Update: 11:20 Here is the video from The ODI.
Update: 10:00 Here are some photos that The ODI has just sent me of the event. We'll be getting the videos posted shortly.
Hey All,
As some of you know by now I had an opportunity to meet with Damon Lindelof today during a Comic Book event for his Ultimate Hulk v Wolverine Comic Book.
There was a Q&A Session followed by an autograph session. None of the Q&A portions had anything too spoilery and I will post a report with videos of the event later today. However, I wanted to share my few minutes with him during the autograph session.
When Damon saw me I sensed he recognized me from previous meetings at Comic Con, but I told him who I was and he took a moment and let out big "oooohhh" and confirmed he knew the sites and who we (DarkUFO and TheODI) were.
Spoiler sites like ours (The ODI and DarkUFO) always get blamed for a show like LOST being "ruined" because of spoilers being posted. I am almost certain that most of you disagree with that statement. I believe that without the LOST spoiler sites there are many fans that would have lost interest in the show during the hiatus.
I have really always wanted to ask Damon and Carlton about their thoughts on this issue and whether they see a benefit of spoiler sites!?
So I did. Damon said it was definitely an interesting concept and said no one had really put it to him that way. However, he said asking him was also tough because he is the one writing it and that there is a huge amount of effort that goes into protecting the secrets of the show and then to see a secret ruined by a spoiler can be disheartening.
I did explain to him that it is not our intent to ruin the show and that we take an enormous amount of effort on our sites to only post spoilers for those that want them and never intentionally spoil fans especially after what happened with LOSTfan108 in Season 3. He appreciated it and said he understood the nature of the industry and why fans want to know more.
He used an analogy of a child wanting to open a birthday/X-mas gift that was hidden in a closet. That some want to and others don't, but if you tell them it is in the closet then why wouldn't they want to attempt to open it or be tempted to. After thinking for another second or so, he said that one way he could perhaps see some real benefit was from possibly a fan not liking Season 5 but seeing a spoiler and wanting to return for Season 6 or perhaps folks that missed previous episodes (seasons) reading spoilers and then thinking that there is something interesting and fun about it and wanting to see how it ends.
I felt he made a couple of valid points and knowing he took his time even with 20 or so other fans waiting I told him that I appreciated the effort they have put in the show and that I apologize if on any level we have ruined anything for him or the writers, but all we have ever wanted to do is spread the love for the show.
He said then said it is ok and said "hey I will not lie to you I visit spoiler sites myself".
It was a pretty cool moment and before saying my good bye I said I have one last small question. He said go for it. I knew he would not reveal anything at this point so I asked him that based on the fact they already know the end of the show that have we already SEEN the final scene!?
His eyes lit up a bit with a smile, he put up his hands, turned his head away and said:
"In NOOOooooo waaay will I even entertain the thought of answering that question..."
We both had a good laugh about it and then I asked him if it was a good question to ask and he said:
"It was an exxxxxcellent question!!"
With that I said thanks and then shook his hand. Since I knew others were waiting I hung out waited to get a picture with him and he then had a message for spoiler fans.
So what do you all think!? I really felt he had a an interesting reaction to something he could have easily answered with a simple "No".
I did video tape his message to the fans and my good friend DarkUFO posted it on the front page of the site. I have always had major respect for Damon and today confirmed how awesome he is.
If you missed his message you can see it here:
http://the-odi.blogspot.com/2009/10/damon-speaks-to-odi.html
NOTE: I will upload the videos of the Q&A and some pics I took and post soon. There are some great moments and some good information about LOST. Including Fate v Choice is definitely one of the major themes of the show and we will get more of that theme in Season 6.