The MovieLine interview

Written by Kyle Buchanan

Since Lost’s third season, Nestor Carbonell has popped up several times on the show as the mysterious, ageless Richard Alpert, but when the sixth and final season premieres tonight, Carbonell will finally join the cast as a regular. It’s a sign that Richard (who seems inextricably linked to the island’s mythology) is going to prove pivotal in revealing many of Lost’s big secrets, but it’s also a tribute to the ingratiating slow burn Carbonell’s managed while revealing hardly a thing about Richard’s true nature.

Movieline spoke with the actor yesterday about what’s in store for Richard in season six, what we can expect from a Richard-centric episode, the tragic origin story of his much-discussed heavy eyelashes, and his willingness to play Khan in a potential Star Trek sequel.

Continue Reading

(continue reading…)

(continue reading…)

My Name is What

A Rose by any other name still falls for Bernard. And yet, there exists a real power in tying identity to one’s moniker. Many cultures elevate names to lofty or even spiritualistic levels. Lewis Spence writes, “in many Australian tribes a man gives up his name for ever at the time when he undergoes initiation into the ceremonies which confer upon him the rights of manhood…New names are thus probably given at initiation, and carefully concealed for fear of sorcery.” He also reveals that “many Egyptians received two names – the ‘great’ name and the ‘little’ name, or the ‘true’ name and the ‘good’ name; the latter was that made public, but the ‘true’ or ‘great’ name was most carefully concealed.” In short, names are quite important.

(continue reading…)

By Ben of WebCommoner.com

WARNING: This post contains LOST spoilers. If you have not watched the show through the final seconds of Season 5, it is strongly recommended that you turn back now.

“They’re coming.”That was the last line of special significance spoken by a character on LOST prior to Juliet’s screeching whimper as she pounded away at a stubborn nuclear reactor that Mr. Fix-It, Sayid, promised would detonate on impact. Apparently, all it took was some good old-fashioned elbow grease to make the thing act right, despite a compelling fall from grace. It’s a good thing she let go of Sawyer’s hand, and I guess those frustrated with the quadrilateral love connection can at least take comfort knowing it was a necessary plot twist that would pave a path towards their expulsion from 1977. I’ll certainly miss our cultish, psychedelic Dharma ladies and gents, but it’s time to move the story forward. Cue the fade to … white?

That’s right, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof can’t take credit for pioneering the technique, but let’s at least pay homage to their use of a mere transition to advance the series into its final season, at the same time reminding us not to forget other television success stories that made excellent use of the effect, including the Sopranos and Six Feet Under. So, what does it all mean? We know for a fact that the creators of LOST have been dangling the black and white theme in front of our faces since John Locke first introduced Walt to the game of backgammon.

(continue reading…)