I was wondering about a couple of things with scripts and casting

First of is the writer of the script always present in Hawaii while filming of the episode?
Who does the casting for the guest stars and who can veto that decision? Does Damon make the final call on who gets the role?

Also, for upcoming episodes will we see Desmond get a flashback? Who will the focus be on for Two For The Road and Three Minutes? Thanks.

:) You know I can't comment on upcoming episodes. All I can say is that Desmond has never been forgotten. I think one of things that is great about "Lost" as a TV show is how certain things are planted and then revisited episodes later.

The casting process is essentially the same on "Lost" as it is on every TV show. The casting director will put out a breakdown of the roles each episode requires. There is a breakdown service that agents and actors subscribe to that puts out the information. So for example, in the recent episode of "Lockdown," we needed to cast for the priest role. The casting people talked to Damon and Carlton about what they wanted, which was a Latino guy in his 40s (if I remember correctly), and they put out a breakdown for that information. Then agents and actors who fit that description submitted their headshots for consideration. The casting people then brought in the people they thought were the strongest and held auditions.

Typically the writer will be present during the auditions. The actors have the sides (the scene that the character appears in), and they perform it. The auditions are taped, and once done the casting director and the writers will pick who they felt was the strongest in order of preference, i.e. this guy would be our first choice, this guy our second choice, and so on. You rank them because things may not work out regarding schedules, salary or whatever.

Then the tape and the headshots are given to Carlton and Damon, and they watch them together and make a decision about who they want. Once they choose, casting contacts the actor's agent and works out a deal.

All roles that have large speaking parts are cast out of the LA office. If the role has only a few lines, we cast those roles out of Hawaii. That is basically because the talent pool is much larger in LA to choose from than in Hawaii.

Rarely does the writer get to go on set in Hawaii during the shooting of an episode. They stay in LA working on the scripts. However, we get dailies, and the writers watch them. If anything is glaringly off, they will talk with Carlton and Damon about it, and then maybe a reshoot will be done, but that is rare. Everyone in production knows and understands what the writers want, and they usually get it on set without any problems.

One thing I would like to add about casting leaks and spoilers. Just because a casting breakdown goes out with certain information doesn't mean it's written in stone. What airs in the final air master is what fans should count as coming from TPTB. Anything before that, including casting spoilers or photographs from set or whatever, is simply conjecture and may not be what it appears to be. I know people like to feel like they have inside information, and that gives them a certain cache among groups of fans, but I would take that information with a grain of salt.

Wow Gregg thanks for such a detailed reply so quickly!

And yes I figured that some casting info that is found on the internet doesnt necessarily pan out to be true. I know for maternity leave the casting call which ended up being Tania Raymond for the young girl listed her name as jessica. Which was confusing because some people didnt know if this meant she was alex.

I guess other casting calls Carlton and Damon know which actor they want. For example I'm sure Clancy Brown wouldnt need to do an audition. Hes a fantastic actor. Also, was there any other choice besides Michael Emerson for Henry Gale? He was a great choice, especially after I watched Saw. Definitely looks Other-worldly. Part of the best part of watching the show is seeing how many great guest actors you have had.

Too bad, I was hoping you could pass some minor info on those flashbacks coming up. Maybe you could hint as to how true the following are:

two for the road - ana
? - eko
3 minutes - michael

thanks again and good luck with the final four episodes, it must be really busy down there trying to finish everything so quickly.