And yet my ex worked on a TV show where the lead female’s contract did specify that she had to lose weight. The production company provided a workout trailer so she could keep up a workout regimen – and it was definitely not a hit show with a budget like Lost’s and she most definitely was NOT earning a salary like Hanks’s.
Yes, I would expect all the characters on the show to appear to lose weight (and that’s more easily done on a TV series where the shooting schedule is longer) and to start looking withered – make-up and wardrobe can do a lot (clothes one size bigger etc.) Though Hurley’s would be a bit tougher with his round face (Rose too for that matter, and Walt with his baby face).
But in any case, Dewey’s earlier question about whether Hurley’s character may be in “jeopardy” made me wonder about that. I’m not expecting drastic weight loss (like Castaway or The Machinist), no, that would be silly, but I was wondering if they had any cast members on a regimen like the one used in Alive.
There was a TV movie back in the 70’s called “Sole Survivor” about a B-25 Bomber that crashed in the desert. After the crash, the crew waited patiently for someone to come and find them since they figured they’d never be able to find their way out of the desert alive.
But it turns out that the entire crew died and their ghosts lived on for years, unaware of the passage of time until their bodies were discovered. As they were found, they “died” and disappeared.
Something similar could be happening in Lost, but the fact that they are prone to fatigue, hunger, drug addiction and injury point to another explanation. It’s still an interesting idea, though. I wouldn’t be too disappointed if that turns out to be the case, as long as it’s handled consistantly.
Re: Hurley and weight loss. We’d actually be able to notice the inevitable weight loss in the other characters *first * (If we were dealing with a realistic situation, of course). When a person’s grossly obese, a much larger amount of body weight needs to go away before you can really tell. Sun can lose five pounds and look gaunt; Hurley would need to lose at least 15 before you might wonder if he was a wee bit peckish.
Plus, if we assume thyroid or metabolism issues that many hugely overweight folks have, his body is possibly very efficient, and could survive on *less * calories than a thinner person. (I’m obese, though not nearly so much as Hurley, and I was eating an 800 calorie a day diet for two years before I noticed a problem, and I remained obese. That’s about 10 to 12 ounces of roated boar each day.) He’s also not taking long challenging hikes into the jungle; he’s doing his part on the beach, but not exactly spending oodles of calories on hard physical labor.
Actually, not that I’m thinking about it, the big question isn’t Hurley. If they are indeed going to do about 40 or 50 days per season, our long term problem is Walt. How will they explain that kid growing up so fast in the short time portrayed by the show.
There’s already one Hobbit on the island, so it wouldn’t take much to digitally alter Walt to subtract a year’s growth.
I suspect that unless the actor signed to do a crash weight loss for his character, Hurley’s gonna croak so they don’t have to deal with the issue. Assuming no paranormal/supernatural element to the story.
What if we just solve both problems: Hurley eats Walt.
Actually, I’m not so concerned with either (I can suspend disbelief plenty enough for that detail) except for the fact that I may end up needlessly worrying that they’ll be killed off.
The contestants of Survivor start looking pretty rough and I’m sure their health is more carefully monitored. So in TV land I’m going to be expecting our heroes to wither away. A lack of weight loss in Hurley, the fact that Walt may hit a growth spurt any second, and that the dog is gonna start looking awfully tasty… All of that is pretty conspicuous. Makes me wonder if it is a factor in any plot device. I don’t want Hurley bumped off. Walt, meh, he can go, but don’t hurt his doggy.
Refresh my memory. Have we seen Hurley on the plane in the flashbacks?
Acc. to the TVGuide interview with the producers, food isn’t an issue on the island and we shouldn’t expect Hurley to lose a bunch of weight a la Tom Hanks.
Acc. to TV Guide at least one of the main characters will be dead before the end of the season. My guess is it’s the kid. They have stringent regulations about how long kids can work and we have the aging problem. Yup. My vote is for Walt. Please, oh, please, oh please don’t be Jack.
