Posted on: Friday, August 27, 2004
'Lost' showing on big Waikiki screen
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
So what if ABC's new survivor drama "Lost" has yet to broadcast a single episode? The show already has a large and invested following thanks to rough-cut bootlegs circulating on the Internet and an advance screening at a comic-book convention earlier this month.
The ranks of avant-garde "Lost" fans could swell following tomorrow's special screening at Sunset on the Beach. The big screen won't light up until after dark, but related events start at 6 p.m. at Queen's Surf.
The official broadcast premiere of the show won't happen until Sept. 22.
Tomorrow's event will include red-carpet arrivals of producers and cast members, and a screening of the full two-hour pilot, shot entirely on O'ahu. Only the first half of the pilot will be shown on the show's opening week on ABC.
ABC "I hope people here will claim this show as a Hawai'i show," Lilly said.
Bryan Burk ("Alias"), one of the show's three executive producers, says he's been amused at how much attention the show has generated already.
"We have a lot of loyal fans and the show hasn't even been on TV yet," he said. "I think when people get a chance to see what the show is about, they'll really be excited."
The show is about survivors of a plane crash, stranded on a mysterious desert island. The core cast includes Lilly, Matthew Fox ("Party of Five"), Jorge Garcia, Dominic Monaghan ("The Lord of the Rings"), Naveen Andrews ("The English Patient"), Daniel Dae Kim ("24"), Yunjin Kim, Josh Holloway, Harold Perrineau ("Oz"), Malcolm David Kelley ("Antwone Fisher"), Terry O'Quinn ("Alias"), Maggie Grace ("Oliver Beene"), and Ian Somerhalder ("Smallville").
A rough cut of the show, put together in nine days for preview by the network, has been circulating online for months.
Burk said tomorrow's more thoroughly edited preview will differ noticeably from the bootlegs, and the final edit submitted for broadcast may have some fine tuning.
In a fitting preview of the rest of the season, "Lost" shares its big advance-screening weekend with NBC's new cop drama "Hawaii," also filmed on O'ahu.
The first episode of "Hawaii" will be screened during Sunday's Sunset on the Beach affair. Events also begin at 6 p.m.
The two shows will compete in the same 8 p.m. Wednesday time slot, beginning Sept. 22, when "Lost" first appears on TV.
An unofficial Web site has been active for months, providing exhaustive updates on casting, production and other issues.
'Lost' special screening
"It's so exciting to be able to do this," said Evangeline Lilly, who plays "Kate" on the show. "Sometimes when you're filming you get wrapped up in what you're doing and don't think about what the end result is. This is a great opportunity to share what we've done with the people of Hawai'i.
"Lost" survivors of a plane crash regain consciousness on a remote island where they need all their inner strengths and resources to survive.
Survivors of the plane crash include friends, families, strangers and enemies who learn they must work together if they are to survive.
