All is not LOST
I promise to stop obsessing. I think I'm freaking myself out a bit...
Thesp Ian Somerhalder -- who last night "Lost" his gig playing the hot-headed castaway Boone -- has sealed a one-year talent holding deal at ABC and Touchstone TV.
Deal likely helps take some of the sting out of seeing his character die on the hugely popular "Lost." Series producers had promised that they would kill off one of the show's major characters before the end of the season, and Somerhalder's Boone was a goner after falling off the side of a cliff (inside a mysterious airplane) in last week's episode.
Beyond the ABC/Touchstone deal -- for a series next year -- Somerhalder has also signed on to star in indie feature "The Breed."
Somerhalder will play Matt, who winds up stranded with his brother on a mysterious island teeming with wild, ferociously intelligent dogs. Nick Mastandrea will direct from a script by Peter Wortmann and Bob Conte.
Beyond "Lost," Somerhalder's credits include the WB series "Young Americans" and "Smallville," in which he recurred last season as Adam Knight.
In features, Somerhalder appeared in "Life As A House" and "In Enemy Hands."
Date in print: Thurs., Apr. 7, 2005, Variety.com
Death for Boone, birth for Claire on 'Lost'
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
This island really is dangerous.
Somerhalder: Boone may not be only death this season.
ABC
As if to underline the deadly serious stakes, first-year hit Lost killed off one of its 14 regular characters Wednesday as Boone (Ian Somerhalder) died of injuries suffered in last week's episode. The show completed a circle of life as another character, Claire (Emilie de Ravin), gave birth.
Boone, a callow young man who had been toughened by island challenges, is the first fatality among the ABC drama's main cast. Although the character hasn't been as central as some, such as Jack, Kate, Sawyer or Locke, he was featured in a flashback episode - a Lost signature - and has been as prominent as any other of the airline crash survivors.
So why Boone?
"It will be very apparent as to why he died, just in terms of figuring out which character's death would impact the most relationships on the island," executive producer Damon Lindelof says.
Boone's death after he was injured when a small plane he was searching through fell from a cliff will affect the character's estranged stepsister, Shannon (Maggie Grace), and her growing love interest, Sayid (Naveen Andrews).
Boone "is the only person that ever really knew and loved Shannon, in spite of herself. Of course, losing him, especially with so much left unsaid and unresolved, will change her irrevocably," Grace says by e-mail from Hawaii, where Lost is filmed.
The series, which averages 15.9 million viewers, was renewed this week for a second season.
Boone's death sparks immediate conflict between two alpha survivors, Jack (Matthew Fox) and Locke (Terry O'Quinn). Locke was searching for ways to open a secret hatch with Boone when he was hurt. Jack, a doctor who tried to save Boone, is furious at Locke, a mysterious adventurer who lied about the cause of the injuries.
Death is "in the DNA" of a show with so many regular characters and an air of imminent danger, Lindelof says. He and fellow executive producer J.J. Abrams decided to have the death come now so that the ramifications could play out leading up to the two-part, three-hour season finale (May 18 and 25, 8 p.m. ET/PT).
And "that's not to say Boone is the only character who dies this season," Lindelof says.
Although Boone's death made sense from a story perspective, that didn't make it any easier telling Somerhalder. Lindelof praises the actor's performance on the show and says Somerhalder has handled the matter gracefully.
Others in the cast, who had wondered whether their characters would die, were saddened by Somerhalder's departure. Sequestered far from Hollywood, they have become "a tightknit group," Grace says.
"The day we filmed Ian's death was pretty heavy for everyone, especially Foxy (Fox's nickname) and Ian. They're very close," she says. "We've all known from Day 1 that we might not all be here for the duration of the show ... but there was still this feeling of camaraderie, that we were all in this together and would be for some time to come."
NEW YORK TIMES
DEAD 'LOST'
By MICHAEL STARR
April 7, 2005 -- THE actor who plays Boone, killed off on last night's "Lost," isn't happy about becoming the first casualty on one of TV's hottest new shows.
"Pretty devastating," Ian Somerhalder tells Entertainment Weekly. "The week [before] I got the call [telling him the bad news], I started looking for a house in Hawaii.
"Now I'm looking for a house in Venice Beach."
Boone died last night from the injuries he suffered after the small plane he was investigating fell out of a tree.
Somerhalder, who played the preppy trust-fund baby, tells EW he understands why "Lost" creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof killed off his character.
But he also says they "boxed themselves into a corner" by revealing that someone was going to die - making him and his castmates anxious about which one of them might be the one.
"We really didn't appreciate that. They already fooled the audience twice," he says, with the apparent deaths of Shannon - which turned out to be a dream - and Charlie, who was revived using CPR.
"It's like 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I'm going to stop watching your show.' "
Somerhalder, 26, tells EW he was on a wine-tasting weekend in California last January when he got the bad news from Abrams and Lindelof. "Thank God I already had four glasses of really good pinot in me," he says.
His angst is understandable, considering that "Lost," along with ABC stablemate "Desperate Housewives," is the season's most-talked-about new series.
It's been averaging around 16 million viewers a week and becoming the watercooler show in telling the tale of survivors of a plane crash fending for themselves on a mysterious island.
But "Lost" executive producer Carlton Cuse tells EW that killing off Boone was a necessity because it will affect Locke (Terry O'Quinn) - Boone's father figure - and Jack (Matthew Fox), the island's doctor.
"It was a narrative imperative that we kill Boone," Cuse says. "It sets in motion a chain of events leading to the season finale."
Fans of Somerhalder can take some solace that Boone isn't completely gone - he'll appear via flashback in the two-hour season finale May 25.
"I'll always have a place in Hawaii," Somerhalder says. "Trust me - life is great. And you know what? This show has made it that much better."
EW's story on "Lost" hits newsstands tomorrow.
Ah...PHEW
Thesp Ian Somerhalder -- who last night "Lost" his gig playing the hot-headed castaway Boone -- has sealed a one-year talent holding deal at ABC and Touchstone TV.
Deal likely helps take some of the sting out of seeing his character die on the hugely popular "Lost." Series producers had promised that they would kill off one of the show's major characters before the end of the season, and Somerhalder's Boone was a goner after falling off the side of a cliff (inside a mysterious airplane) in last week's episode.
Beyond the ABC/Touchstone deal -- for a series next year -- Somerhalder has also signed on to star in indie feature "The Breed."
Somerhalder will play Matt, who winds up stranded with his brother on a mysterious island teeming with wild, ferociously intelligent dogs. Nick Mastandrea will direct from a script by Peter Wortmann and Bob Conte.
Beyond "Lost," Somerhalder's credits include the WB series "Young Americans" and "Smallville," in which he recurred last season as Adam Knight.
In features, Somerhalder appeared in "Life As A House" and "In Enemy Hands."
Date in print: Thurs., Apr. 7, 2005, Variety.com
Death for Boone, birth for Claire on 'Lost'
By Bill Keveney, USA TODAY
This island really is dangerous.
Somerhalder: Boone may not be only death this season.
ABC
As if to underline the deadly serious stakes, first-year hit Lost killed off one of its 14 regular characters Wednesday as Boone (Ian Somerhalder) died of injuries suffered in last week's episode. The show completed a circle of life as another character, Claire (Emilie de Ravin), gave birth.
Boone, a callow young man who had been toughened by island challenges, is the first fatality among the ABC drama's main cast. Although the character hasn't been as central as some, such as Jack, Kate, Sawyer or Locke, he was featured in a flashback episode - a Lost signature - and has been as prominent as any other of the airline crash survivors.
So why Boone?
"It will be very apparent as to why he died, just in terms of figuring out which character's death would impact the most relationships on the island," executive producer Damon Lindelof says.
Boone's death after he was injured when a small plane he was searching through fell from a cliff will affect the character's estranged stepsister, Shannon (Maggie Grace), and her growing love interest, Sayid (Naveen Andrews).
Boone "is the only person that ever really knew and loved Shannon, in spite of herself. Of course, losing him, especially with so much left unsaid and unresolved, will change her irrevocably," Grace says by e-mail from Hawaii, where Lost is filmed.
The series, which averages 15.9 million viewers, was renewed this week for a second season.
Boone's death sparks immediate conflict between two alpha survivors, Jack (Matthew Fox) and Locke (Terry O'Quinn). Locke was searching for ways to open a secret hatch with Boone when he was hurt. Jack, a doctor who tried to save Boone, is furious at Locke, a mysterious adventurer who lied about the cause of the injuries.
Death is "in the DNA" of a show with so many regular characters and an air of imminent danger, Lindelof says. He and fellow executive producer J.J. Abrams decided to have the death come now so that the ramifications could play out leading up to the two-part, three-hour season finale (May 18 and 25, 8 p.m. ET/PT).
And "that's not to say Boone is the only character who dies this season," Lindelof says.
Although Boone's death made sense from a story perspective, that didn't make it any easier telling Somerhalder. Lindelof praises the actor's performance on the show and says Somerhalder has handled the matter gracefully.
Others in the cast, who had wondered whether their characters would die, were saddened by Somerhalder's departure. Sequestered far from Hollywood, they have become "a tightknit group," Grace says.
"The day we filmed Ian's death was pretty heavy for everyone, especially Foxy (Fox's nickname) and Ian. They're very close," she says. "We've all known from Day 1 that we might not all be here for the duration of the show ... but there was still this feeling of camaraderie, that we were all in this together and would be for some time to come."
NEW YORK TIMES
DEAD 'LOST'
By MICHAEL STARR
April 7, 2005 -- THE actor who plays Boone, killed off on last night's "Lost," isn't happy about becoming the first casualty on one of TV's hottest new shows.
"Pretty devastating," Ian Somerhalder tells Entertainment Weekly. "The week [before] I got the call [telling him the bad news], I started looking for a house in Hawaii.
"Now I'm looking for a house in Venice Beach."
Boone died last night from the injuries he suffered after the small plane he was investigating fell out of a tree.
Somerhalder, who played the preppy trust-fund baby, tells EW he understands why "Lost" creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof killed off his character.
But he also says they "boxed themselves into a corner" by revealing that someone was going to die - making him and his castmates anxious about which one of them might be the one.
"We really didn't appreciate that. They already fooled the audience twice," he says, with the apparent deaths of Shannon - which turned out to be a dream - and Charlie, who was revived using CPR.
"It's like 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I'm going to stop watching your show.' "
Somerhalder, 26, tells EW he was on a wine-tasting weekend in California last January when he got the bad news from Abrams and Lindelof. "Thank God I already had four glasses of really good pinot in me," he says.
His angst is understandable, considering that "Lost," along with ABC stablemate "Desperate Housewives," is the season's most-talked-about new series.
It's been averaging around 16 million viewers a week and becoming the watercooler show in telling the tale of survivors of a plane crash fending for themselves on a mysterious island.
But "Lost" executive producer Carlton Cuse tells EW that killing off Boone was a necessity because it will affect Locke (Terry O'Quinn) - Boone's father figure - and Jack (Matthew Fox), the island's doctor.
"It was a narrative imperative that we kill Boone," Cuse says. "It sets in motion a chain of events leading to the season finale."
Fans of Somerhalder can take some solace that Boone isn't completely gone - he'll appear via flashback in the two-hour season finale May 25.
"I'll always have a place in Hawaii," Somerhalder says. "Trust me - life is great. And you know what? This show has made it that much better."
EW's story on "Lost" hits newsstands tomorrow.
Ah...PHEW