Oh my God, you guys — I almost had my photograph taken with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse tonight. I was literally the very next person to tap Carlton on the shoulder and say, “Can I take a photo with you?” But he said, “Sorry, I have to go do something in the back” just before he and Damon darted out the rear exit of Gallery 1988 on Melrose in Hollywood this evening. I swear to God, there was no one else even remotely close to me as I was set to approach the pair and introduce myself. It was just me and Carlton, and then he split. I can’t say I’m pleased with the man, but it’s not like I’m going to stop watching LOST because he stiffed me and several other fans who showed up tonight to meet the creative minds behind the best television show…maybe ever?
I found out about the LOST Underground Art Show last week via Tom, who heard about it from Quiggs. We had all planned on attending opening night together, and figured it would be a fun and geeky way to spend a Tuesday night outside of re-watching the series. Our group swelled and shrunk seemingly each day leading up to today. Nicci and I decided that she would pick me up from work a few minutes early so that we could race across town to meet everyone.
Shortly after noon, Mark contacted me to let me know that a dozen or more people had actually camped out in front of the gallery overnight to ensure they would be the first ones to enter upon the official opening of the gallery. I started to get freaked out, and wondered if we would even be admitted into the gallery tonight. Only time would tell.
I saw the line immediately. It extended almost an entire block on Melrose, between La Brea and whatever the next block east is. I hopped out of Nicci’s car and jumped into the line. Ken and Katie showed up ten or fifteen minutes later. Nicci followed shortly after. Then came Lisa and Andy, Quiggs, and Nate. The gallery was absolutely packed. The front wall is glass, so it provided us a glimpse of the pandamonium inside. Flash bulbs were going off all over the room. On the right-hand side wall, the sixteen limited-edition prints were hung. The middle of the room contained a sculpture that represented “the hatch,” and a beautiful color painting of all of the cast members. There was art on the left-hand side wall too. More paintings, mixed medium works, and more. The back of the room had a small desk/counter where two girls were frantically running to the back room to sell t-shirts designed to look like the Locke Hitchcock poster. They had 815 t-shirts made. Nate bought number 114. I don’t know if they sold out tonight, but it seemed like they would. There were also free posters, but those were gone almost immediately after the doors opened.
The coolest part of the evening was that almost the entire writing staff and the producers were in attendance to meet and chat with fans of the show. I shared a few words with writer Greggory Nations, who wrote the season 4 episode “Eggtown” and the season 5 episode “Some Like it Hoth.” He mentioned that he penned an episode for season 6, but could not say what it was named. Lisa took my picture with him. I noticed that a lot of the crowd was gathering towards a back corner of the room, and that’s when I noticed Lindelof and Cuse taking photos, signing autographs and chatting with fans. Alas, I didn’t get my photo oportunity. I thought about chasing after Cuse, stopping him short and yelling “Razzle Dazzle!” I fake punched/kicked him in the gut, but I didn’t think that would make him want to stop to be photographed with me. If anything, it would have expedited his exit from the gallery. Oh well, maybe I’ll return later this week on the off-chance someone involved in the show might be there.
Afterwards, our party of seven or eight LOST geeks moved to Golden State for beers and grub. I got to chat with Jason about beers for a little with Andy, which only upped the nerd factor by about 1,000 times whatever it was while we were standing in line to see a gallery of LOST-related artwork. The burger was cooked to perfection again. When I finally get around to ranking the ten best hamburgers in Los Angeles, I know Golden State will be somewhere on the list. Tonight’s draught beers included the stunning Avery dunganA Imperial IPA, and for dessert I had Deschutes The Abyss. Both were delicious.
