The ODI

Jack Bender in Talks with JJ's Bad Robot for Movie Deal??

Risky Business has learned that Bender has signed a television development deal with JJ Abrams’ production company Bad Robot/Warner Bros television, and “insides say” that he will now be free to work on “a potential feature” film for Paramount Pictures. Of course, no details are known at this time.

Remember, Matt Reeves wrote and directed on over 70 episodes for the Abrams-produced television series Felicity before getting his big break with the Bad Robot produced feature Cloverfield. Now Reeves is directing the Let The Right One In remake/adaptation Let Me In.

Bender’s television credits also include 4 episodes of The Sopranos, 2 episodes of Carnivale, 11 epsiodes of the JJ Abrams-produced show Alias and a few epsidoes of Felicity.

Source: SlashFilm

The teaser trailer for JJ Abrams new movie as expected has been leaked online.

So if you want to check it out before it is removed check out the following link on the Movies Page here:

http://www.movies.spoilertv.com/2010/05/super-8-leaked-teaser-trailer-for-jj.html

Hey All,
For those that missed the story on the movies page, JJ Abrams new movie will be a collaboration with Spielberg!

This seems like an amazing idea and I just hope they can fit it into their busy schedules!

Read the full story at SpoilerTV Movies here:

http://www.movies.spoilertv.com/2010/04/jj-abrams-new-movie-to-be-collaboration.html

Here is the first part of GQ Magazine's Interview with the Bad Robot team, including JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burke, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.

It is a great read and I love this promo pic as well!

GQ: JJ, is there anything in particular that you learned from the Lost experience that you brought to Fringe?

Roberto Orci [writer/executive producer, Alias; co-creator/executive producer, Fringe; executive producer/co-writer, Star Trek]: We needed Damon and Carlton.

JJ Abrams [co-creator/executive producer/director, Lost, Fringe and Alias; director/co-writer/executive producer, Star Trek]: And they weren’t available. No—my involvement with Lost really ended within the first season. And so a lot of what I learned from Lost was what people watching the show learned, which is what great characters and story looked like. I think the work that Damon and Carlton do on that show is obviously a high-water mark for TV, and the ambition. In terms of this show, it’s a very different show. Every show’s a different show. It’s easy, in retrospect, to make comparisons, but when you’re in the thick of it, when you’re working on something, even if it’s the same people, it’s suddenly a whole new nightmare challenge. And you scramble the best you can to do your best work, and it’s especially difficult when you’re doing a mythology show that’s also aspiring to be a standalone show. Lost was very lucky early on to get really good ratings. So the network was okay with mythology, and the show’s never apologized for it. Fringe, up front, said, “Hey, it’s a standalone show, and every week you’re going to get your own little separate mystery.” But the fans who come back to watch the show– and tonight, fingers crossed, that happens again– are the people who typically like the mythology. So there’s a weird dynamic that goes on that I still haven’t learned, from Alias to Lost to Fringe, how to necessarily solve.

GQ: How to please those two audiences simultaneously, you mean.

Abrams: Yeah. This group dealt with that with Star Trek. How do we do something that’s wholly original, while also doing something that’s wholly reverent of what’s come before? And how do you do a show that’s a week to week closed story and still tell a larger overarching story? It’s hard to please both sides of that all the time. It can be done in some instances, and other times, y’know, we fail miserably. But that’s definitely one of the challenges that we face, doing the show.

GQ: Was that always your intention, that Fringe would be more of a one-and-done show that didn’t depend as much on people following the mythology over a season-long arc, the way Lost does?

Orci: We always thought it would be both. That we’d have a little clue in each episode, but then every few episodes, you can have a highly mythological serialized episode. But in general, we always try to have that right balance.

Kurtzman: Which is a challenge, because I think our collective instincts veer toward serialization.

Orci: From watching Lost, I learned characters. That characters are key. The smallest character moment can be a gigantic revelation, as a viewer.

Damon Lindelof [co-creator/executive producer, Lost]: From the outside looking in, though, as a fan, and someone who had nothing at all to do with the development of Fringe, I felt the pilot clearly signified both shows. And the show that was more interesting to me as a viewer was the mythology, because of Nina Sharp and the mysterious and elusive William Bell. There’s a moment in the pilot where Walter looks into Peter’s eye, and I’m like, “What was that all about?” The problem with mystery of the week shows is, at the end of the episodes it’s just like that [brushes his hands off] and that’s not compelling television to me.

Bryan Burk [co-producer, Alias; executive producer, Lost/Fringe/Star Trek]: [On Fringe] I found us, referencing Alias more often than Lost, in the sense that that was a serialized show, and then in the middle of the series we started dabbling with making them self-contained.

Abrams: Well, ABC insisted on it.

Burk: Yeah. And it was hard to go there. Particularly when it’s such a serialized show. So from the beginning, the idea was, is it possible, how can we do it—how do we service two different audiences, those who just pop in for the individual episodes and doing what we all love, which is the mythology.

Kurtzman [to Carlton Cuse]: You and Damon have both worked on shows that were standalone, procedural shows. Do you feel that that can be as satisfying, storytelling wise?

Carlton Cuse [creator, Nash Bridges; executive producer, Lost]: I think they’re apples and oranges. A lot of people like the satisfaction that comes with seeing that case resolved every week. There’s a certain artificiality to it, but there’s also kind of a wish-fulfillment quality—a dead body falls at the beginning, and by the end of the episode you know who did it. The puzzle’s solved. I think those shows—I did Nash Bridges for six years, and that show had a little bit of ongoing sort of character mythology, but it was just a case every week. And there’s a certain satisfaction in doing that. And obviously the audience can just drop in whenever they want to that kind of a show.

Lindelof: There’s a difference between serialization and mythology, though. Like Grey’s Anatomy is heavily serialized, in terms of the character relationships—who’s sleeping with who, who’s angry at who, who’s just been fired. And you have to watch every episode to understand the depth of it.

GQ: Once it was clear there was going to be some kind of mythology in Fringe, was there pressure from the network to bring in the payoffs more quickly than you might have in the past?

Kurtzman: Yeah. For sure, there was.

Orci: Yes and no. I think they were confused about it.

Abrams: They don’t want mythology, but when you have a [recurring, mysterious] character like The Observer, they want to make a big deal about The Observer. They want it, and then they don’t want it, at the same time.

Kurtzman: I think the core story has to be the mystery of the week. It has to be set up in the teaser and resolved by the last act. But there are things like the Observer that don’t. And as we’ve been talking about, with all these shows, there’s also the deeper backstory of these characters, and that goes on forever and ever, and that’s the serialized element of the show.

UPDATE: TV Guide is now reporting NBC has won the bidding war for the new show.

JJ Abrams New Spy Drama Creates a Bidding War

A bidding war is raging over a drama spec script backed by J.J. Abrams.

ABC, CBS and NBC are in pursuit of the hot script by writer Josh Reims who first worked with Abrams on his WB series "Felicity."

The project, from Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV, centers on two spies working together who are also husband and wife.

The show, whose premise is somewhat reminiscent of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," sparked a bidding war the moment it hit the marketplace last week, with ABC, NBC and CBS jockeying up for the lead position.

According to sources, ABC and NBC now appear ahead in the negotiations to land the script.

The untitled project brings Abrams back into the spy arena that he mined with his ABC series "Alias."

Abrams, co-creator/executive producer of Fox’s sci-fi drama series “Fringe,” got a presentation order from Fox earlier this month for a half-hour project written by Mike Markowitz.

Source: THR

LOST's Michael Emerson Accepts Emmy for Best Supporting Actor!

Congratulations!!

LOST writer Carlton Cuse, JJ Abrams and wife Carrie Preston also pictured.

Not only does JJ want to direct an episode of LOST again, but he said that Damon Lindelof will help write Star Trek 2!

Could you come back to direct an episode of Lost?

Abrams: I'd love to direct another episode. It would be fun. You have to ask Damon, same thing.

Is there room in your schedule to do another show when you're already stretched so thin with movies?

Abrams: Well, sadly, I'm working on a couple things right now that will test your theory, but the fact is that I'm working with some people like Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman, who are running Fringe, though it's not quite the same thing as when I did Lost with Damon Lindelof. He really has run that show since the first year.

My involvement with Fringe, though, much more so than Lost, is, generally speaking, becoming less and less critical, because Jeff and Joel are there every day, and they're really running. So when I wrote the first episode and am involved in this season, they're doing an amazing job, which helps free up time to work on other things. I am incredibly ADD in that way.

So Orci and Kurtzman have physically started writing?

Abrams: No, but we've started talking story, and Damon's writing it with them.

Read More Details in the Movies Section Here:

http://spoilertv-movies.blogspot.com/2009/09/jj-abrams-discusses-star-trek-2-and.html

Source: SciFi Wire

JJ Abrams Rocks the Keyboard During MTV Movie Awards

This is a great clip from the MTV Movie Awards with Andy Samberg, Will Ferrell, and JJ Abrams doing a little musical short about movie explosions.

Thanks to Linton for the heads up.

Here is this week's Secrets of LOST from the Jimmey Kimmel Show. Another great clip!!

Jimmy Kimmel's Secrets of LOST 11 - With Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and JJ Abrams

Hey All,
LOST Stars Matthew Fox and Jorge Garcia were spotted along with Damon Lindelof and JJ Abrams at the premiere of Star Trek.

Below are several images and you can find these and more over at SpoillerTV's Celebrity Photos Page

Thanks to Flyer for the images!!

(Click to Enlarge)

Jimmy Kimmel's Secrets of LOST 10 - Featuring Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse and JJ Abrams!!

The Fine Brothers have released their most recent LOST parody and it is a Star Trek themed video in honor of JJ Abrams new movie.

Enjoy!!

Thanks to the Fine Brothers for the clip.

Hey All,
LOST Producers Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof and JJ Abrams all made EW's 25 Smartest in TV List:

15. MARC CHERRY; CARLTON CUSE AND DAMON LINDELOF

AGES 45; 49; 35

TITLES Exec producer, Desperate 
 Housewives; exec producers, Lost
SMART BECAUSE They manage TV phenoms better than anyone, a coveted skill in an era of audience erosion and fickle fandom. Cherry kept the creative bacon sizzling on Wisteria Lane with a five-year leap in time that gave audiences a new reason to tune in to the fifth season. Meanwhile, Team Darlton — who chose to end Lost in 2010 — restored the show's cool with a season that earned the series its first best-drama Emmy nom since season 1.

18. J.J. ABRAMS

AGE 42
TITLE Exec producer, Fringe
SMART BECAUSE Every network wants to be in the J.J. business — even after the so-so start for Fox's Fringe, which has been finding its voice and growing 
due to his hands-on nurturing. (Getting paired with American Idol in 2009 should lead to an even bigger audience boost.) Movies beckon (Star Trek = drool), but the lucrative deal he signed with Warner Bros. in 2006 will keep Abrams committed to the small screen at least through 2012.

Source: EW

Hey All,
There was a very nice LOST easter egg in JJ Abrams new show Fringe!!

Check out the screencap of the Oceanic Air ticket!

BTW if you watch Fringe this was one of the better episodes and well hints heavily at alternate crossing dimensions.

(Click to Enlarge)

Hey Losties,
For those of you that do not know still, but happen to be free AND in the LA area, if you head over to Hollywood right now you will have an opportunity to meet many of the LOST Producers including JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. The last official public appearance for Darlton was at Comic Con and they brought along Matthew Fox for a surprise visit.

What are they in Hollywood for!? They will be appearing at Meltdown Comics for an exclusive signing event for Mediacom Toys, BE@RBRICK and KUBRICK collections.

WTF are those!? They are lego-looking figures and there is a set that is exclusive for LOST as well.

Unfortunately I have to work and can not make it today, but the signing starts at 4PM and if I know LOST fans they are already in line waiting.

If you make it over there, have fun and please send us some pics or details of your experience and we will get it posted!!!

There will be several other members of the LOST producing/writing team that will appear, here is an image of what the toys look like and the full details of the event:

MEDICOM TOY JAPAN AND DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS PREMIERE “LOST” BE@RBRICK AND KUBRICK LINE

Signing Event Will Feature Executive Producers of “Lost” In Los Angeles on November 19

WHAT
Medicom Toy Japan and Diamond Comic Distributors unite with Meltdown Comics to host the world premiere and signing event of the BE@RBRICK and KUBRICK collections based on the hit television series “Lost,” in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Fans will have the opportunity to buy one event exclusive BE@RBRICK per person, and have it signed by the show’s creators and executive producers. Series-one Lost KUBRICKS will be sold (no limit) until Meltdown sells out.

Also showcased at the event, will be a limited edition (three made in the world) 1000% BE@RBRICK which includes signatures from the cast and producers of “Lost.” This 1000% BE@RBRICK will be auctioned off at a later date with proceeds going to The Children's Defense Fund.

Exclusive Lost art by executive producer Jack Bender will also be featured.

WHO
Scheduled to appear at the event are “Lost” co-creators and executive producers J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, and executive producers Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz and Carlton Cuse. Also scheduled to attend are writers Elizabeth Sarnoff, Paul Zbyszewski, Melinda Hsu Taylor, Kyle Pennington, and Brian K. Vaughan.

WHEN
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7:00 – 11:00 p.m./PST
Line for purchase and signing will start at 4:00p.m./PST
Only one Lost/Meltdown event BE@RBRICK per person may be purchased and signed, no exceptions.

WHERE
Meltdown Comics & Collectibles
7522 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046 www.meltcomics.com

Hey All,
In case you did not know, LOST Creator JJ Abrams, is the man behind the new Star Trek reboot.

This week several new promotional pictures were released for the movie and one of them was of a spaceship called the USS Kelvin. As LOST fans, we know Kelvin is the name of the guy that was in the Swan Hatch before Desmond.

I know that most of the names on the show have some meaning, but I never knew the meaning of Kelvin to JJ until the report today confirming that he uses the name Kelvin in all of his projects in honor of his grandfather who was very influential to his childhood.

Well here are some more uses of Kelvin in other projects and if you want to see more promo pics or read more about the movie, we have a ton of information at SpoilerTV Movies Page at the following link:

More Star Trek Details

They did offer up the origin of the U.S.S. Kelvin's name. Director J.J. Abrams' maternal grandfather was named Henry Kelvin. He owned an electronics company and was very influential to Abrams as a boy. So in honor of him, Abrams has dropped the name "Kelvin" into every project he's worked on. In "Mission: Impossible III," a letter is addressed to "H. Kelvin," and on the first episode of the new series "Fringe" a character worked on a project called "Kelvin Genetics."

Source: Yahoo

During the Fringe premiere party, EW's Ausiello spoke with JJ Abrams about returning to direct the final episode of LOST and he said that he would want Jack Bender to direct the finale if was still part of the show, but would love to direct an episode before the show ends.

There is some Alias movie talk and of course details about Fringe.

NOTE: There is a very minor spoiler at the end of the clip when Lance Reddick who plays Abaddon on LOST and is a part of Fringe's cast, confirmed he will still appear on LOST.

Thanks to our good friend Anna for grabbing these pics of JJ Abrams at the Fringe Panel this weekend at Comic Con 08.

You can see more pics here: FourToedFoot.com

(Click to Enlarge)

LOST Creator spoke out about LOST and why they decided on a a end for the show. He continued confirming that current plan for Fringe is a 5 year plan, but it depends on how things happen.

Here is the video thanks to DarkUFO

At the Television Critics' Association press tour, J.J. Abrams talks about the importance of knowing when to lay a series to rest.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Hey All,
As most of you know by now we have a nice group of Losties that will be hanging out and blogging live from all the events of the Con including the main LOST panel and more!!

You can email me if you want to join our team and help out or just to hang out and fun.

Each member meeting with us at CC will be getting an exclusive SDCC08 Dharma Logo shirt as pictured.

NOTE: Depending on demand we will offer these shirts for sale after we return from Comic Con.

With the official schedule of SDCC08 released we have finally gotten a confirmation of the panels and it is as follows:

Friday
1:45-2:45 Entertainment Weekly’s The Visionaries: Showrunners— Carlton Cuse (Lost), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Josh Schwartz (Chuck, Gossip Girl), Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies), and Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) are the television producers who are changing the face of television with deeply immersive entertainments marked by distinctive, cutting edge storytelling. They have also been at the forefront of bringing "genre programming" or "cult TV" to the mainstream. Prepare for a candid conversation about creative integrity in a commercial medium and the future of broadcast TV in an increasingly digital world. Spoiler Alert! Upcoming plot developments may be teased. Moderated by Entertainment Weekly senior writer Jeff Jensen. Room 6CDEF

Saturday
12:00-1:00 Lost— If the most recent season finale was any indication of things to come, you will not want to miss this panel. Co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse will discuss season 4 of Lost, leading up to the season finale. They will answer your questions and maybe even offer up some surprises of their own. Hall H

4:00-5:00 Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack— Jay Glatfelter and Jack Glatfelter have one of the oldest and biggest podcasts dedicated to ABC'S Lost with The Lost Podcast. Learn about the huge, dedicated online community for TV's most mind twisting drama. Join Jay and Jack for this special interview and Q&A session! Room 24A

Also noteworthy JJ Abrams appearing at the Fringe Panel:

4:45-5:45 Fringe Q&A and Trailer Screening— J. J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman—the team behind Mission: Impossible 3, Alias, and the upcoming Star Trek feature—join fellow Fringe executive producers Bryan Burk (Cloverfield) and Jeff Pinkner (Lost), as well as stars Anna Torv (The Pacific), Josh Jackson (Shutter), and John Noble (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), for an exclusive Q&A about one of the most anticipated new television series of the fall season, a drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. The session will kick off with the screening of a trailer for the series. Television Week deputy editor and columnist Joe Adalian moderates. From Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, Fringe premieres September 9 and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 PM on FOX. Ballroom 20