a five year run, "Alias" will go off the air this May. Unfortunately, the Jennifer Garner spy series will vanish at exactly the moment Abrams will be concentrating on launching a very different spy venture.

"I wanted to direct the last episode of 'Alias,' but I have to go on the international tour for this, so I won't get to do that, which is a very sort of heartbreaking idea that the show will end without me there," Abrams explains.

Even after hearing about the writer-director's divided attentions, one intrepid "Lost" viewer is still looking for answers.

"Is the island Jesus?" he asks.

Abrams does a double-take, pauses, smiles and plays along.

"Yes," he says.
 
Back
Top