LOST Weekend 09, Day 2

Good morning! Before I head back home, I want to recap day 2 of Lost Weekend 09! Last night was an amazing event, a charity auction which raised several thousand dollars for the Children's Defense Fund. Lost fans, cast and crew alike mingled and bid on items for several hours, and the evening was a huge success!

The first Lost guest of honor to arrive was Sterling Beaumon (young Ben Linus, who gave future dead dad skeleton Roger a nice hug upon arrival), and it is safe to say that he was a huge hit with everyone! Literally bouncing around the room with tremendous energy and endlessly posing for photos, he loved talking with the fans, as he is an enthusiastic one himself.

Personally, the highlight of the night for me was sitting down to chat with Sterling about Lost theories! Even though he is on the show, he also tries to remain spoiler-free (to the extent that he won't read any other part of a script except his own). So in rapid fire format, we threw crazy predictions back and forth and laughed at the possibilities. Sterling speaks my language, and at the same speed (you may have needed subtitles to keep up with us)...so it was a real treat to have the opportunity to engage in such a conversation one-on-one with him.

I didn't realize it at first, but none other than Dharma Annie (Madeline Carroll) arrived with Sterling! Since they filmed that episode together a few years ago, they have remained good friends, as have their mothers.

From the photo above, you can see why it took a minute to register who she was! Many of us have been clamoring for a Ben & Annie reunion, and we certainly got a version of one last night. I didn't get a chance to talk with Madeline for very long, but she is very sweet and seemed to be having a great time at the event.

The auction featured so many fantastic Lost items that it was no surprise to see a friendly bidding war escalate toward close of auction.

Although I was coveting the Locke-worn green tee, it escalated out of my price range. But I did wind up with an autographed action figure instead; I had to acquire at least one Jeremy Bentham related item for my collection!

Other items up for grabs included cast & writing staff autographed scripts, hats and t-shirts, a giant quilt-sized Christian Shephard banner, cast Kubricks and a custom Lost character sketch of your choice (to be created by comic book artist/illustrator Grant Gould).

There were also some very cool non-Lost items, including Fringe & Star Trek hats and posters from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, and an original uMaster prop from The Middleman (fans of Javier Grillo-Marxuach's show will know what I'm referring to)!

There was a camera crew there to record portions of the evening for the Season 5 DVD, and although I am slightly embarrassed to admit it...I was interviewed for it. So we shall see if I wind up like Kevin Costner in The Big Chill (on the cutting room floor)!

In addition to Sterling Beaumon, it was great to talk with Andrea Gabriel (Nadia) about her career and working with Naveen Andrews! It probably goes without saying, but she is stunningly beautiful in person. And could not have been more gracious and funny!

When Adetokumboh M'Cormack walked in, we all smiled and said the same thing (mostly in our inside, polite voices): Yemi! He was also so sweet, and enjoyed catching up with the fans.

Last but not least, and rushing over immediately following a performance in his local play The Bird and Mr. Banks, Sam Anderson (Bernard) joined us!

[Possible Minor Spoiler Alert]
Sterling had never meet Sam, because they never filmed an episode together, so it was fun to see them interact for the first time. I mentioned to Sam that many fans are upset at the lack of Rose and Bernard this season since the time shifts, which resulted in a wide smile from our favorite island dentist. And when I told him that the prevailing theory is that Rose and Bernard are the Adam and Eve skeletons from Season 1, he was both surprised and intrigued to hear that!

Although the evening provided a unique opportunity for Lost fans to interact with cast and crew, the purpose was clear and we were dedicated to the cause. Representatives from the CDF were very touched and appreciative when the Lost cast and crew handed them the check for $3,000.

As for me, I wound up with the following memorabilia (which I am still trying to configure into several bags for the flight home), in addition to the goodies I picked up the previous evening: the Terry O'Quinn autographed Locke figure, 2 t-shirts (one autographed by Jorge Garcia & the other by the entire writing staff!), the huge Christian Shephard banner, the custom Grant Gould sketch and Fringe and Star Trek posters. I feel like a kid who is leaving Disneyland for the first time with souvenirs to cherish for years to come. Of course I plan to give away one or more of these items very soon, so stay tuned for contest announcements!

I would definitely recommend Lost Weekend to any and all Lost fans in the future. Huge kudos to Caren, Bob, Hallie and everyone involved who created and hosted this memorable weekend and event!

I am running on fumes after only four hours of sleep, so if I am forgetting important details I will make sure to post them later this week (along with additional photos). Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and read about the events of Lost Weekend!

-Jo