I am – Hercules!!
First off? I beg you. Stop emailing me about oceanic-air.com. I know about the site. Everyone knows about the site, including your grandma. It’s been all over the talkbacks and every other corner of the Internet since six seconds after the “Lost” finale aired.
Now then. Somebody named Jim Hill (I’m guessing not O.J. Simpson’s sportscaster pal) wrote some stuff. Some excerpts:
Why does Jorge Garcia's character look so much like Harry Knowles? …
I've been doing some investigating. I've made a few phone calls, called in a few favors. And someone at "Bad Robot" (I.E. [“Lost” creator J.J.] Abrams' production company) filled me on what the real deal is with Hurley.
You wanna know the real reason that this Knowles look-alike has supposedly been stranded in the South Pacific? ... Well ... Let's just say that this is J.J.'s way of paying Harry back for what happened after AICN told the world about Abrams' "Superman" screenplay? …
Warner Brothers now saw J.J.'s involvement in the "Superman" project as a liability. After all, this was the guy who had so upset the fan community with his rotten screenplay. …
Which is why - when "Superman Returns" finally went into production earlier this year in Australia - this film didn't feature a J.J. Abrams screenplay. But - rather - a new script by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. …
To J.J.'s way of thinking, AICN had cost him the opportunity to work on a major Hollywood motion picture. To be the screenwriter of an epic film trilogy. All because Moriarty had made such a big deal about how bad the first draft of his "Superman" script supposedly was.
But how do you get back at someone who does that sort of damage to your career? You can't, really. By that I mean: You can secretly wish that Harry Knowles and his website would go away forever. But that ain't gonna happen. …
So J.J. supposedly gets together with a writer he likes, Damon Lindelof. And the two of them start spitballing ideas for this new TV show. And Damon allegedly asks: "Who would you like to see stranded on a desert isle?" And Abrams reportedly replies: "You mean besides Harry Knowles?" And that -- my friends (I swear to God) is supposedly why the Hurley character was added to the cast of "Lost." So that J.J. Abrams (by way of an in-joke) could get a little revenge on Harry Knowles. By stranding a character that was based on the webmaster of "Aint-It-Cool-News" on a remote island. …
Lindelof, a gigantor fan of Harry and AICN since long before the “Lost” premiere, responds to our demand for confirmation:
Herc,
Can't confirm it 'cause it just ain't true. It would be fucking GREAT if I could say it was, but the actual story is we saw Jorge [Garcia, who plays Hurley] on an episode of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM where he was selling pot to Larry David, called April Webster (our casting director) the next day and brought him in to read before there was even a script (he actually read for Sawyer 'cause those were the only sides we had) and cast him on the spot, even though his character didn't exist yet.
Is he "heavy?" Yes. Does he have long, curly hair? Yup. But that's kinda where the Harry similarities end... I mean, Hurley really doesn't have geek cred - even though he is the guy who brought the comic book.
As to the theory that this was Abrams revenge for a poor Superman review... well, I've always viewed Hurley as the stealth hero of the show. EVERYONE loves the guy... so if we were really trying to roast Mr. Knowles (and shit -- the site has been so ridiculously kind to us even though he hasn't seen a frame of the show), wouldn't we have named Dr. Arzt "Larry Moles" or something and then blown him up?
So that's the truth, as unglamorous as it is.
P.S. We DID shoot the scene between Claire and Grunberg Pilot... it's a DVD exclusive.
Mr. Lindelof makes an excellent point. As much as I know the homage would gladden Harry’s heart, it would be bizarre to punish young Mr. Knowles by using him as the model for one of the most beloved and ingratiating characters on one of the most popular series on television.
But. Harry? If you really do possess the power to derail a major motion picture studio’s superhero movie? Many many of us would consider it a personal favor if you brought all your power to bear on a certain sequel from the director of “Rush Hour” and the writers of “xXx: State of the Union” and “Elektra.”
I am – Hercules!!
Want to see that Claire/Grunberg DVD exclusive? Now that you know how it ends, want to look for clues in the old episodes? Lost: The Complete First Season
on DVD!!
Now in paperback! Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches at Saturday Night Live by Jay Mohr
Were Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader two different people in the early drafts of “The Empire Strikes Back”? All is revealed in The Annotated Screenplays (Star Wars, Episodes IV-VI)
Look! A new book co-edited by big-deal "Buffy"-"Firefly"-"Gilmore Girls" TV writer Jane Espenson. She introduces each of the essays, and the whole book besides:
Finding Serenity : Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly
on DVD!! 