Kevin Smith Raves About 'Lost'

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Kevin Smith Raves About 'Lost'
''Clerks'' filmmaker and ''Reaper'' executive producer tells the Doc why ''Lost'' rules. Plus: NBC tips its hat to the ABC hit, another Locke mystery, and a new Doc J theory to chew on

LOST'S SEASON FINALE Kate and Jack's off-Island moment threw fans a massive curveball
All AboutLost By Jeff Jensen Jeff Jensen
Jeff Jensen, an EW senior writer, has been despondent since the cancellation of ''Twin Peaks''It's October, and we're still around four months away from Lost's season premiere. By that time — Spoiler Alert! — the Boston Red Sox will have beaten the Colorado Rockies to win the World Series, the University of California will have edged out the LSU Tigers for the college football national championship, and my hometown Seattle Seahawks will have capped a Cinderella season by beating the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Yes, my awesome Desmond-esque precognitive powers extend to the world of sports, too. Feel free to bet massive amounts of money on my flashes of the future — they're (black) rock solid, I swear!

And yet, while Lost seems ages away, the show has not been forgotten in the culture. In fact, the ABC series seems to have a lot of fans over at...NBC. Did you see the season premiere of 30 Rock? Apparently, Jerry Seinfeld is a Lost fan. And did you catch the Lost shout out in Chuck? Seems the crash of Oceanic 815 is one of the secrets tucked away in the super-nerd's head. (I know readers John Allman and Amy Moravetz spotted the homage — thanks for the email, dudes!) My friend Doc Artz over at thetailsection.com spotted Kevin Tighe — the actor who played Locke's devilish dad Anthony Cooper — on Law & Order, playing a character named...Cooper. And if we really want to force the homage issue, might the boozy black beard sported by Heroes' high-flyer Nathan Petrelli be a nod to the mangy flash forward bush worn by death-wishing frequent-flyer Jack?

Someone else with Lost on the brain: filmmaker Kevin Smith. Several weeks ago, I had the chance to interview the Clerks director about his creative role in the delightful new comedy-drama Reaper on The CW. But we began our chat by talking Lost — yep, Silent Bob's a fan. Listen:

KEVIN SMITH: Let's give props to Lost. How brilliant was this season finale? I mean, it's cruel because they're not coming back until like January, but hats off for taking a foolproof formula and spinning it to make it even better. You're like, ''Oh my God, so now they're all flash-forwards?! How genius is that?'' ... We [had] all settled into ''Okay, this is what they do, they flashback and we learn a lot about the characters.'' But that whole episode, you're sitting there going, like, ''Wait a second — is that Jack's father's body [in the coffin]? But wasn't the body on the plane? Who was this person in the casket that he's going to see?'' And then the moment where Kate f---ing walks up from the car and you're like, ''Wait — they knew each other before?'' And then all of a sudden, it becomes f---ing clear, you're like, ''Oh my God, that s---'s insanely brilliant!'' You can only do that in TV, though. You can't do that in a feature. You know what I'm saying? Like, you get a moment like that in a feature like The Sixth Sense, where you're like, ''Holy s---, he's been dead the whole time!?'' But to do two seasons and then suddenly throw a massive curveball is just so dramatically satisfying, you just take your hats off to the writers in a big, bad way.

DOC J: The thing I really loved about the twist and that reveal is that I felt like it really reinvested your interest in the people, as opposed to mythological mystery questions like ''What the hell's the smoke monster?''

SMITH: Absolutely. Suddenly it's like, ''Who gives a f--- about the polar bear, who gives a f--- about the smoke monster, any of that — all the f---ing sci-fi weirdness just took a backseat to, like, ''Holy s---! Why did Jack and Kate stop being friends?''

DOC J: Right.

KS: I can't wait. I'm so f---ing geared up for February. I just can't f---ing wait.

NEXT: There's no off-season for Lost bloggers; plus, Doc J.'s Burning Question of the Month

Butt-Kicking Babes: New and Improved

Butt-Kicking Babes: New and Improved!
We heard you loud and clear, readers -- and we've updated our wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am countdown to include two important butt-kicking babes we'd forgotten

Mitch HaddadBy Marc Bernardin, Gary Susman
NO. 24: YVONNE STRAHOVSKI
as Sarah Walker in Chuck (2007)

WHO IS SHE? The CIA operative assigned to protect Chuck (Zachary Levi), the tech-store wage slave who accidentally downloaded all of the government's secrets into his brain.

SKILLS She's an expert in hand-to-hand combat, advanced driving, and hot-dog preparation. Also: really good at concealing weapons on her person...and using them.

BATTLE GEAR The latest in sleek spy-wear — or, if she's undercover, the latest in Weinerdelicious waitress uniforms.

MALE ADMIRER You remember that Chuck guy, right? She's pretending to be his girlfriend. He doesn't want her to pretend.

CAN'T GET ENOUGH? Then you're pretty much crap out of luck, because this is the Aussie actress' first work in the States. (Unless you wanna comb eBay for her Down Under TV series Headland and Sea Patrol. Didn't think so.)

Lost (Season 3) (2007)

By Jennifer Armstrong Jennifer Armstrong
Most of the time, Jennifer Armstrong is indulging her TiVo habit, watching and rewatching ''Alias,'' ''The O.C.,'' and ''Newlyweds.'' The rest of the time, she's writing about TV for EW
Lost was made for this new age of obsessive TV-on-DVD consumption — or, more accurately, Lost helped make it. Slo-mo replays, extras, and commentary are now essential components of any serious fan's to-do list, and no exception should be made even for Lost: Season 3, the spottiest batch of episodes to date.

The forces behind Lost know this so well, in fact, that they use this six-disc set to craft a bit of revisionist history — copping to their storytelling mistakes in funny, forthcoming commentary on a selection of pivotal episodes including the season opener, Ben's (Michael Emerson) backstory, and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer's (Josh Holloway) intercage hookup. ''The fact that we're gonna spend the next five-plus hours in the cages makes me realize why the audience got so angry at us,'' admits exec producer Damon Lindelof. He and exec producer Carlton Cuse, plus stars like Emerson, Holloway, and Lilly, explain themselves so entertainingly that their conversation — which drops precious trivia bits along the way — often outshines the episodes themselves. (The late, hated Nikki, played by Kiele Sanchez, was conceived as a writers'-room joke in season 1! Raiders of the Lost Ark's Karen Allen inspired the sequence in which the Others make Kate wear a girly dress!) It's worth the $59.99 price tag just to have Cuse and Emerson talk you through Ben and Locke's (Terry O'Quinn) confrontation with the invisible — and then, briefly, clearly there — Jacob, while keeping your finger on the pause button. By the time they're done, you can't help but like season 3 a little more, despite its faults.

The loads of other extras — including the genuinely fascinating segment documenting one arduous day behind the scenes, from sound, props, and wardrobe to location shoots in Hawaii — are also sure to placate grumblers. We could do without the toy and videogame promos and the mostly lame deleted scenes and bloopers, but no one can complain about not having enough. And it doesn't hurt to cap it all off with a second viewing of that mind-blowing, flash-forwarding, thank-you-for-finding-my-Lost-again finale that changed everything. It'll make you anticipate the show's February return —and curse the writers' strike that could cut the next season short. A-

Evangeline Lilly gets lost in New York

Evangeline Lilly gets lost in New York
24 May 2007
Evangeline Lilly, star of TV show Lost, has been spotted enjoying a shopping holiday in New York.

The stunning actress was enjoying a bit of retail therapy in Manhattan when she did a good impression of her TV character and actually got lost.

Evangeline had to stop and ask a local for directions and was soon on her way again, perusing the stores.

The 27-year-old stood out from the New York crowd as shoe wore a stylish red coat with white floral pattern over white shorts and top, along with red pumps and a headscarf.

As well as taking the time to go shopping, Evangeline was also in New York to promote the finale to the third series of Lost.

Appearing on a US chat show, the star said that viewers would be told 'the biggest secret' ever revealed in the programme.

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Joan's Milestone and Red Carpet Badokadonks

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Joan's Milestone and Red Carpet Badokadonks
Rivers pushes stars' buttons with her invasive interviewing style
By Hanh Nguyen
August 27, 2006
Melissa and Joan RiversLOS ANGELES -- It's a big night for television -- not because of the 58th annual Emmy awards, but because Joan Rivers will interview her 1,000th celebrity on the red carpet. Over on the TV Guide Channel, the forerunner of flubs and her offspring Melissa accost the stars and critique the couture in their signature abrasive fashion, while Ryan Seacrest and Guiliana DePandi hold court in a much more subdued style over on E!

For Joan's much ballyhooed event, TV Guide spares no expense to outfit the red carpet with a podium upon which a giant red button -- akin to the "Easy" button for a certain office supply store -- sits. During the course of the evening, Joan has her interviewees walk over game show-style and press the button, causing the big number display on the podium to number which interview they are.

Former "Will & Grace" star Debra Messing is the recipient of the dubious honor for the night. She's a good sport, actually looking pretty happy about the whole thing, even if it means wearing a large sash that reads, "The 1,000th" while Joan and Melissa squeal and drown out the trumpet fanfare. Of course, Messing also gets one of those oversized checks for $10,000 made out to One, the charity of her choice that fights AIDS and worldwide poverty. But the real honor is a gold Joan statuette to take home for voodoo purposes.

2006 Emmys Links
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As a consoloation prize, "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson receives a "The 1,000 and 1st" sash, which he promptly removes, and Rivers tells the 1,002nd interviewee, Rainn Wilson from "The Office," "you get nothing."

In general, the ladies on the red carpet are staying with classic designs and shades this evening. Joan and Melissa are more subdued in appearance, wearing black lace and cream, respectively, while many of the stars opt for a more romantic look -- with small flounces or lace accents on sheath dresses, hair in loose waves or casually swept up and large vintage jewelry.

While many women go for the traditional neutrals, "Grey's Anatomy" nominee Sandra Oh wears a periwinkle-ish gown with huge, heavily beaded chains around her neck and declares, "I look like a countess," while "The Closer's" Kyra Sedgewick wears a similar color with a full-skirted gown and hair down. "Lost's" Evangeline Lilly looks stunning -- almost like a younger Catherine Zeta-Jones -- in a deep purple strapless gown with her hair down, while Cheryl Hines is in a royal purple gown with a jewel-encrusted back.

Other trends include red materinity gowns worn by Heidi Klum and "Scrubs" actress Christa Miller, and tie-less, open-necked shirts offering a peek of chest hair for "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell and "Survivor" host Jeff Probst.

While this year has no obvious fashion faux pas, Joan Rivers always has some insightful comment to offer, whether it's about Howie Mandell's shoes -- "Which are very ugly ... well, they're a little hip for me" -- or "You look like you're dressed for mourning" to Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow. Rivers also proves she's just as sharp as ever when she asks Helen Mirren, "Who would you like to meet ... because you're truly, like, English?" and then gives Rainn Wilson the compliment, "You're very stupid -- on 'The Office.'"

The maven of mistakes is also thrown a bit when the stars volunteer their own comments, such as when Cowell tells her, "You look very tight. That's a compliment" or Kathy Griffin -- with a heavily decorated Major Todd in tow -- out-crasses Rivers by announcing, "I have butt crack sweat."

Only in her third decade on earth, Melissa isn't quite as outrageous as her mom. She's curiously obessessed, however, with Sarah Chalke's Mystic Tan mishap and can't talk enough about it to an embarrassed Chalke and her co-stars.

Over on E!, DePandi and Seacrest's attempts at humor aren't that much better, but hey, at least they have the Glam Cam, which is a camera that pans in a very creepy, slow fashion from head to toe on the celebrity. This is especially important this year, since we're informed at the opening of the show that nowadays, gowns are "all about the badonkadonk," although with all the plunging necklines this year, that prediction doesn't seem to hold true.

A super-tan DePandi pretends that she doesn't remember that Griffin was dismissed from E!'s red carpet team for bad behavior, while Seacrest tries to show how chummy he is with Jaime Pressly by telling her, "Oh, shut up" when she says she's just honored to be nominated for "My Name Is Earl."

But that's okay, since both Wilson and Steve Carell steal the show by trading good-natured insults on the red carpet:

Wilson: [Steve] is a horrible, horrible man. He punched me in the throat the other day.
Carell: Rainn Wilson is a jerk ... I saw this coming before I even knew him. He's an awful human being.

Back over on TV Guide, Rivers is exhausted from passing the 1,000th interview milestone and signs off with, "I'd like to say a few nice things, but nothing comes to mind ... I'm desperate for a drink."

Evangeline Lilly's House Destroyed by Fire

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Evangeline Lilly's House Destroyed by Fire
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2006 04:20 PM EST

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2006 06:45 PM EST UPDATED

By Stephen M. Silverman and Lisa Ingrassia

Photo by: Janet Gough / Celebrity Photo

The home rented by Lost actress Evangeline Lilly in Kailua, Hawaii, has been lost in a fire that completely destroyed the residence, Lilly's rep confirms to PEOPLE.

"Yes, it is unfortunately true that her home in Hawaii burned down this morning," said the rep, Cara Tripicchio. "Thankfully, Evangeline is safe as she was on set already when it occurred."

Tripicchio added: "There is no official statement, and I have no further comment or information to provide at this time."

The house, which Lilly reportedly shares with two women who work on the Lost crew, was empty at the time of the blaze. No injuries were reported.

Honolulu Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said the fire is believed to have been sparked by a faulty electrical outlet in the outdoor porch area of the house. Damage to the house was estimated at $250,000, while the contents were valued at roughly $50,000.

Tejada said that his department received the alarm at 6:43 a.m. Wednesday, and that crews reached the scene six minutes later.

"When we arrived the house was fully engulfed," Tejada said. "It was a complete loss. Just the roof was still standing."

He confirmed that none of the house's three female residents were home at the time of the fire. Two were at work and the third was off island, he said.

Lilly, 27, who plays Kate on the series, earlier this year has been romantically linked to costar Dominic Monaghan.

Fire investigators arrived on the scene of the early morning blaze later on Wednesday.

"I woke up to my dogs barking," Morgan Janus, a neighbor who lives across the street, told the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper. "There were loud popping sounds, like something electrical."

Evangeline Lilly's house on fire.

Photo by: Morgan Janus



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'Lost' Star's Hawaiian Home Destroyed in Fire

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'Lost' Star's Hawaiian Home Destroyed in Fire
Actress and her housemates were absent at the time
December 20, 2006

Evangeline Lilly on 'Lost'After surviving a plane crash on "Lost," Evangeline Lilly has avoided tragedy in real life when her house burned down.

The actress' Kailua, Hawaii home that she rents with two crew members was completely lost in a fire, reports People.

"Yes, it is unfortunately true that her home in Hawaii burned down this morning," says publicist the Cara Tripicchio. "Thankfully, Evangeline is safe as she was on set already when it occurred."

'Lost' Showcard
Nobody was inside at the time of the blaze.

"When we arrived the house was fully engulfed," says Honolulu Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada. "It was a complete loss. Just the roof was still standing."

So far, a cause for the fire hasn't been determined. "There is no official statement, and I have no further comment or information to provide at this time," adds Tripicchio.

Lilly, 27, has been dating castmate Dominic Monaghan, of "Lord of the Rings" fame. On the hit ABC show, she plays Kate, a woman with a criminal past who gets a new start on the island. When last we saw her, she and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) had been confined to polar bear cages and were attempting to make a break for it when Sawyer gets caught and held at gunpoint.

Five Things You Need to Know About Lost's Return

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Five Things You Need to Know About Lost's Return
by Shawna Malcom

Josh Holloway and Evangeline Lilly, Lost
Remember? Kate and Sawyer got down to business in the fish-biscuit cage. Big Bad Ben promised to let Dr. Jack leave the island in exchange for some lifesaving surgery. But Jack rediscovered his spine and threatened to let the smug Other die unless Kate was allowed to do what she does best: run. It's been nearly three months since we've gotten Lost. But starting this Wednesday, ABC's eternally trippy hit returns with fresh episodes every! single! week! through May (at the new hour of 10 pm/ET). Here's a sneak peek at what you'll be buzzing about on Thursday mornings. (Stop reading now if spoilers aren't your thing. Seriously.)
1. The Sawyer/Kate/Jack love triangle isn't over yet. Kate seemingly chose the charismatic con man over the honorable doc when she hooked up with Sawyer in the Nov. 8 fall finale, a move that pleased both fans and Sawyer himself (Josh Holloway). "I love working with Evie [Evangeline Lilly]," Holloway says. "She's such a little warrior. She was like, ‘Throw me up against the bars! Do it again!'" He may not get the chance, because the Feb. 7 episode makes it clear that Kate still harbors feelings for Jack as she and Sawyer try to escape the Others. But escape they will. With Kate gone, Jack will grow closer to fellow physician Juliet. In the Feb. 21 episode, he'll also get some flashback passion from guest star Bai Ling, a mysterious woman with a connection to the good doc's bad-boy tattoos. Nevertheless, says executive producer Carlton Cuse, the bond between Kate and Jack "is kind of the ultimate relationship."

2. The Others aren't going anywhere. While some fans have lamented the airtime given to those shady Others since the start of Season 3, producers remain staunchly committed to exploring Lost's new world. In fact, the Feb. 7 premiere focuses on the inscrutable Juliet, the book-club-presiding, let-Ben-die-pleading Other played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Flashbacks reveal Juliet's past, including a sick sister and a decidedly low self-esteem, thanks to a decidedly no-good ex-husband. "Even though Juliet's brilliant, she couldn't see herself that way," Mitchell reveals. "Her identity was tied to the man she was married to, and she wasn't able to be strong on her own." Producers also hint that upcoming episodes will revisit the Others' Wisteria Lane-esque compound. Teases cocreator Damon Lindelof, "Where is that place we saw the Others?" Beats us. But we can reveal that Creepy Eyepatch Guy — who appeared on the Others' TV monitors — will be back. As will villainous Ethan, who died in Season 1: He pops up in Juliet's flashbacks in a way that sheds light on his interest in Claire's baby.

3. You'll see more of the characters you love — and miss. Wondering what's up with Hurley, Sayid, Claire and Locke? They'll all get the flashback treatment by the end of March. Hurley's episode delves into his complicated relationship with his father, played by Cheech Marin, whom Cuse worked with on Nash Bridges. Locke's flashback episode could reveal how he wound up in that wheelchair, while Sayid's is "one that will be enormously satisfying," Cuse says, "because it is a heavy answer-mode episode." Adds Lindelof, "Sayid is asking all the questions that [fans] want answered."

4. Speaking of answers, the producers feel your pain. They've heard the criticism that the show isn't solving enough mysteries. They know many viewers are starting to lose faith that there's a well-thought-out master plan. But they're hopeful that a consistent run of episodes will help alleviate those concerns. "You'll still be like, ‘I wish I got even more out of this episode,'" Lindelof says. "But you'll only have to wait a week to see another one." Producers now view splitting up the season as "a negative" and expect that ABC will run Season 4 straight through, as Fox does with 24. What's more, they're currently in discussions with the network to determine an end point for the show, both for their own creative satisfaction and to assure fans that there will be a resolution. "Having an end point is the right thing," Cuse says, likening the move to J.K. Rowling's announcement that the Harry Potter saga would be wrapped up in seven books. "And we want to announce an end point before the show's lost its relevance, at which point no one will care what the end point is."

5. The body count will get higher. In the Feb. 14 episode, the seemingly psychic Desmond will tell a major character to prepare for the Grim Reaper. (We won't reveal who, but we will say it's not Jack, despite Internet rumors that he's on his way out.) There's also speculation that newcomer Paulo, played by Rodrigo Santoro, may not live to see Season 4, thanks to a cover story Santoro did for the Brazilian Rolling Stone in which he discussed upcoming film commitments in his native country. Producers won't comment, except to say that Paulo and fellow maligned newbie Nikki (Kiele Sanchez) will play a pivotal part in a late-March installment. Says Lindelof, "By the end of that episode, it'll be crystal clear as to what Nikki and Paulo's future on the island will be."