Lost Finale Eligible for Emmy

(from the Associated Press)

An Emmy rules exemption will give the talent behind Sunday's extended-length "Lost" finale the chance to compete for awards.

The TV academy's board of governors voted Wednesday night to make the upcoming "Lost" finale eligible for acting, directing and other individual honors despite the episode's two-and-a-half-hour length.

The academy's senior vice president for awards, John Leverence, says the ABC drama's producers had notified the academy that the show would exceed the running time allowed under Emmy rules.

The "Lost" finale airs 9 p.m. EDT Sunday on ABC.

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Lost: Final Flight

The Lost cast photograph titled “Final Flight” has been released wide today. This image was originally made available for purchase as a 300 limited-edition print run, numbered and signed by ABC chief photographer Bob D’Amico. The limited edition prints are sold out, however, previous season cast prints are still available at www.officiallostphotos.com. The highly anticipated finale of Lost will air Sunday, May 23 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

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A Night of Lost

(from cnn.com)

ABC is seeking to make an all-night event out of the series finale of Lost on Sunday, May 23. TheWrap.com reports that prior to the two-hour episode that night at 9 p.m. ET, there will be a two-hour retrospective. Then later that night, one of the most famous Lost fanatics, Jimmy Kimmel, will do a special Jimmy Kimmel Live in honor of the show.

So, Lost fans will be able to get their fill of the show - and then some - on the final night with five full hours of programming.

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Q and A: Week of March 15

Q: I really loved “Avatar” and have been hearing talk of sequel(s). Please tell me this is true! — David G., via e-mail

A: Director James Cameron has hinted that the rumors are true. I spoke recently with CCH Pounder (pictured left; photo credit Geneva Morgan) — who plays Mo’at, the mother of Neytiri and the spiritual leader of Omaticaya clan of Pandora — and she also verified that the idea of further adventures on Pandora is definitely a great possibility. CCH explains: “I know that he (James Cameron) did semi-announce that he is going to make a sequel — that he is going to take a break, but he did have a story idea. I think perhaps it was always that this would be some sort of a trilogy story.


“I don’t think it would take as long, because we already have the world of Pandora created, and it all exists in the digital world. All you have to do is put the story and characters in it. I think, Suzy, his wife, would greatly appreciate a break, and his children would love to see him hang about a bit. He’s kind of a workaholic guy. It might be four years, and it might be next year (that he starts working on it).”

Q: I was really starting to get into the new Fox show “Past Life,” but I suddenly can’t find it on the schedule anymore. Has it been canceled, or is it merely on hiatus? — Charity E., via e-mail

A: After airing only three episodes, Fox has decided to pull the plugged on the struggling and poorly received supernatural crime thriller. It has been replaced by original episodes of “Kitchen Nightmares.”

Q: I am a huge fan of “American Idol,” and was wondering what one of my favorite past winners, Taylor Hicks, is doing now? — Margie F., Hartford, Conn.

A: The Season Five winner of “American Idol” is currently touring the country in “Grease,” playing the role of Teen Angel. He also recently released his first concert DVD called “Whomp at the Warfield,” which is sure to delight members of his “Soul Patrol.” When I caught up with Taylor recently, he told me how much he is enjoying trying his hand at acting: “(Being in “Grease”) has been great. It’s allowed me to get into acting and understand role-playing, and it’s just a great starting point for me in the acting field.”

Q: Is it true that someone is making a film about Facebook? How is it possible to turn that into a film? — Frank J., via e-mail

A: Production has begun on “The Social Network,” which stars Rashida Jones, Justin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg, and is directed by David Fincher (“Fight Club,” “Se7en,” “Panic Room” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”). Shelby Young (“Days of Our Lives” and “Wild Child”) recently finished shooting her supporting role in the film. While she couldn’t tell me much about the movie or her role in it (they have all signed confidentiality agreements so the story doesn’t leak out), what she could tell me is that the movie is about the founders of the social-networking site Facebook. Like many of the film’s stars, Shelby admits, “I am such a huge fan of ‘Fight Club,’ so the chance to work with David Fincher, I just couldn’t pass that up.” Look for “The Social Network” in theaters come October.

Q: At the end of last season it was stated that “Friday Night Lights” was coming back this year. Has that changed? I haven’t been able to find anything about it. — Phillis M., via e-mail

A: Season Four of “FNL” is slated to premiere Friday, April 30, on NBC. Per an agreement with DirecTV, the fourth season already aired on The 101 Network from October 2009 through this past February, with NBC re-airing the season coming next month. If you want to be surprised by what happens this season, beware of online spoilers from those who already saw the episodes on The 101!

Q: For this final season of “Lost,” I am as confused as ever — and LOVING it! I also love one of the newer characters, Jacob. What can you tell me about the actor who plays him? I know I’ve seen him in other things. — Melanie C., Dayton, Ohio

A: Mark Pellegrino (pictured left; photo credit Eric Williams), 44, who has played Jacob on “Lost” since the end of the previous season, has been in a ton of movies, such as “The Big Lebowski,” “Mulholland Drive,” “Capote” and “National Treasure.” On the small screen, he is most known for playing the Devil on “Supernatural” and Paul Bennett on “Dexter.” I asked Mark when we chatted recently if it was intimidating for him to join such an established, phenomenon of a show so late in the series.

“Luckily I didn’t know it was such a huge phenomenon until I landed on the island and was told,” Pellegrino said. “When you audition, the character sides are not the character you are auditioning for, and the scenes are just made-up stuff to throw off all the people on the Internet who are so anxious to get the material. I had no idea what it meant until I got there and they told me I’m Jacob. And then it dawned on me what a big deal it was.”

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Interview: Mark Pellegrino — Jesus or Lucifer?

Many know him as Jacob from Lost or Lucifer from Supernatural. I know him as a really nice guy who was a joy to interview. I caught up with Mark Pellegrino (photo left, credit: ABC) a few weeks ago to discuss being on such an iconic television show, life in Hawaii and his plans for the future.

When you were cast as Jacob on Lost last year, had you been a fan of the show, or did you have to do some quick catching up?

I had to do some quick catching up, that’s for sure. I almost don’t own a TV. We have one here for watching movies and stuff, and my wife watches TV to relax, but I’m so busy I can’t usually watch unless I get cast in something and have to watch to do some research.

Because of the great secrecy, do you receive the entire script, or just the scenes you are in? How protective are they of that?

The scripts do come with a special tape on them – I don’t know what the tape means, it’s a kind of reflective tape – and it is delivered directly to the house. I do get the whole script for the episode, surprisingly enough, and I get it about a week in advance. And I’m surprised about that, because people are so hot after the material, you’d think they’d be even more cautious that somebody would steal it off the doorstep.

How is the cast to work with, and how do you like shooting in Hawaii?

Shooting in Hawaii is great. I don’t get to see the island too much unless I have some free time and I’ll bring my wife out there. Otherwise I am in my hotel room hunkered down, reading the script and working on that, and writing and catching up on movies and stuff. But it is really beautiful, and I’ve done a few of the touristy things.

The cast is just phenomenal – not only great actors, but they’re really good people. I’ve worked a lot with Jorge Garcia (giggles) and he’s a really funny guy, (giggles) and a really really good actor (giggles). I’m laughing at something, I don’t even know if I can say – just the way that we work with each other off-camera, he kind of laughs at me and has fun with me. And I’ve worked with Matt (Fox). He’s a really great guy, and so intense, as intense as his character onscreen. So is Nestor (Carbonell), who actually studied at the theater company that I teach at and studied there for a while. He’s a really great guy. It’s nice – it’s a nice group of people.

Were you intimidated to join a show that already had such a faithful following and was such a huge phenomenon? (photo left, credit: Eric Williams)

Luckily I didn’t know it was a huge phenomenon until I landed on the island and was told. There audition sides are not the character name, and the scenes are not the scenes you end up doing. It’s all made-up stuff to throw off all the bloggers and people on the Internet who are trying to get the material. Sounds crazy, but I had no idea what it meant until I got there.

That must be difficult for the casting team, because they have people auditioning for roles, but it’s not the material they’ll be doing, or even the character name.

You know, in a way I am glad they did it that way, because it’s such an iconic role, you don’t want to fall into traps. You could try to act the stature of the part, and it’s really so much more simple and down-to-earth. It’s a good thing to be Jesus the carpenter, as opposed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, the God-like figure. That’s hard to act – the carpenter’s better.

If you had Jacob’s God-like powers, how would you like to see the show end?

I hope it ends well, and I hope Jacob’s point of view about human nature is born out, that’s for sure, because I think it says something about us. I don’t know what that means, but I just hope it ends well, and that my point of view wins out. But I don’t know what that means in concrete fact; I don’t know what that means with respect to the characters.

Playing Jacob certainly is a change from playing your character on Supernatural, which happens to be Lucifer (photo left, credit: David Gray/The CW).

It is fun. In fact I leave on Monday to do some more Supernatural stuff, and I’m looking forward to that because we’re in the middle of the apocalypse. But playing Lucifer is fun; he’s a fun bag of tricks.

How did you make your Lucifer different from other Lucifers in past movies and TV shows?

I guess it’s just to enjoy the different Lucifers I’ve seen in past films and know that this Lucifer is written very differently than the other ones. This Lucifer is written as a very down-to-Earth, honest person. I think I have justice on my side, and that’s a very strong place to come from. I don’t have to lie, pretend, fool anybody, charm anybody – I just tell the truth. That’s pretty unconventional. I can’t think of too many Lucifers who’ve had to deal with those circumstances. They are usually big, iconic, charming, interesting ... although Viggo Mortensen was kind of an interesting – he played Lucifer in Prophecy, didn’t he? He was an interesting, down-to-earth kind of devil, in a way.

You’ve been on a lot of top-notch television shows, like Burn Notice, Dexter, Grey’s Anatomy. What have been some of your favorite experiences and why?

I was coming out of the make-up trailer of Grey’s Anatomy, and Sandra Oh was like, “Oh my God!” and grabs me by the face, kisses me on the face and hugs me. She’s apparently a big Dexter fan. It was a totally shocking experience to have that happen. So that was a really nice, enjoyable experience. 

Being on Dexter was funny too, because me and Michael C. Hall were rivals in the show for Julie Benz’s affection, and for the first episode or two, we didn’t really speak to each other. And I thought he didn’t like me, and he thought I didn’t like him. So we had this totally antagonistic type of relationship, and we never really dealt with it for the first couple of shows until one day by chance, we were at craft services eating something at the same time. And I forget who broke the ice, but one of us just started talking, and we realized that he thought I didn’t like him, I thought he didn’t like me, and we became friends. He’s a nice guy. And I hope he found out I’m nice too.

Is there a particular show you get recognized for more when fans approach you on the street?

Well lately it’s been Dexter, Lost and Supernatural, but I do get a lot of: “I think I know you from somewhere.” Like they think they met me at a party somewhere, but they really saw me maybe on Burn Notice or something. But I’ve been getting a lot of recognition for Lost now. I’ve been getting people walking up to me in the supermarket. Just the other day when they had the premiere, I was getting groceries for my family, and a girl asked, “Are you Jacob from Lost?” And I said, “Yes.” And she said, “We are having a dinner party for you tonight. What are you doing in Valencia?” And I told her I live here with my family, and she says: “Oh, OK, good. Well, all right. Bye!” It’s an interesting phenomenon, definitely.

You played lots of different and interesting characters in your career, but what would your dream role be?

A dream role would be Charlie in Flowers for Algernon, I’m kind of obsessed with it, but I think Will Smith is going to do it. But it’s been a project that I’ve loved for a long time. Actually there is a pilot that Frank Darabont is doing called Walking Dead that I am totally into, and I just went out for it. That would be kind of a dream role. I love the zombie/apocalypse thing and horror. This is from a series of graphic novels, and I like the main character a lot. It’s kind of like 28 Days Later. He wakes up in the hospital after being shot, and the apocalypse has happened and he has to find his way to safety. It’s kind of a cool scenario. And you can’t go wrong with Frank Darabont; I love his work.

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