‘Lost’ secret revealed: Darlton discuss how their history-making partnership began

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By now, the story about the ‘Lost’ pilot is the stuff of Hollywood legend. What Lostie doesn’t know about former ABC President Lloyd Braun’s half-baked idea about castaways on an island and his brilliant move to give J.J. Abrams a whack at writing the pilot after twice being disappointed by other writers?

It was late January 2004 -- very late in the development cycle -- when Braun introduced Abrams to Damon Lindelof, a writer and producer on ‘Crossing Jordan,’ to give him some help. Abrams and Lindelof hit it off and four days later they had the 25-page outline that was used to cast and begin production on the two-hour pilot.

Twelve weeks, a global casting search, and an estimated $11 million later, the ‘Lost’ phenomenon was in the can, waiting for that ominous Sept. 22, 2004, premiere date.

But do you know the rest of the story? When was Darlton born? What prompted Carlton Cuse to join the series in October 2004 as an executive producer and co-show runner?

Cuse, creator of ‘Nash Bridges,’ had given Lindelof his first writing job on that series, but let’s let Darlton tell you the rest of it for themselves:

-- Maria Elena Fernandez (follow me on Twitter @writerchica)
Video: Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse interviewed in the appropriately named Orchid Suite of the Halekulani Hotel in Oahu last month. Credit: Maria Elena Fernandez

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