The Journey of 'Lost'
"Basically, 'Lost' is one of those things," says executive producer Carlton Cuse, "where you have to appreciate the journey and try not to worry about the endpoint. We're not in control of the endpoint."
The Wednesday-night ABC megahit about the survivors of the crash of a Sydney-to-Los Angeles airliner on a deserted island -- which turned out to be not so deserted after all -- returns on Wednesday, Jan. 11, with the first new season-two episode in a while.
According to ABC, in "The 23rd Psalm," tail-section strongman Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) quizzes recovering addict Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) about his heroin-stuffed Virgin Mary statue; upon discovering Charlie's secret, Claire (Emilie de Ravin) loses faith in him; and Jack (Matthew Fox) looks on as Kate (Evangeline Lilly) gives Sawyer (Josh Holloway) a haircut.
As hinted at by the guest-star list, the episode, written by Cuse and series co-creator Damon Lindelof, appears to include a flashback relating to Eko's Nigerian past.
But viewers probably shouldn't get their hopes up that it will provide a complete explanation for any one of the show's myriad mysteries.
As Lindelof points out, "When have we given you a definitive answer to anything?"
Serialized television is a curious thing. The writers control where a story begins, but networks usually say when it ends. That's especially true with a show that's a hit, whether it's "The X-Files" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "Lost." Networks want hit shows to stay on as long as possible, even when the original story arcs should have long since come to natural conclusions.
"The reality is," Lindelof says, "that Carlton, myself, J.J. [co-creator J.J. Abrams], the creative brains behind the 'Lost' universe, we could all band together and say, 'We're ending the show after three seasons because that's the arc. They get off the island, and we reveal all the things we want to reveal.'
"And the network would say, 'No, you won't.' They will hire somebody and do 'Lost,' with or without you."
Beyond the network, real-life events can affect storytelling. On Dec. 1, two cast members who play recently introduced tail-section characters were arrested 15 minutes apart on charges of drunken driving in Hawaii, where the show is filmed.
According to published reports, the attorney for Cynthia Watros, who plays psychologist Libby, requested and was granted a continuance of the arraignment to Jan. 12, when she is expected to plead guilty.
Michelle Rodriguez, who plays tough LAPD officer Ana-Lucia, has had several brushes with the law, and is on probation for previous traffic offenses in Los Angeles. She pled not guilty to the Hawaii charges, and trial is set for March 30. Later this month, Los Angeles prosecutors are also expected to ask the court to schedule a probation-violation hearing.
Asked if producers have a contingency plan should Rodriguez fail to prevail in court, Cuse says, "We're just going to see how things play out, and we'll deal with it accordingly. She's a really good part of the show. We really value her and her character and hope things work out in her favor."
Apparently, Libby will come to the fore in future episodes.
"She's a little bit of a stealth surprise that we have cooking on the island," Lindelof says. "That is going to be very cool, when the longer game reveals itself."
No doubt Libby's revelations will answer a few questions but also add to the ever-growing list of inexplicable things on the island, which includes unseen monsters, a polar bear, underground bunkers, a slave ship and a horse.
On the other hand, if you're a dedicated fan of J.J. Abrams' other ABC show, the spy drama "Alias" -- which has a plot so convoluted that explaining it could cause a cerebral hemorrhage -- you've long since learned not to sweat the small stuff.
"We suggest you do the same on 'Lost,'" Lindelof says. "That's between the lines here. If you're watching the show because you're waiting for the big answers to come, you have to understand that by the nature of what it is -- it's not a movie, it's not a series of movies, it's not a trilogy, it's not a miniseries -- it's going to be on the air for as long as ABC wants to keep it on the air.
"How can you ever possibly think that 'Lost' will end in a satisfying way? Carlton and I can almost guarantee you that it will not."
In the meantime, the producers strive for a weekly thrill ride that won't disappoint. So far, they've succeeded, since "Lost" is the first "genre" series (a catch-all showbiz term for science fiction, fantasy and horror) to capture a mass audience since "The X-Files."
"Lost" also has perhaps the most diverse cast on television in terms of race, ethnicity and cultural background.
But, says Lindelof, there's more to it than that.
"It's essentially a cult show in its design and its genre, but what makes it accessible to a wider audience is that there is a character on the show who is like you, even if that character is Jin.
"It doesn't mean that you're Korean, but you're in a marriage where your wife doesn't understand you. You are working your ass off for her father, and she doesn't appreciate your contribution.
"Or you were in the army, and you identify with Sayid, he has a very soldier-like mentality. Or you are a father who doesn't have the kind of relationship with your kid that you would want to have, then you're Michael.
"You are searching for some sense of spirituality in your life, and you're Locke, or you're pregnant and scared to be pregnant ... there is a very wide range of entryways into the show in terms of characters you can identify with."
"That's why we found a mass audience," Cuse says, "because if it was just a genre show, if there wasn't the genius of Damon and J.J.'s flashback invention, it would be a much more limited-audience show. That is the secret of 'Lost.'"
Says Lindelof, "Don't tell."
Jim Jarmusch does it his way
Cooler-than-cool New York filmmaker Jim Jarmusch is the last guy in the world who wants to watch a Jim Jarmusch film, including his Bill Murray opus Broken Flowers.
"Whenever my films are done, I never see them again," Jarmusch says. "I haven't seen Stranger Than Paradise (his 1984 feature film debut) since 1984. I made them. What am I going to learn? Why do I want to see them again?"
Jarmusch, despite his reputation as a maverick intellectual, also claims he does not have a clue what his films mean, including the enigmatic reverie that is Broken Flowers.
But he does want you to see and analyse his work, first in theatres and now on DVD. Broken Flowers was released this week in an enhanced widescreen version with behind-the-scenes insights into his unique and laconic style.
"If you don't plug it in, the juice isn't running," Jarmusch says of having an audience. "So, if you don't see the film I made, what's the point of my film? And what you see in it is more valuable than what I see in it, because I can't even see it."
Broken Flowers is the story of a faded Don Juan-like American named Don Johnston -- Murray's character. When the movie starts, his latest girlfriend is leaving for good when a pink, unsigned letter arrives announcing that our lothario has a 19-year-old son he never knew he had. The film is a chronicle of the man's journey back through his life, and many previous lovers, looking for clues about the possible progeny. Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton all play former loves in his life.
Jarmusch, riffing on an idea that had been presented to him years earlier, wrote the screenplay specifically for Murray, after the actor had already agreed to film a different script that Jarmusch impulsively decided to abandon.
Now Jarmusch is perplexed, although he likes Broken Flowers. "There are two things about this film that I find contradictory (in relation) to myself. One is that I detest looking back. It's not my thing. So that's a contradiction.
"And the other one is that, in all my films thus far, I've started with characters who, however flawed they are, I have a love for. In this one -- and I was aware of this -- in the beginning I don't care about Don Johnston. I don't want to hang out with him. I'm not connected to him. So the trick for me with this movie is that by the end I want to feel for him. That's why I wrote it for Bill, because Bill can pull it off. I don't know if you can do this with any other actor."
Murray is still riding a career revival that culminated in his Oscar nomination for Lost In Translation. It has been suggested, Jarmusch says, that he has gone Hollywood by trying to exploit Murray's renewed fame. "I want to pull a gun out," Jarmusch says of his reflex reaction. "So what are you saying? Did I do something wrong? That's not my thing. I'm not trying to make commercial films."
What he is trying to do, he says, is simple: "I just want to create a world on a screen that people can enter and follow and bring whatever they bring to it. I don't want the film to tell you what you're supposed to feel."
Brooks on a search for comedy
NEW YORK (AP) - Albert Brooks says he wasn't looking to bring world peace, he was doing just what his new film's title said: Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.
At its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival, Brooks said he was concerned Abdullah bin Zaid al-Nahayan, the minister of information of the United Arab Emirates, would lead the audience out of the theatre.
Instead, "they went crazy. I thought, I passed the test, it's OK. The sheik is laughing; he's talking to the guy next to him in Arabic and pointing at the screen. And no one walked out," Brooks told The New York Times for Sunday editions.
In the film, Brooks is assigned a high-level government mission: travel to India and Pakistan, where he's to write a report on what makes Muslims laugh.
Brooks said he chose India and Pakistan because of the intense conflict between the countries.
"What's more important is that you're elevating this into the green zone, where you can make fun," he said. "And now it takes its place alongside everything else you can make fun of - politics or Jews or bad food or anything. If that happens, then that's really a healthy sign. That actually is something."
Horror Fans Welcome 'Hostel'
LOS ANGELES - The weekend box office was sheer torture as the bloody "Hostel," a tale of buddies who stumble into a den of violent depravity, debuted at No. 1 with $20.1 million.
Lionsgate's "Hostel" bumped off the previous weekend's No. 1 film, Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which came in second with $15.4 million to lift its domestic total to $247.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Universal's "King Kong" was third with $12.5 million, raising its domestic total to $192.5 million.
The weekend's only other new wide release, 20th Century Fox's "Grandma's Boy," flopped with just $2.9 million. The comedy from Adam Sandler's production company stars Allen Covert as a video-game tester forced to move in with his grandmother.
After a slump that saw movie attendance fall 7 percent in 2005, Hollywood was off to a good start this year. The top 12 movies grossed $106.7 million, up 9 percent from the same weekend a year ago.
"Hostel" follows two Americans ( Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson) whose European pleasure jaunt turns nightmarish when they end up captives in a chamber of torture after a brothel visit.
"The track record of horror films tells you maybe Hollywood should just release horror movies to be successful. I can't think of a more consistently performing genre at the box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Though it was approaching the $200 million mark domestically, "King Kong" continued to perform below industry expectations. Hollywood had pegged the epic remake from "The Lord of the Rings" mastermind Peter Jackson as a potential billion-dollar smash worldwide.
Still, "King Kong" was climbing steadily internationally, its worldwide total hitting $464.5 million. "King Kong" is expected to top out in the $600 million range worldwide.
Expanding to more theaters in anticipation of Academy Awards season, Focus Features' acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain" finished at No. 9 with $5.75 million, raising its total to $22.5 million.
Playing in 484 theaters, up about 200 from the previous weekend, "Brokeback Mountain" averaged a healthy $11,881 a cinema, compared to $9,157 in 2,195 theaters for "Hostel."
"Brokeback Mountain" seems to be dashing speculation that its subject matter — a homosexual romance between two old sheepherding pals — would turn off audiences outside of urban markets.
"We're very squarely in middle America, all the way to Duluth, Minn., Portland, Maine, El Paso, Tulsa, Wichita. We're in the heartland," said Jack Foley, head of distribution for Focus Features. "I think that's no longer the real issue. The real issue is how much the film is being seen by people all over the country."
"Brokeback Mountain" star Heath Ledger had a second film expanding to wider release, Disney's "Casanova," in which he plays the legendary womanizer. "Casanova" went into 1,004 theaters, up from 37, and took in $4 million for an average of $3,998 a cinema.
Also doing well as it expanded to wider release was DreamWorks' "Match Point," Woody Allen's tale of infidelity that stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johannson and Emily Mortimer.
"Match Point" widened to 304 theaters, up from eight the previous weekend, and took in $2.8 million for an average of $9,243 a cinema.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Hostel," $20.1 million.
2. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," $15.4 million.
3. "King Kong," $12.5 million.
4. "Fun With Dick and Jane," $12.2 million.
5. "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," $8.3 million.
6. "Munich," $7.5 million.
7. "Memoirs of a Geisha," $6 million.
8. "Rumor Has It," $5.9 million
9. "Brokeback Mountain," $5.75 million.
10. "The Family Stone," $4.6 million.
'Capote' is critics' pick for best film
NEW YORK (AP) - Capote, which chronicles the years Truman Capote spent researching and writing the groundbreaking non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, was named best picture of 2005 after a lengthy vote by the National Society of Film Critics.
It took six ballots for 45 U.S. critics to come to the best picture decision Saturday at a Manhattan restaurant, according to Liz Weis, the society's executive director.
The mafia story A History of Violence earned second place in the best picture vote, and 2046, the story of a former newspaper editor's exploits in a hotel room, ranked third.
Capote star Philip Seymour Hoffman was voted best actor for his transformation into the author who became obsessed with the 1959 murder of a farm family in Kansas.
Second place in the best actor category went to Jeff Daniels, who played a father of two boys in the divorce story The Squid and the Whale. Heath Ledger, a cowboy conflicted about his feelings for another man in Brokeback Mountain, was a close third.
Reese Witherspoon was selected as best actress for her performance as June Carter Cash in the biopic Walk the Line. Keira Knightley won second place in that category for Pride and Prejudice; Vera Farmiga (Down to the Bone) and Kate Dollenmayer (Funny Ha Ha) shared third.
A History of Violence also took honours for best director, which went to Canadian David Cronenberg, and best supporting actor, awarded to Ed Harris for his portrayal of gangster Carl Fogarty. Best screenplay went to Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale.
Amy Adams was voted best supporting actress for her performance in Junebug. Best nonfiction film went to Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's documentary about Timothy Treadwell, who lived among bears in Alaska for a dozen years before being fatally mauled.
German director Fatih Akin's Gegen die Wand (Head On), about second generation Turks living in Germany, won best foreign language picture, and 2046 took top honours for cinematography.
Utah Theater Cancels 'Brokeback Mountain'
SALT LAKE CITY - A movie theater owned by Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller abruptly changed its screening plans and decided not to show the film "Brokeback Mountain." The film, an R-rated Western gay romance story, was supposed to open Friday at the Megaplex at Jordan Commons in Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Instead it was pulled from the schedule.
A message posted at the ticket window read: "There has been a change in booking and we will not be showing 'Brokeback Mountain.' We apologize for any inconvenience."
Cal Gunderson, manager of the Jordan Commons Megaplex, declined to comment.
The film, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, is about two cowboys who discover feelings for one another. The two eventually marry women but rekindle their relationship over the years.
The movie's distributor, Focus Features, said that hours before opening, the theater management "reneged on their licensing agreement," and refused to open the film.
Gayle Ruzicka, president of the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said not showing the film set an example for the people of Utah.
"I just think (pulling the show) tells the young people especially that maybe there is something wrong with this show," she said.
Mike Thompson, executive director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah, called it disappointing.
"It's just a shame that such a beautiful and award-winning film with so much buzz about it is not being made available to a broad Utah audience because of personal bias," he said.