Feeling The Love Already!

Our friend, Jo Garfein, tweeted this morning about a great article in USA Today in which a few cast members and writers reminisce about their time with LOST.  It’s the perfect start to our celebration of Thanks!

Here are a few highlights from the article:

USA TODAY: REFLECTIONS ON ‘LOST’ FROM THE STARS, FANS AND BLOGGERS
By Bill Keveney

THE ACTORS:

JORGE GARCIA

Age: 37

Relationship to Lost: Plays Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, one of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.

Path to Lost: He came to J.J. Abrams‘ attention thanks to an episode of HBO‘s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Co-creators Abrams and Damon Lindelof initially didn’t have a character for him, so he read Sawyer’s lines at his first audition, then they designed a part for him. “I remember testing and being the only Hurley there,” says Garcia.

Something special: “The first summer that we were shooting episodes before we aired, we knew we had something different. I mean, doing episodes where you find out Locke is in a wheelchair and episodes where it was half in Korean with subtitles, we kind of crossed our fingers and hoped the TV viewing audience would be interested in what we were doing.”

TERRY O’QUINN

Age: 57

Relationship to Lost: Plays Oceanic 815 survivor John Locke and, now, the smoke monster. He won an Emmy in 2007.

Before Lost: “People have this idea I was at death’s door and I wasn’t. But the wolf was at mine. Then again, he and I are old friends,” he says, referring to the uncertainties of the acting trade. Then he got a call from Abrams, for whom he had worked on Alias. “It was significant, if you believe in some sort of universal alignment.” He does.

High point: O’Quinn’s sentimental favorite episode is “Walkabout,” a first-season outing that revealed his character had been in a wheelchair before the plane crash. “It’s the one that sent me into another gear in excitement.”

THE CULTURE VULTURES

JO GARFEIN (blogger)

Age: 37

Relationship to Lost: Writes the blog Get Lost With JOpinionated (jopinionated.blogspot.com).

From fan to blogger: “I would theorize about (Lost) with friends in the so-called water-cooler situation. We would talk about it and e-mail each other. At the end of Season 2, my friends suggested I start compiling my theories in an e-mail and send them out, and I said, ‘Why don’t I just blog them?’ “

Lost influence on her: “It’s changed my life both personally and professionally. I’ve made some amazing friends through the online Lost community. I’ve met people through Facebook and Lost events, like Comic-Con. … Writing about Lost has opened career doors that otherwise may not have been open to me before,” including a writing gig with AOL TV.

LYNNETTE PORTER (author and professor)

Age: 53

Relationship to Lost: Co-author of Unlocking the Meaning of Lost and Lost’s Buried Treasures. Discusses series in literature classes at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Lost lessons: “When I look at Lost, I see connections of people and see that reflected in the real world with connections of fans and the way they talk to each other. It’s been really cathartic in a lot of ways for me to realize what other people are going through. … It’s relating to a human story and finding those elements that currently might resonate with something I’m going through in my life.”

Finale feelings: Mixed. “Part of me is unhappy it’s ending, but yet I also want to know how the story ends. It’s like with any good story, I get involved with the characters. I would be with those people another six years easily.” At the same time, “I’m also glad that the series is ending at a good point, that they could look ahead and go, ‘We’re going to make it go three years longer and that’s it.’ “

To read the entire article with all of the juicy details, click here: USA TODAY

And don’t forget that Friday is Thanks to Lost Day on Twitter! And remember send in your own messages, pics and video of thanks here anytime this week and next week for a permanent post by emailing us at welovelostblog (at) gmail.com!