Ausiello Q&A

Thanks to Hum Hum for the info.

Question: Curse you, Michael Ausiello! I had to wait a whole week to get my AA fix regarding the pants-crapping greatness of the season finale of Lost. Please, please reveal what you know about Season 4!— Antonio Lopez
Ausiello: As anyone with an Ausiello Report bookmark can tell you, I had a smorgasbord of Lost goodies just waiting for you the moment the end credits started to roll on last Wednesday's pants-crapping finale. (Truth be told, I had the story up a few seconds before the end credits, but that's our little secret, K?) Of course, being the multiplatform slut that I am, I saved a few tasty morsels from my exclusive interview with Carlton Cuse for this week's AA — including a bit of scoop about the return of two major characters in '08. "The four-toed statue is something we will get to next season," Cuse revealed. "Sometimes we're surprised by the things people get fixated on. We tried to answer a fair number of questions this year, but that's one we just didn't get to." Benry's barely visible boss man will also be back, he confirms. "There will definitely be a lot more of Jacob in Season 4."

Question: OK, after the Lost finale, I am officially Darlton's vincent.— Emily Dunbar
Ausiello: Haven't we been over this? I'm their vincent; you're their hussy. Get it straight.

Question: You are my hero for not spoiling Lost's "rattlesnake in the mailbox."— Kenny
Ausiello: Yeah, well, some would say the damage had already been done. As many of you know, a very detailed synopsis of Lost's season finale — rattlesnake included — was leaked onto a certain spoilery website about two weeks ago. And like some kind of evil cyber-terrorist plot, the link quickly found its way onto Lost message boards far and wide. Luckily, many of you headed my warning to steer clear of all rattlesnake-related spoilers. I only wish I had had such restraint. As awesome as the finale was, it would've been that much cooler had I not known that Jack was flashing forward. (Unlike many of you, I never would've picked up on the Razr phone. I'm just not that bright.)

Question: Does ABC know how the rattlesnake leaked?— Justin
Ausiello: Not yet, but it sounds like an investigation is under way. "Disney security is trying to establish a full and complete list of all of the people through whose hands the show passed," said Cuse, who admits "it's incredibly frustrating" that the secret got out, even if the number of people who had the twist spoiled is miniscule when compared to Lost's overall viewership. "We did everything we felt we could do. There were only four copies of the rattlesnake that were distributed. Damon had a copy, I had a copy, Jack Bender the director had a copy, and Jean Higgins the producer had a copy. We even sent someone to [ABC president] Steve McPhersen's office with the pages. He read them and then they were taken away and returned to our office. I think it got out during the post-[production] process, because that's when it broke [on the Web]. The finale is like a feature film, but as opposed to having six or eight months to do the post on it, we do it in about three weeks. As a result, multiple copies of the show are circulating to various people who do everything from sound design to color timing to visual effects. So it's kind of out there, and it's hard to say where it got spoiled from. Unfortunately, it might not even be somebody who works on the show. It could be somebody who plucked it off the desk of somebody who was somehow involved in the show." Cuse said he was heartened by the "backlash among the loyal fans of the show against these spoiler posters. I think once people realized what was being spoiled, they were very upset. That's why we work really hard to try to keep the show from getting spoiled, because I think it really does diminish your ability to enjoy having the revelations land on you while you're watching it. It's analogous to going to see Sixth Sense and having somebody tell you what the twist is at the end of the movie."

Question: Elizabeth Mitchell's performance as cold and creepy Juliet on Lost this year was smurftastic. What do you think her chances are at the Emmys?— Ryan L.
Ausiello: Well, she crossed the first hurdle: She made it onto our Dream Emmy Ballot!

Question: The Lost season finale was sooooo great! Here's my question: In the last scene, Kate talks about somebody who's waiting for her at home. Who is he?— Claire B.
Ausiello: My guess? It's someone we haven't met yet.

Question: People keep saying that Lost's apparent change in format is due to the fact that the show will no longer film in Hawaii. Have you heard anything about this?— Cory Skelton
Ausiello: Not true.

Source: Ausiello