Posted on: Sunday, August 29, 2004

Sunset crowd previews 'Lost'

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

There's no telling yet how "Lost" will fare in the ratings this fall, but the new ABC survivor drama has already accomplished something amazing: It rendered the Kalakaua-Kapahulu corner of Waikiki dead silent for 10 minutes on a Saturday night.

An overflow crowd of tourists and locals packed Queen's Surf last night for an advance screening of the two-hour pilot for the much-hyped new series by "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams, at the city's weekly Sunset on the Beach event.

And from the opening close-up of star Matthew Fox awakening in a bamboo forest through the chaotic scene as Fox's character Jack, a doctor, desperately tries to aid his fellow survivors amid the still whirring wreckage of their crashed passenger jet, thousands of rapt viewers watched in tense, eerie silence.

"It was pretty trippy," said Marvina White of St. Louis Heights. "I was holding my breath the whole time. The lady next to me, she didn't move the entire time."

Off to the side, executive producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk looked on approvingly as the crowd slowly came to life, applauding the names of favorite actors as they rolled onto the bottom of the screen.

Lindelof said he spotted the big Sunset on the Beach screen while filming the pilot back in March.

"To be able to be here six months later sharing this with the people of Hawai'i is just tremendous," Lindelof said. "I think people will really enjoy it."

The show's stars certainly did.

"This is the vacation part of the job for us," said Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin on the show. "Only in Hawai'i can you have something like this. I mean, just look at that sunset!"

His co-star Fox concurred, shielding his eyes from the setting sun as he surveyed the crowded beach a half-hour before the screening.

"This is just amazing," said Fox, who said he had been up until 3 a.m. that morning shooting a scene for a future episode.

Fox was part of a contingent of "Lost" actors who helped preview the show at a comic convention in San Diego earlier this month. "There was a really good reaction there, but obviously it was rather genre-specific," he said. "I can't wait to see people's reactions here. I think this show has so much to offer, it will attract a really large cross-section of viewers."

Joy and Gordon Toyama of Kaimuki parked a mile away and walked in to catch the show.

"I saw the crash site out at Mokule'ia," said Gordon Toyama, referring to the show's primary shooting location. "It was kind of neat."

Miles Cambra of Kapahulu said he was impressed with the pilot, but will wait until tonight's sneak preview of "Hawai'i," NBC's new cop drama, at Sunset on the Beach before making a commitment.

Both shows are scheduled to air at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays.

"May the best show win," he said.

Reach Michael Tsai at 535-2461 or mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.