More LOST Season 5 Finale filming!

*** BEWARE - SPOILERS BELOW ***

I cannot believe my luck, finally, here so close to filming the end of Season 5 of LOST! This morning I was at home when I got a hot tip (via Renee on twitter) that LOST was filming again today! I was surprised to hear this because yesterday (Saturday, March 28) was supposed to be the final day of filming for Season 5. I asked the hubby if we could go check it out and he agreed (even though it was kind of a far drive). We all piled into the truck and were on our way. We saw where the filming was taking place so we found a place to park and walked over there. At first we were told that we couldn't go where we were trying to go watch. So, we crossed the street and watched from there. We also were told not to take pictures. So I didn't get any pictures at all today which was a bummer! Anyways they were filming a street scene that involved a car in a hit and run with a woman on the ground and Sayid running to her aid. It was really cool to watch them film. The cars had California plates and were relatively recent models. They took a lunch break and so did we. We went back to see if filming had resumed when we were done eating. It had, so we went back to stand in the same places we were previously. They were filming scenes of Sayid and the woman on the ground from different angles. Then we were told we had to move so that we wouldn't be in the background so we went across the street to where we were trying to go when we first got there. At this point, there wasn't much action as the scene was most likely close-ups of Sayid and the woman on the ground. I noticed a cool street sign that indicated that this was supposed to be the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and La Brea Ave. I also spotted LOST podcaster Ryan Ozawa with a bird's eye view of the scene! Later, Ryan came to talk to us and he said that the woman on the ground was Sayid's wife, Nadia! Wow! I was trying to figure out who the woman was, but with my bad eye sight and the distance that we were at, I couldn't tell who it was. I knew it had to be "somebody" though, not just some random person, and I was right! Soon after, filming wrapped and they started to break down the set and go home. We were standing on the corner when a van drove by shuttling people to "Base Camp" and Naveen Andrews was sitting in the front seat with the window down. I waved as they drove by and he smiled at me! Woo-hoo, what a day!

LOST Season 5 finale filming!

*** BEWARE - SPOILERS BELOW ***

Yesterday (Thursday, March 26) I had the day off from work and was at home with the kids when the hubby calls at around 11am. He said that he thought they might be filming LOST at the prison near his work. The kids and I piled into the car and off we went on the hunt for LOST! We got there at around 11:30 am, but there was nothing there. Either it was not LOST filming that he and his co-workers saw or they were finished by the time we got there. We were bummed : (

So today (Friday, March 27) I go to work. As soon as I get there, a co-worker comes up to me to tell me that they are going to be filming LOST nearby today at a church on Renton Road. I asked the boss if I could go home early today, but unfortunately, I had to work all day. When I got back in the office in the afternoon, the same co-worker said that they were still there. She said that when she was in the area earlier in the day, they were still setting up, so they were still there filming in the afternoon. I went home to change clothes and grab my camera. I drove to Renton Road and she was right - they were still there filming. They would actually stop traffic as they were shooting. I drove by and then parked my truck at the Post Office. Walked a little ways down the road until I was across the street from the church where they were filming. I didn't want to get too close so I stayed across the street and took a few pictures, trying to be incognito. I realized I wasn't at a very good spot to see the actual filming - I could mostly see the camera guy and crew and extras - so I walked a little further down the road. This was a better spot and I could see them filming a scene. Unfortunately for me, I was also spotted taking pictures. So, one of the guys came over to talk to me. He said that it was okay for me to watch, but that they didn't want me to take pictures because they didn't want them to show up on the internet because they were shooting the season finale! Wow! So I said okay and then asked him if he could tell me anything about the shoot. He said that the scene is a young James meeting Jacob! The scene is set in the 70's and they are filming a double funeral scene with two caskets so I assume this is young James Ford's parents' funeral. (James' father killed James' mother and then himself in a murder-suicide when James was 8 years old back in 1977) Since I couldn't take any more pictures, I decided to move in a little closer where I saw other people watching. I watched them film another scene of mourners at the funeral, and then the pall bearers loading both caskets into two hearses and then they drove away. It was so cool to be so close to the action. I only wish I had seen some of the stars from LOST like Josh Holloway, Matthew Fox, or Jorge Garcia.

I have a few pictures (nothing great though) but am not posting them out of respect for the cast and crew of LOST who asked me specifically not to. I will post some and a link to the rest later after the season finale airs.

Okay, so the Season 5 Finale has aired so I posted two of the pictures above and the rest are available on my Flickr account.

click to see more on flickr

LOST filming site (March 16, 2008)

click here for more of my photos at flickr

LOST S4 episode 2 party at Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Well, last week we went to Planet Hollywood for the Season 4 Premiere Party of LOST. We called Planet Hollywood earlier in the week to get more info on the event and they told us that there might be cast members, crew, and VIPs present. Well, that sealed the deal for me - cast members? Yes, I am soo there! Unfortunately, the cast members were not! I did not recognize any cast members other than the actor who is the stunt double/stand-in for Terry O'Quinn.

So... this week we decide to give the LOST Party at Tropical Smoothie Cafe a try. We called there earlier in the week to make sure it was an every week thing (not just a premiere thing) and they said that they would be having it every week. They also said there would be prizes, so I was definitely interested in going for prizes!

I am not much of a smoothie drinker (don't like many fruits, don't like Jamba Juice), but I figured I'd just try something... Then, I get the brilliant idea to look online if maybe they have website or something. Well, they do and I learn that Tropical Smoothie Cafe is actually a franchise from the mainland. And, they have a wide variety of food on the menu (sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups) in addition to a lot of different smoothie flavors. I looked over the menu and tried to decide what I might want to try that night as I waited for the hubby to get home from work.

Fast forward to about 8pm... we arrived at Tropical Smoothie Cafe and found a little table, kind of in the middle of the shop. The ending of last week's episode of LOST was showing on the TV and most of the patrons that were already there were facing the TV screen watching. We looked at the menu and ordered our food. There were also complimentary hot dogs, but we decided to try a wrap and sandwich. We sat down to wait for our food while watching LOST. I ordered a Chicken Cordon Bleu wrap ($6.99 and it came with a bag of Sunchips or fruit, I think) and the hubby ordered a Turkey Bacon Ranch sandwich ($7.99 also with a bag of Sunchips). Both were excellent! They were cut in half so we shared so that we could get a taste of them both. The hubby also had a Sunrise Sunset Smoothie ($4.99) and I choose a Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie ($5.29). I loved mine! It was peanut butter, chocolate, and bananas - yummy! The hubby tried it and said he was getting it next time. He didn't really like his too much (said it was too fruity) but I don't know what he was expecting since it was made out of strawberries, pineapples, mango, and oranges. During the first commercial break in LOST, Teddy Wells, who co-owns Tropical Smoothie Cafe, drew lucky numbers for some Lost and Tropical Smoothie prizes. If your number was called, you got to pick which prize you wanted. I was hoping my number (or the hubby's) would get picked as I was eyeing up the "Kate" action figure. Oh well, no prizes for us, maybe next time. I was hoping for some trivia questions to answer for prizes, but that was it as far as prizes for the night. Teddy explained that Honolulu Advertiser writer Caryn Kunz, was unable to come to the LOST Party that night, so maybe that is why there were no trivia questions. They also announced that they were selling LOST Season 4 t-shirts for $12 (I think). I plan on getting one next time (unless I can win one!) As soon as the show was over they thanked us for coming out to watch and everybody left so they could close up. Their normal business hours are until 8pm, but they stay open later for LOST on Thursdays!

All in all, it was an enjoyable event. The food and smoothie were great, LOST was great, there were prizes, etc... We'll be back next week!

Finding LOST

Way back in June or July of 2007, I got an email from an author who was in the process of writing a book about LOST. Her name was Nikki Stafford and she was writing "Season Three Finding LOST: the Unofficial Guide", a follow up to her "Finding LOST: the Unofficial Guide" that was based on Seasons one and two. She had come across a picture I had taken at a LOST filming location (through Ryan Ozawa's flickr page) and wanted my permission to use the photo in the book! Wow, how excited I was! Of course I gave her permission and she in turn sent me an autographed copy of the book. Well, I just received the book this week and I scanned the page (117) with my photo (and name!) on it. [haha - take that, photography teacher that flunked me in college!]

LOST Symphony

So... awhile ago I heard that there was going to be a LOST Symphony at the Waikiki Shell on September 22. I mentioned it to the hubby and asked if he wanted to go. He was not interested, I guess he heard Symphony more than he heard Lost... I was bummed, but in the days/weeks that followed, I continued to talk about it and tried to get him to change his mind about going.

Flash forward to Monday, September 17, 2007: I get an email that the Honolulu Symphony was offering members of the Hawaii Lost Fan Club a 20% discount! Well, that was it... I printed out the email with the phone number to call and gave it to the hubby. He called on Tuesday and said that we got pretty good seats (in the middle CC section, row 6). They were supposed to be $94 tickets, but he got them for a discounted price of $79. Yes, I know that's not quite 20%, but I figured there were some fees or something added in... They were going to mail the tickets and they'd arrive in two days (Thursday).
Thursday, I am anxiously awaiting the tickets to see what seats we got, but - no tickets!
Friday - NO TICKETS either! The hubby calls the Box Office again to find out what we are supposed to do if the tickets do not show up on Saturday (the day of the event!) He is told that they never processed the first order! They supposedly didn't have his credit card info (even though he insists he gave it to them). So, he has to just do another order. this time we get section CC, but row 16! Argh! 10 rows farther back! The tickets were $75 each and we were to pick them up at Will Call.

Saturday, September 22, 2007 - LOST Symphony night!
We left the house at about 5:40 pm. Got to Waikiki at around 6:15. Drove around for awhile, looking for parking. After parking, we walk to the Will Call to pick up our tickets. Then, we walk to grab a bite at Teddy's Bigger Burgers. Yummy! Then walk quickly back to the Waikiki Shell before the 7:30 start time.
The Symphony was awesome! They had a big screen above, that showed clips from LOST and close-ups of the musicians. Executive producer, Carlton Cuse was there and spoke briefly at the start of the event. During the concert, Emmy award winner, Terry O'Quinn read "messages from the bottle" (from Season two, when the survivors wrote messages to take on the raft). At the end of the first act, there were people who came out carrying lighted torches.
At intermission, we got up to take a closer look. There were palm fronds on stage and various pieces of luggage. There was also a large section of the Oceanic plane on the ground in front of the stage and a Dharma logo on the stage, near the conductor. In the VIP section near the front I saw Jorge Garcia and Daniel Dae Kim. We were not able to get any pics or autographs, though, so that was a bummer. I also heard that Evangeline Lilly was spotted there, but I did not see her. I even met a friend I had only known previously through MySpace and not in real life! Composer Michael Giacchino was there and I got a picture of him. Unfortunately, this is the last pic I took as my camera battery decided to die right after that!
Act two was great also, and towards the end of the show, Michael Giacchino came on stage and conducted the Symphony for (I think) two songs. Then they did a song from Ratatouille, closing the evening.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening (even though I got blisters on my toes from my shoes!)... but it would've been even better if we had gotten our original seats and/or gotten pics/autographs of Jorge and/or Daniel.