AWESOME.
Hey everyone! So tonight I was lucky enough to go see LOST producers/writers Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz speak in Madison, WI! It was so cool and fun and, seriously, these guys are awesome. I was taking notes and I took a few pictures, too. I'll put it all under a cut, even though there wasn't much in the way of spoilers... EXCEPT THIS STUNNING AND CRAZY FACT:
THE ISLAND IS A GIANT EYE!
Wait. Let me check my notes again.... Oh, whoops. The island is NOT a giant eye.
Anyway, here we go. This is in order of the questions, and I cut out some of the non-LOST related stuff.
So Eddy and Adam are UW-Madison alumni, so they started by showing a clip with some of the Madison references on Lost - specifically Ethan wearing a Wisconsin shirt during "Expose" (which they wrote), and the references to Langdon and Bascom in Claire & Kate's episode earlier this season.
They talked about how they met and their background working together. Eddy was working on a student film project - it was perfect, amazing, splendid, going to change the world, etc - but it was upside down. He turned to the guy next to him, Adam, and asked him if his machine was broken. Adam flipped over the film. AND IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL THING. (Pretty sure this story has been told on a podcast.)
The audience of about 150 all went "AWWWWW" when they mentioned the show ending. (You guyz. The finale is being shot as I type this holy fuck.)
They've gone to Lostpedia to verify things. Eddy was like, "Who was that guy in that flashback...?" and Lostpedia gives them the answer.
In the writers' room, the best idea wins. It's not like they're just writing out Darlton's grand plan (so we can't just blame Darlton for, like, zombie!Sayid and Kate's rather obnoxious characterization).
They love our crazy! See, the guys have worked on shows in the past that they would've liked one person to be yelling at the TV and getting all worked up over it, so they love our crazy rather than being freaked out by it.
Someone asked if they have favorite characters to write, and Eddy was like no, but then Adam said they like to write Hurley, Ben, and Sawyer. They explained, though, that what's really great is writing certain combinations of characters, like Hurley and Charlie or Jack and Sawyer.
They enjoy the back and forth with the actors when talking about the characters. Eddy talked about how Matthew Fox has played Jack for so long, it makes sense that he'd have insights into that character.
MINOR POSSIBLE SPOILER CLUE HINT THINGY OK NOT REALLY: Vincent will be seen again! Not necessarily alive though. ALSO, they refused to comment on which if any characters will be left alive at the end of the finale.
The dog on Hurley's I Love My Shi-tzu shirt was Eddy's dog Stuart. He thought it was crazy that, like, within hours of that episode airing there were already sites selling bootleg versions of the shirt.
Damon and Carlton have this file of people they like. Carlton pulled Michael Emerson's file out to try him out as Ben. Apparently Michael had also already read for something on the show, too, but for what they didn't say.
Eddy talked about how during the shooting of "Dr. Linus," Nestor asked (about the Black Rock), "Have I been here before?" So he had to tell Nestor the whole backstory that we saw in "Ab Aeterno" before Nestor had gotten the script for it. (This was where I started freaking out because OH MY GOD I AM YARDS AWAY FROM MEN WHO ARE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH NESTOR AHHHHH.)
They say that they are constantly paying dues. It took them about a year of living and working in LA before they got an agent (who, interestingly enough, was Ari Manuel, the inspiration for the character Ari Gold on Entourage). Eddy and Adam had been working on this script, and some people had been reading it. They got a call at like 8am on a Saturday, and it went to voicemail. They heard Ari Manuel say something like, "I fucking love it. See you on Monday," and that's how they got into the biz, basically.
Someone asked which actors are their favorites. Eddy was like, WE LOVE THEM ALL DUHHH. I mean, clearly they weren't about to start picking favorites, especially not when people like me and some other chick were taking notes and people had cameras and such.
TWO MORE KINDA SPOILERY HINT CLUE THINGS: We are going to sort of learn more about the DHARMA food drop. Also, the identity of Penny's mom is not relevant.
We were assured that Nikki and Paulo "suffered a lot."
In regards to Adewale leaving the show: They had to course correct (and yes, that is the phrase they used, and I was like OMG JUST LIKE THE UNIVERSE~). They did, however, have a plan B ready, as there had been "some rumblings" about him leaving. Also, the writers talk during the summer, so like they had ahead of time two basic ideas - if he stayed or if he left.
They like to put humor into things, but they probably won't ever write a comedy. They tried before. It didn't work out.
ON ILANA BLOWING UP. It was a case of the writers assuming the audience saying, "They're not really gonna do the same thing as Arzt..." and then they did! (I thought her going kablooey was totally predictable, along with Desmond getting thrown into the well.)
It is difficult sometimes for them to keep track of what's been revealed.
Eddy told a story about being sort of blown away by the viewers and how we pick up on things. In season 3, there was a flashback to Locke in high school. Eddy wanted to see how clever people are, so he put a picture in Locke's locker of some nineteenth century explorer. An hour later people online were talking about who it was, so he was like, "Ok. Not gonna fuck with you guys again."
On the fans' impact on the script: Well, now it's too late, of course. Everything's been written. Clearly they're writing for an audience, but they try not to focus too much on what the audience is talking about. Personally it can be tough to hear people say they didn't like an episode.
On Christian themes in the show: The show has a theme of faith vs. science, so it's not specifically about one religion. Clearly people could interpret things as being Christian, but that's not the intent.
Someone asked if we will find out who Jack's son's mom is in the flash-sideways. Adam said that the writers don't set up questions to be asked without planning to answer them..... which is a roundabout way of saying we will find out who!
Michael Giacchino was brought on for the pilot before even any of the writers were.
The whole opening-on-an-eye thing: it was a motif, not really important. Here is where Eddy said that the island is NOT a giant eye.
Woman in audience: What happened to Rose and Bernard?
Eddy: Good question. Next!
Adam: Keep watching.
Then we watched the trailer for Tron Legacy, which they wrote. It comes out this December.
They gave us their career advice: "Do something you love, and do it better than everyone." (Yes, that's a direct quote, and yes, Eddy was joking about the second half.) You need drive, passion, and a good attitude. And remember, your first job will suck because, well, it's your first job.
The cast and crew and their families watched the premiere at Damon's this year.
They wouldn't change anything - no, not even Nikki and Paulo, because that let them write "Expose," which they said was fun.
At the end they talked about how when they're writing, sometimes it comes down to what the show wants, like it's some kind of entity.... LIKE THE ISLAND.
PICTURES: (sorry my camera's not very good)
Eddy is the one in the plaid. I kinda felt bad because I wasn't really sure which of them was which, so my notes said "plaid" for stuff he said. He did most of the talking, actually.
The blue sheet reads:
"The University of Wisconsin Hillel Foundation is pleased to welcome Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, the co-writers and co-executive producers of ABC's LOST. They have been nominated for various Emmy and Producers Guild Awards, and they were the recipients of a Writers Guild of America Award in 2006. The duo has recently penned the script to 2010's Tron Legacy and is currently working on Ouija Board, an upcoming project for Universal Pictures.
Kitsis and Horowitz met in their Introduction to Film class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and both graduated in 1993 with a degree in Communication Arts. After graduation, the two moved to Los Angeles to write and work in Hollywood."
THE ISLAND IS A GIANT EYE!
Wait. Let me check my notes again.... Oh, whoops. The island is NOT a giant eye.
Anyway, here we go. This is in order of the questions, and I cut out some of the non-LOST related stuff.
So Eddy and Adam are UW-Madison alumni, so they started by showing a clip with some of the Madison references on Lost - specifically Ethan wearing a Wisconsin shirt during "Expose" (which they wrote), and the references to Langdon and Bascom in Claire & Kate's episode earlier this season.
They talked about how they met and their background working together. Eddy was working on a student film project - it was perfect, amazing, splendid, going to change the world, etc - but it was upside down. He turned to the guy next to him, Adam, and asked him if his machine was broken. Adam flipped over the film. AND IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL THING. (Pretty sure this story has been told on a podcast.)
The audience of about 150 all went "AWWWWW" when they mentioned the show ending. (You guyz. The finale is being shot as I type this holy fuck.)
They've gone to Lostpedia to verify things. Eddy was like, "Who was that guy in that flashback...?" and Lostpedia gives them the answer.
In the writers' room, the best idea wins. It's not like they're just writing out Darlton's grand plan (so we can't just blame Darlton for, like, zombie!Sayid and Kate's rather obnoxious characterization).
They love our crazy! See, the guys have worked on shows in the past that they would've liked one person to be yelling at the TV and getting all worked up over it, so they love our crazy rather than being freaked out by it.
Someone asked if they have favorite characters to write, and Eddy was like no, but then Adam said they like to write Hurley, Ben, and Sawyer. They explained, though, that what's really great is writing certain combinations of characters, like Hurley and Charlie or Jack and Sawyer.
They enjoy the back and forth with the actors when talking about the characters. Eddy talked about how Matthew Fox has played Jack for so long, it makes sense that he'd have insights into that character.
MINOR POSSIBLE SPOILER CLUE HINT THINGY OK NOT REALLY: Vincent will be seen again! Not necessarily alive though. ALSO, they refused to comment on which if any characters will be left alive at the end of the finale.
The dog on Hurley's I Love My Shi-tzu shirt was Eddy's dog Stuart. He thought it was crazy that, like, within hours of that episode airing there were already sites selling bootleg versions of the shirt.
Damon and Carlton have this file of people they like. Carlton pulled Michael Emerson's file out to try him out as Ben. Apparently Michael had also already read for something on the show, too, but for what they didn't say.
Eddy talked about how during the shooting of "Dr. Linus," Nestor asked (about the Black Rock), "Have I been here before?" So he had to tell Nestor the whole backstory that we saw in "Ab Aeterno" before Nestor had gotten the script for it. (This was where I started freaking out because OH MY GOD I AM YARDS AWAY FROM MEN WHO ARE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH NESTOR AHHHHH.)
They say that they are constantly paying dues. It took them about a year of living and working in LA before they got an agent (who, interestingly enough, was Ari Manuel, the inspiration for the character Ari Gold on Entourage). Eddy and Adam had been working on this script, and some people had been reading it. They got a call at like 8am on a Saturday, and it went to voicemail. They heard Ari Manuel say something like, "I fucking love it. See you on Monday," and that's how they got into the biz, basically.
Someone asked which actors are their favorites. Eddy was like, WE LOVE THEM ALL DUHHH. I mean, clearly they weren't about to start picking favorites, especially not when people like me and some other chick were taking notes and people had cameras and such.
TWO MORE KINDA SPOILERY HINT CLUE THINGS: We are going to sort of learn more about the DHARMA food drop. Also, the identity of Penny's mom is not relevant.
We were assured that Nikki and Paulo "suffered a lot."
In regards to Adewale leaving the show: They had to course correct (and yes, that is the phrase they used, and I was like OMG JUST LIKE THE UNIVERSE~). They did, however, have a plan B ready, as there had been "some rumblings" about him leaving. Also, the writers talk during the summer, so like they had ahead of time two basic ideas - if he stayed or if he left.
They like to put humor into things, but they probably won't ever write a comedy. They tried before. It didn't work out.
ON ILANA BLOWING UP. It was a case of the writers assuming the audience saying, "They're not really gonna do the same thing as Arzt..." and then they did! (I thought her going kablooey was totally predictable, along with Desmond getting thrown into the well.)
It is difficult sometimes for them to keep track of what's been revealed.
Eddy told a story about being sort of blown away by the viewers and how we pick up on things. In season 3, there was a flashback to Locke in high school. Eddy wanted to see how clever people are, so he put a picture in Locke's locker of some nineteenth century explorer. An hour later people online were talking about who it was, so he was like, "Ok. Not gonna fuck with you guys again."
On the fans' impact on the script: Well, now it's too late, of course. Everything's been written. Clearly they're writing for an audience, but they try not to focus too much on what the audience is talking about. Personally it can be tough to hear people say they didn't like an episode.
On Christian themes in the show: The show has a theme of faith vs. science, so it's not specifically about one religion. Clearly people could interpret things as being Christian, but that's not the intent.
Someone asked if we will find out who Jack's son's mom is in the flash-sideways. Adam said that the writers don't set up questions to be asked without planning to answer them..... which is a roundabout way of saying we will find out who!
Michael Giacchino was brought on for the pilot before even any of the writers were.
The whole opening-on-an-eye thing: it was a motif, not really important. Here is where Eddy said that the island is NOT a giant eye.
Woman in audience: What happened to Rose and Bernard?
Eddy: Good question. Next!
Adam: Keep watching.
Then we watched the trailer for Tron Legacy, which they wrote. It comes out this December.
They gave us their career advice: "Do something you love, and do it better than everyone." (Yes, that's a direct quote, and yes, Eddy was joking about the second half.) You need drive, passion, and a good attitude. And remember, your first job will suck because, well, it's your first job.
The cast and crew and their families watched the premiere at Damon's this year.
They wouldn't change anything - no, not even Nikki and Paulo, because that let them write "Expose," which they said was fun.
At the end they talked about how when they're writing, sometimes it comes down to what the show wants, like it's some kind of entity.... LIKE THE ISLAND.
PICTURES: (sorry my camera's not very good)
Eddy is the one in the plaid. I kinda felt bad because I wasn't really sure which of them was which, so my notes said "plaid" for stuff he said. He did most of the talking, actually.
The blue sheet reads:
"The University of Wisconsin Hillel Foundation is pleased to welcome Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, the co-writers and co-executive producers of ABC's LOST. They have been nominated for various Emmy and Producers Guild Awards, and they were the recipients of a Writers Guild of America Award in 2006. The duo has recently penned the script to 2010's Tron Legacy and is currently working on Ouija Board, an upcoming project for Universal Pictures.
Kitsis and Horowitz met in their Introduction to Film class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and both graduated in 1993 with a degree in Communication Arts. After graduation, the two moved to Los Angeles to write and work in Hollywood."