Island life

MICHAEL is back, but what has he been up to all this time?


"I wish I could tell you," actor Harold Perrineau says.

The question has nagged viewers of the show Lost, which follows the lives of passengers stranded on a mysterious island after their plane crashes. The tormented single father played by Perrineau sailed away with his son at the end of the second season and did not return at any point during the third.

Although he is listed as a cast member in the present fourth season, Perrineau did not appear until four episodes ago, when Michael was introduced as a deck-swabbing crewman named Kevin Johnson on a strange freighter that has been drifting off the coast and apparently giving those aboard a deadly case of cabin fever.

The subsequent episode revealed what happened after Perrineau's character shockingly gunned down fellow passengers Ana-Lucia and Libby in order to release seemingly evil Ben and retrieve his son Walt from captivity.

"I hope people see Michael's return and think, 'oh, this is gonna be good'," Perrineau says over lunch. "I hope they think this ride is good. We busted our butts doing (the Michael-centric episode). It felt like we were making a movie because there's so much stuff that happens."

Getting the rest of the Michael-related Lost questions out of the way: will his son also return to the show? And was he the man in the coffin during that jaw-dropping flashfoward at the end of season three? According to Perrineau, the answers are maybe and he has no idea.

"Oh, I thought for sure it was Michael in the coffin," he says. "But I still don't know."

Perrineau says the show's writers have kept him just as clueless as the audience. He has not read any scripts for the six episodes that were planned after the writers' strike in the US. However, that does not mean viewers should expect to see less of Michael after his return. Perrineau is scheduled to report to the set in Hawaii after this interview.

"I know I'll be there until the end of the season," he says. "I have no idea if it goes beyond that or not."

The 44-year-old actor from New York tenses up when he talks about the third season. Perrineau is the only one of the 14 original Lost cast members who did not appear in a third-season flashback, mindbending vision or otherwise. He says he "wasn't so happy" about the creative decision to leave Michael and Walt off the island and focus on others.

"I was hurt, really hurt," says Perrineau. "I told myself I had to watch the show, so I at least knew what was going on in case I was brought back, but then I was like, why? I never knew what was going on before. Why should I start trying to figure it out now?"

Instead of waiting by the phone to hear if his character would return to the series, Perrineau moved on to other projects, including a part in the film 28 Weeks Later and a role in the TV pilot Demons. When Demons didn't get picked up, that made room in Perrineau's schedule to get Lost again.

"I started with Lost, so I really want to see Michael until the end," says Perrineau. "I don't know what that means. I guess I won't know what that means until the end. I just know I didn't want Michael and Walt to get on that boat and that be it. That didn't seem so cool."

Perrineau believes Lost masterminds Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof really do have a plan for Michael, and he thinks it may finally come together now that he has returned to the fray. Of all the questions Perrineau has about his character, the one thing he is most interested to know is surprisingly simple.

"It seems like all the other characters on the island have dealt with redemption, in some form or another," Perrineau says. "But not Michael. He's only ever contended with being a father. The thing I want to know is: Why was Michael put on the island in the first place?"

Now that Perrineau's back, maybe he will get his answer.

Source: The Australian

Lost's Emilie de Ravin Talks About Baby Aaron and Where Claire Might Appear Next...

I don't know if you noticed, but this season on Lost, Kate totally stole baby Aaron and killed Claire and buried her under a rock!!!

Or something.

Maybe.

The mysteries of Lost are not easily solved, and certainly not easily guessed, but thankfully, the lovely Emilie de Ravin just phoned up and was kind enough to share a few of her insights into Claire's situation. (Yay for clues!)

Click in for Emilie's thoughts and a few teases about what's up with ghost dad, that misplaced infant and her character's big new storyline...


Let's go back to the beginning of the season. I think there was supposed to be a ring and a letter that Charlie left for Claire and Aaron. Did Claire ever get those?
I know! I don't know whatever happened with that, right? Oh God, now you're testing my memory.

Maybe the baby has the ring?
[Laughs.] Yes, the baby is wearing it around his wrist. Or maybe it's a toe ring.

Around "Eggtown," some people asked why Claire didn't seem to be more upset about Charlie. How did you feel about that?
I think she had her time to grieve, and I think she's just got so much going on that she has to survive, basically, and put that behind her as much as she can.

From what I've read, you've always been very, very gracious about the fact that as an actress you have to carry this baby around in almost every scene you do. Have you ever thought, "If only I didn't have that darn kid, I could have so many more adventures!"
It definitely holds Claire back as far as she's not going to be running around with a gun trying to kill people or trying to save people—because she has this child and she has to protect him—but that makes it interesting in another way for me.

Do you think that might change now?
Yeah, if Claire and Aaron are separated, I think for sure.

Interesting. Let's talk about your dear deadbeat dad, who showed up in "Something Nice Back Home." Claire had only met him once, and she presumably doesn't know that she shares a dad with Jack.
No, neither of them know on the Island.

What do you think he said to her when he showed up at the fire? Will we find that out?
He said he wants to show her something.

And we have four more hours of the season left to see. Could we assume you share a few more scenes with your dear old dad?
Possibly.

Do you think he has the same agenda for both his children?
I don't know. It seems he has different agendas, but who knows, he seems to be a very mysterious man.

He seems to be a dirty rotten scoundrel, but that's why we love him so much. Is there anything you can tease to about what happens to Claire in the next four hours of Lost?
You might see Claire in an unexpected environment. There were a couple of scenes that were really cool, actually. Just because they're so different. And maybe not really the Claire you know.

Hmmm...And we've heard you might have new and exciting storyline, which I would guess has to do with your dear daddy.
Yes.

Do you think that storyline twist will continue through seasons five and six, or is it primarily through the end of season four?
I can't see it not continuing, but I guess who knows. They can always come back to things or break the map, you know.


Is it true your contract is being renegotiated so you'll be either be on the show a little more or a little less next season?
No, I haven't heard anything about that.

In terms of what the finale showed you about the characters that are not the Oceanic Six, including Claire, did the answers turn out to be what you expected or something a little different?
It's never what I expected. Rarely do I read a script and I'm like, "Yeah, that's what I thought would happen." But no, there's a lot going on in the finale, a lot.


Do we get Matthew Abbadon's "Are they alive?" question answered?
It's somewhat answered, but somewhat not.

Dammit!
Yes, it's all very cryptic.

Is it ever!

Source: E!Online

Jorge Garcia Reveals Show Secret

Los Angeles, CA (CNS) - One of the best things about the hit ABC show "Lost" is that it always keeps you guessing. It leaves fans wondering if something a character says has a hidden meaning and most episodes leave fans buzzing with theories that are hashed out over and over on the Internet.

So it is always fun to find out that sometimes "Lost" fans are running round in circles over nothing, like a dog chasing its tail. One of those occasions would be the episode where Hurley, played by Jorge Garcia, ends up in a mental institution after he sees dead Charlie.

While in the mental institution, we see Hurley working on a water color painting. While fan sites buzzed after seeing the picture, the simple truth is Garcia painted the picture himself. He told TV Guide that he not only painted the picture himself, but he got to decide what would be in the painting. Garcia painted an Eskimo fishing outside an igloo.

"I was like, 'I hope people think this means something,'" he said. "I hoped people might think it had something to do with the guys [in the Season 2 finale] speaking Portuguese in the snow."

Good one Garcia, you got us.

Source: allheadlinenews

'Lost's' Dr. Juliet Burke shares the scoop

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- 'Lost' fans know her as Dr. Juliet Burke. But no one -- not even the 'Lost' castaways -- really know her. She's as mysterious as the island itself, but we got some answers out of Lost's Juliet.

The moment I met Elizabeth Mitchell, I knew one thing for certain. The 37-year-old actor and mother is nothing like the character she plays on the ABC's mega hit.

"This is your office (beach)," I remind Mitchell as we walk out on the balcony of an oceanfront suite at the luxurious Kahala Hotel and Resort in Honolulu. It's where members of the cast are shooting the Season 4 DVD. "This is my office, can you imagine?" asked Mitchell. No, Elizabeth! I really can't!

Even more confounding? What to think of her character, the gentle but cold Juliet.

"I think what we've seen over season 4, we'll continue to see a kind of more confused and messier Juliet," said Mitchell.

Juliet is a femme fatale with shifty loyalty.

"My husband read this thing on the Internet in huge capital letters, 'I HATE HER! Of course, I mean the character not the actress,' " confessed Mitchell. "I'm the one people hate, it's fascinating to me 'cause I've always been a fairly benign presence."

Benign no more. Mitchell admitted what makes Juliet so appealing is that no one knows what she's capable of and that she has to be a bit 'insane.'

"Obviously she'd do anything," said Mitchell. Anything to get off the island.

Like what? We'll have to wait on that. But Mitchell does offer a prediction for this season's finale: "I've been told two scenes, I don't know, probably someone is going to die, but I don't know who."

Lost bloggers think it's John Locke. "Oh, oh, it's amazing what can happen," laughed Mitchell. If you're a Lost fan and a little lost - the wait is over. The creators promise all the island's secrets will be revealed by 2010. But we want answers now.

Those flash forwards - do we believe them?

"I don't know, good question, I really don't know," insisted Mitchell. Hmmm. But she thinks she may be in the know with regard to the "Oceanic 6."

"I don't think everybody NOT on the 'Oceanic 6' is dead," she said. "Especially because Josh Holloway, the most popular 'Lost' character; I have a hard time believing they're going to kill him off and not show him again." And she also doubts baby Aaron counts towards the Oceanic total.

But would anyone mind if Benjamin Linus doesn't make it?

"Oh Ben, Ben," said an exasperated Mitchell. "She looked up to him, he took her out of a not-so-great-life. She was the prized possession, he knows everything about her, how enticing would that be?" said Mitchell, "That's why it's even worse, the betrayal is the ultimate and then he's so creepy!" In the same breath she paid homage to his acting gift. "He's brilliant."

Is Ben part of the "Oceanic 6"? Mitchell says no. She insists Ben can't be because he wasn't on the plane. Besides, if she gets her way, it's possible he won't get off the island (unless we're to believe those flash-forwards.): "I would very much like a huge fight with Ben where we both end up bruised and blooded soul and body."

That's Mitchell's theory - not the creators'.

More scoop? "She does love Jack...Juliet loves this man, she's not playing any games about it," admitted Mitchell. "I'd like to see something passionate happen with Jack."

Yeah, why would Jack want Kate, when he can have the vulnerable and viscous Juliet? Because, "I personally think Sawyer and Kate have this insane chemistry," Mitchell said.

And then there's that recent kiss between the two doctors.

"The kiss was fun," she said.

Mitchell praises all the cast, but singled out Matthew Fox who plays Dr. Jack Shepard.


"He's a wonderful actor, a really giving actor," she said.


She told me playing Juliet is a "role of a lifetime".

"She's my favorite, my favorite I've ever played, she's massively fun for me," said Mitchell. "She captivated me, everything they wrote captivated me. It has nothing to do with my performance, had I read it in a book I would have been captivated."

Playing Juliet may be the role of a lifetime, but, Mitchell's big break may have come when she played Angelina Jolie's lover in 'Gia', a made-for-TV movie in 1998.

Fans may remember her character on 'ER', but the star was really born in Dallas, Texas the day she took the stage in 'Alice Thru the Looking Glass.' She was just 7 years old.

"I was like 'Hey Mom, I got the part!' and she was like,' Oh, Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum? What are you doing?' I was like, 'I'm Alice!' And she was like 'Alice! What???' "

We won't even count how many lines she had to memorize.

"The first time you get a laugh on stage or you have a moment where you're with the audience, that's where it's truly a gift," insisted Mitchell.

But no gift trumps the role of motherhood - being CJ's mom. Her sweet, 2 1/2-year-old son ended our interview. I met him as he traded Dad's arms for Mom's hip all the while waving a prized stick he found on the beach.

As I quickly found out, he's all boy and very territorial about his mother. Thanks CJ for letting me meet your parents!

Elizabeth and husband Chris, an acting teacher are -- well -- Chris is the real Dr. Jack Shepard in her life.

"Chris and I are very much in love," said Mitchell. She gives him a squeeze and a kiss before we settle in for our chat.

The family lives on Oahu while shooting 'Lost', then retreats to their home in Seattle. The couple used to live in L.A., but wanted a more family-friendly place to raise their son. Seattle was an easy choice.

"I really fell in love with it from the sky for the most part, looking down I was like, 'What an incredibly gorgeous place,' " she said.

"It fits both of us so perfectly, 'cause we're such huge readers, we love music and art," Mitchell added. "All the things Seattle is rich with, we love."

When in Seattle, Mitchell told me she's a nerd. She loves to stay at home, garden, watch movies and read. And yes, she's a 'Lost' fan.

I asked her what she thinks makes the show so special. She knew instantly: "Oh, I have to say it's the writing." Mitchell thinks the writers are as good at story arc as they are at keeping secrets.

That, says Mitchell, is one of the secrets to 'Lost's success -- it's like life, we don't know what's going to happen.

"If we did, we'd be disappointed," said Mitchell.

Source: komotv.com

Michael Emerson discusses Ben's latest moves!

From Kristen at E!
Death, Dear Ones and the Monster: Michael Emerson Talks Lost

In case you weren't paying attention last night, Michael Emerson, our beloved Benry, turned in an astonishing performance that was earning Emmy buzz before it even aired, and as far as I'm concerned, no one has ever done better work humanizing a supervillain.

I just rang up Michael to get his take on Lost's big game, Ben's current state of mind after the brutal death of [sobbing drowns out spoiler], and, oh yeah, his brilliant explanation of the monster's mechanics. Click in for the goods.


FAMILY AND UPPING THE ANTE


What's going on internally for Ben in that minute after Alex has been shot dead?
Well, Ben is in a state of shock. Ben doesn't usually...Ben plays a game where a variety of outcomes are to be expected, but nothing outside the table of contents. In this case, something happened. Ben took what he thought was a safe risk, and it turned out to be a terrible risk. Someone else didn't play fair, so it's about as big a shock as Ben as ever had in his life.

Jumping to the end of episode then, Charles Widmore says, I didn't kill your daughter, you did. How much does Ben feel culpable in her death?
Ben is a guy who doesn't take things lightly, and I think he has a long memory. When Charles Widmore says that it's Ben's fault—that's a kind of sophistry on his part. He's suggesting that everything Ben has ever done has led up to this moment, the idea that who we are makes us guilty across the board. But Ben's not having that explanation.

I think Ben knows that his daughter died for a very particular reason, and that Charles Widmore is the guilty one. Whatever is going on between Ben and Charles Widmore, the ante just got raised about tenfold.

In the next episode there's a scene where it looks like Sawyer might get the chance to kill Keamy, who killed Alex. Is that the kind of thing that Ben would want to do personally, or is Ben more of a big-picture thinker, just gunning for Charles?
I think Ben is in a state of bloody-mindedness right now. I think he would like to personally pull the trigger on everyone connected. And we'll see whether he has that opportunity.



Interesting. Do you expect to see Danielle and Alex again, hopefully, in one capacity or another? And what has it been like working with Tania Raymonde and Mira Furlan?
I love both these actresses, and it feels like when a dear coworker moves on to somewhere, you feel sad and lonesome...and you realize how much you've personally got invested in these fictional relationships. You know how nobody is ever fully dead on Lost, so...I don't expect that we've seen the last of them. But maybe we've seen the last of them in their fleshly state.

So Danielle doesn't pop up in the next episode with just a minor flesh wound and come after Ben or anything?
I don't—I don't think that's gonna happen...

Speaking of Danielle, I was hoping she would eventually get to kill Ben.
[Laughs.] What a strange wish on your part.


THE LADY JULIET

Well, I say this with the utmost respect and love for the character, but Ben's an unkillable cockroach, and yet you would have to imagine someone eventually gets him. Juliet, perhaps?
Well, Juliet is certainly a dangerous character. I think more dangerous than we know at this point, and certainly there are issues between Juliet and Ben that have yet to be resolved. But you know, Ben's...his whole existence may end up being redeemed by the gravity and necessity of his mission.

Speaking of Juliet, that whole "You're mine!" opened so many more questions of what does he want from her. And then...I'm pretty sure Elizabeth Mitchell is like a foot taller than you, does that ever come into play when you guys are shooting scenes together?
[Laughs.] Yes, I have to say, that was not one of Ben's prettier moments, there at the place where Goodwin met his demise.

You know, when Ben gets outside his comfort zone, like many men who are geniuses or men of sophistication, there is some part of him, to compensate, that has been undeveloped. I think Ben is maybe socially or emotionally somewhat underdeveloped.

So sometimes, when he's stressed, he behaves like a teenager. Sort of. To me. So he says things bitterly...I think he possibly regrets them later, but he does behave impulsively sometimes. For this character who is supposed to be so calculated and such a chess player, he really does behave impulsively upon occasion.

Does he want to marry Juliet so she can have a million of his babies?
I don't think he even has a clear picture what he wants. That he wants is all he knows. She is a prize in his mind. Who knows what his sex life is, or ever would be? But somehow he's decided that she is to be his.

MYTHS AND MONSTERS


Do you almost feel like after that conversation with Charles we suddenly learned that Ben is the hero of the show, even though we didn't know he existed for the first season or two?
It feels like some kind of shift along those lines is happening, doesn't it? Because each season, it's like the lens of the show steps back a notch and shows the playing field of the show to be a larger one that we had thought at first.

I think this battle between Charles Widmore and Benjamin Linus, whatever it is, whatever the stakes are, whatever the game is, I think that's now big. That's a big, important thing.

And I think, I don't know if it's just from familiarity or instinct, but I think we like Ben Linus better than we like Charles Widmore. I think Charles Widmore is a more wicked man.

Partly just because Charles is really mean to Desmond, whereas Ben has always been very courtly and gentlemanly. He'll beat you to death, but he'll say thank you when he's done or something.
Yes. [Laughs.] That's right. Manners count, don't they? Come on!


OK I have some fan questions, if you don't mind. Harry asks: "Is Ben the monster's boss? Is Ben able to just take the monster out of his cage?" What's your sense of that whole thing?
Ben is privy to the secret mechanics of everything on the Island, so yes, he can sic the smoke monster—smoke's not the right word, but he can sic that thing on someone. But we don't yet know the recipe or the formula for how that's done, and we don't know what it costs. There seem to be a lot of forces on the Island, but nothing is for free. A toll is paid every time the machinery works. Everything is bargained.

Tom asks, "Did you have any sense that between the time Ben disappeared into the tunnel, and came back sooty later, that he was essentially in a time bubble where he worked out that Sayid would help him take down Charles Widmore, or do you think that was genuinely in the future?"
I had it in my head that those things were genuinely in the future. But the passage of time is being perceived differently by different people. I thought that period of time when he went down the tunnel to enable the smoke monster and emerged sooty, I thought that was just enough time for him to take care of that, physically, by himself.

I think it all has something to do with metallic dust. I think the smoke monster is connected to that ring of powder that surrounds Jacob's cabin. They've established that there are supermagnetic forces are at work on the Island, so what better medium for those forces to work through than through fine filings of metal?

Would you like join the Lost fandom? Because you would be really good at it.
We who work on the show—we're all Losties, too! We're all theorizing and trying to put the pieces together. It must tickle the writers to see us trying to work these things out!

OK, last question. Mark from Dundee, Scotland: "Where do you think Ben stands on a scale of one to 10 where one is Hurley, totally good; five is Locke, good but willing to do bad things to achieve his ends; and 10 is Charles Widmore, evil?"
I think Ben is not bound by your scale.

God love you, sir. Want more of Michael Emerson's answers and personal brand of awesome? Check out the Lost Redux and tune in to the spoiler chat on Monday and we'll get you the hookup! Meanwhile, I want and expect you all to testify toward Michael's Emmy in the comments below. Go.

Speed Racer PREMIERE in Los Angeles...

Saturday April 26th....Los Angeles....Matthew Fox at the SPEED RACER PREMIERE!

OHHHHHH....I can't wait! Just glad to see FOXY pop back over here to the mainland for a few days! LOVE YA MATTHEW!


~NIKI

When characters die on this show...They aren't REALLY 'LOST'

In the closing moments of the last new ''Lost'' episode in March, it appeared that Rousseau (Mira Furlan) was cut down by an unseen enemy along with her daughter's boyfriend. For fans of the Frenchwoman, a character whose past has barely been explored, it was a disappointing shock. Maybe she was shot with a dart and not a bullet?

''They were shot with bullets,'' confirmed Damon Lindelof, a ''Lost'' executive producer, who refused to divulge the fates of the shooting victims.


''The good thing about 'Lost' is that being dead can lead to more work,'' said executive producer Carlton Cuse. ''It can improve your standing in the cast by getting killed. If, in fact, Rousseau proves to be dead, it doesn't have much bearing in terms of whether you'll see more of her story. We think the backstory of Rousseau and her science team is interesting and we'd love to tell that story at some point.''

After its fourth-season run was interrupted by the writers strike, ABC's mystery-filled hit returns with a run of new episodes starting at 9 tonight on WLS-Channel 7, leading up to its two-hour finale on May 29.

Talking to reporters last week, Cuse and Lindelof were coy about the show's future, refusing to comment on reports that ''Lost'' had been taping in London and that another lead character will be killed off.

''If we tease there will be a death, like when Shannon died, then everyone chases it down and spoils it,'' Cuse said. ''If we say everyone is safe, it would ruin the dramatic impact of the finale. We're excited about what's happening. There are some large and seismic events that will happen to the castaways between now and the end of the season.''

Other tidbits:

• "There are some compelling events involving Claire (Emilie de Ravin) between now and the season finale,'' Cuse said.

• The smoke monster will be featured tonight. "This episode is very dark, and very grim," executive producer J.J. Abrams told the Sun-Times earlier this week.

This year's season finale will be less smoke-and-mirrors than last year's flash-forward head trip, Lindelof said.

''Lost'' will conclude in 2010, and Lindelof said producers have already envisioned the series' closing moments.

''The last scene has been determined,'' he said. ''There would have to be some major shift in both our mindsets to back off of that.''

Source: suntimes.com