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‘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.

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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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