Jorge Garcia Talks Lost at the Monte Carlo TV Fest
Did you know that people from Monaco are called Monegasque? That’s almost as good as people from Glasgow being Glaswegians and people from Manchester being Mancunians!
Ahem. Anyway, on with the show! The 48th Monte Carlo TV Fest is chock-full of small-screen stars ready to talk about our shows and young Bryan Reesman is on assignment for WWK to get the goods.
Now, want to know Jorge Garcia’s theory about the series finale of Lost, what it will take to get Hurley to go back to the Island and how the show as changed his life? Click in!
Is Hurley really unbalanced, or is the Island messing with him?
Unbalanced? I don’t know. I have no idea what exactly is going with the “I see dead people” stuff. There’s so much in playing that Hurley, and the craziness is the trickiest part. I’ve gone to directors and asked, “How is it that I get to the point to where I decide that blowing up the food is the best possible way to resolve this issue?” And all they can really say to me is, “Well, you’ve been in a mental institution.” “Great, that helps a lot.” But I just decide to believe that if [Hurley] feels that this is how this has to go, this is how it goes for him and just commit to it.”
How long do you think it will take the Oceanic Six to get back to the Island?
I think that’s what a lot of season five is going to be about, and hopefully we can do it in a season.
What will it take to convince Hurley to go back to the Island?
I don’t know yet. There’s this thing where Sayid comes to get Hurley [from Santa Rosa], and I’m curious what type of buddy adventures they might be going on.
Do you have a theory about how the show is going to end?
I feel like there’s going to be a fight for the Island. There are at least two competing powers who can lay claim to that Island, and I feel like there is going to be some kind of fight for it at the end.
Have you been subject to the normal Hollywood pressure to lose weight, or have they said they like you the way you are and that’s your character?
It hasn’t come up. Well, it’s come up with the audience apparently because that was a big question—why isn’t Hurley losing weight? I was like, wow, with all the questions you’re going to ask about the show, why are you focused on this? No one’s asking why aren’t the women getting hairy armpits?
How has the series changed your life?
There’s nothing like it. When I got off the plane here, someone took my picture as I walked to baggage claim, as I got my luggage, as I walked out of the airport, as I got into the car, and even [as I was] in the car, he shot pictures through the window. That’s a little much maybe. Every doorway I walk through? That’s a little much. I get that they are filling a demand, and if the public didn’t want that kind of stuff, there wouldn’t be a business for it. That’s just part of it.
Frenchy Fest Begins! Lee Pace Talks Daisies and Season Two
Bon jour, mes chers! Greetings from the 48th Monte Carlo Television Festival in beautiful Monaco on the Mediterranean!
OK, so I’m not really there, per se. (I’m actually at my office in the beautiful mid-Wilshire tar pit area of Los Angeles—sooo glamorous!) But I did send a lucky bastard of a correspondent, Bryan Reesman, all the way across the pond to get some face time with the TV stars attending this year’s fest in Monte Carlo, and I had a banana-Nutella crepe and an Orangina for lunch today, so that sorta counts, right?
All this week, some of our favorite TV peeps (Lee Pace, Jorge Garcia, Naveen Andrews and more) are soaking in the French sun while meeting up with international press, and Bryan graciously packed some of your recently asked questions into his carry-on bag, so check back all this week for TV star Q&A’s from the land of wine, cheese, l’amour and this week only…small-screen scoop!
Up first: the highly adorable Lee Pace! Click in for the Pushing Daisies news from Ned himself…
Will Ned and Chuck ever be able to touch? Is there a way out of that rule?
No, no way out! They can’t. Ned and Chuck will never touch. If I touch her, she’s dead.
Doesn’t that make you sad?
No. It’s good. It gives us something to play. It would be cheating if somehow we made it to the fifth season, and there’s a special trick, like I hold my ear while I touch her it becomes OK. We have to keep the integrity of it.
Do you feel that’s the heart of the show?
Yes, this show is very much about secrets and people who can’t connect with each other. Ned can’t touch anyone, Olive can’t connect with the man she loves, and the aunts can’t get out of their house. It’s about people who can’t connect and have lots and lots of secrets, and in the second season, which we start shooting on Monday, we really start digging up those secrets.
Will Ned and Chuck start seeing other people in season two?
Maybe. One of the big things that happens at the beginning of the second season is that Chuck moves out. So it’s not going to be easy anymore for Ned. It’s good. They need to see other people.
Is there a moral lesson we’re supposed to take from a show where the lovers don’t sleep together?
That wasn’t the intention. Some people in America have interpreted it like that, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. These are two people who love each other very much and choose to be together even though they’re never going to get drunk and sleep together. It’s not that show. I think it’s kind of sexy that they can’t touch. It’s the longest foreplay ever.
Lost's Charlie Has Been Found!
Okay, so that headline up there may be a wee bit misleading. We didn't actually find Lost's Charlie on the show or anything (we'll leave that to Hurley's delusions), but rather his much-loved alter ego, Dominic Monaghan.
Dominic is here in L.A. this week to unveil "Happy Accidents," a photography exhibit that showcases some very cool stills Dom himself has taken—some featuring a few friends you know, like Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia and Elijah Wood.
The best part? If you live in L.A., you can see the exhibit for yourself, anytime from this Friday through Mar. 27 at the Hamilton-Selway Fine Art gallery in West Hollywood. (Get more info and see an online gallery of Dom's work here.)
I'll also be taking all your questions to Dom tomorrow night, when I hit the gallery for an intimate little one-on-one tour of his work. Check back for a video clip later this week, so you can see what the exhibit is like, and what Dom is up to (hint: new movie gig—Wolverine).
Lost Redux: Oh My God, I Love This Show So Much
I F–KING LOVE THIS SHOW.
Sorry, it’s just, um, there are times when only the F-word in all caps can capture the exact intensity of a feeling, and tonight’s fourth-season premiere of Lost is such an occasion.
And all I know is I am so freaking happy this show is back in my living room.
If you haven't yet seen tonight's episode, for the love of all that is good and holy, please do not read this. But if you have, wheee! Cannonball in here, and come along for the ride…
It was awesome, was it not?
No disrespect to any other series, but tonight's return of Lost was so well written, produced, acted and directed it felt like a movie amid the underwhelming sea of Television 101 college projects that have been airing during the strike. (Yes, there are a few exceptions, but still.)
More important, after a third season that left quite a few fans feeling unsatisfied from time to time, producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse seemed to have sent us a clear message: The show you once loved and obsessed over and couldn’t stop thinking about is back. Boo. Freaking. Ya.
WHAT WE LEARNED
The heart is back. (God bless you, Jorge Garcia.)
The tears are back. (Hurley telling Claire about Charlie = heartbreaking.)
The soilers are back. (The glass breaks! Charlie reappears! Jack shoots Locke! Sort of!)
The Losties we love are back. (The whole gang reuniting at the front of the plane? Ahhh! Tell me that scene wasn’t made of pure gold.)
I’m, um, a little excited to have something to be excited about, in case you didn’t notice. Now for the juicy part…
Death Becomes Charlie: How freaking awesome was Dominic Monaghan's surprise return and that scene with Hurley? Charlie looked so hot and confident and cool—like a bona fide rock star!—that I had to text some love to Dom and tell him so. He shot back: "Sooo glad you liked the NEW Charlie." He said when he decided to return, he knew "it must be a revolutionized Charles." Smart man! The new Charlie rocks.
The Credits Were Suspicious: Not only did Charlie make a fantastic reappearance, but it was truly heartwarming to see Dominic Monaghan and Harold Perrineau listed alphabetically as full-fledged castmembers in the opening credits, was it not? Did you notice John Terry was listed as a guest star? Did you see him in the rocking chair in the disappearing cabin with a painting of a dog and somebody's eyeball?! Also, at risk of ruining minisode 13, I'll use that as a segue to "So It Begins," which is below, and which you must see if you haven't already. Then, of course, discuss the insane implications of this in the Comments. Just as soon as your head stops spinning, of course.
Father Benjamin: Regarding Ben's ongoing prophecies of death and destruction, I'm gonna hafta quote the sage Xander Harris: "Generally speaking, when scary things get scared? Not good."
Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry: Did anyone else find it distressing in the extreme that Hurley apologized for going with Locke lo those many years ago? Remember when the big questions were "Guys, where are we?" and "Who are we?" and "What is this place?" I think that the question of the season—now that we have flashforwards—is "What the hell happened on that damn island?"
Biggest Question of the Night: Lance Reddick's character Matthew Abbadon (anagrams include: What Bad Boat Men?) asked what I consider to be the question of the night: "Are they still alive?" If the Oceanic Six (Hurley, Jack, Kate and three players to be named later) are back in the world, where are the rest of our beloved Oceanic survivors? Not to mention your native Ben-Karl-Alex-Danielle-Juliet-Desmond types. Abbadon's question, not to mention Hurley believing that Jack wanted to find out if he "was gonna tell," not to mention Charlie telling Hurley that he's needed, would seem to suggest there are still survivors living on the island (or somewhere), and they are threated or endangered in some way. "Are they still alive?" leads directly to so many other questions. How'd the Six escape? Why were some left behind? Will the Six go back? Can the Six go back? We'll find out sometime over the 47 episodes left to go. Eee!
Anagrams Are So 2004: In biblical terms, Abbadon is a dude Wikipedia describes as "the destroying angel of the apocalypse." Bet that's not his Oceanic Airlines business card.
More Things to See and Do: Notice it was Action 8 News? There ain't no Channel 8 in L.A., but it sure is one of the numbers. Also, Big Mike had a crush on his partner Ana-Lucia—what the hell? And did anyone else think that Hurley puttering about in his red bathrobe at Santa Rosa looked a lot like a red-robed Hurley the Baptist from Charlie's "save the baby" dream in the season-two episode "Fire Water"? And last but not least, the Sharpie strikes again: According to Lostpedia, the diver in the mirror was Charlie, and this time his hand says "They need you."
WHAT LIES AHEAD
Next week is one of the unusual episodes that come around every so often, like "The Other 48 Days," in which we get a big download about a new element being introduced to the show. There will also be beatings, subterfuge and gunplay. We'll see a lot of the island, an important new number is added to the show's mythology, and there will be some new visitors to what Kate once called the Wonderful World of Not Knowing What the Hell Is Goin' On.
—Additional reporting by Jennifer Godwin