Carlton Cuse
![Carlton Cuse](/assets/img/authors/carlton-cuse.jpg)
Carlton Cuse
Arthur Carlton Cuseis an American screenwriter, showrunner and producer, best known as an executive producer and screenwriter for the American television series Lost, for which he made the Time magazine list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. Cuse is considered a pioneer in transmedia storytelling...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Producer
Date of Birth22 March 1959
CountryUnited States of America
history law might
I didn't know at all I wanted to do TV. I thought I might go to law school. I might want to become a history professor.
despite dicaprio kate leonardo love rooting
I love 'Titanic' and the idea that you're kind of rooting for Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to survive despite the fact that you know that they're not going to.
almost characters experience feeling great love sadness time
If you go to a movie and it's a great experience, the experience at the end of it is always like this sadness that it's over, that your time with these characters is finished. There's almost like an achy feeling that I have when I go to a movie that I love and it ends.
apply chance folklore influenced learned liberal mythology physics took
I took physics, and lo and behold, there's a lot of physics in 'Lost.' I think for most people, liberal arts educations are more abstract, but for me, it's been a chance to apply the things I've learned more directly. I also took some Folklore and Mythology classes, and I think that a lot of that influenced me.
buy essential field human nor secret theory unified unlock
I think there's this essential human desire to have a unified field theory. Everyone is like, 'I want to unlock the single secret to 'Lost.' There isn't any one secret. There is not a unified field theory for 'Lost,' nor do we think there should be, because philosophically, we don't buy into that as a conceit.
connection create fans gave grew internet opportunity pioneer sort wake
I think 'Lost' was really a pioneer in the use of the kind of connection between a television show and the Internet, and the Internet really gave fans an opportunity to create a community around the show. That was something that wasn't really planned; it just sort of grew up in the wake of the show.
almost certain command director favorite hitchcock list movies owes rear sort thriller time ways
I think 'North by Northwest' and 'Rope' and Rear Window' and 'Psycho' are on my list of favorite all time movies. I just think his kind of command as a director was almost unparalleled, and I feel like in certain ways the sort of character-based thriller owes more to Hitchcock than anyone.
best episode finale implicit people somehow sort supposed
I can't say that the ending of a story is always the best part of the story, and yet there's sort of this implicit idea that the finale is somehow supposed to be the mind-blowing best episode of a show. The question is: Why is that? Why do people make that assumption?
bunch people stranded sustains
'Lost' is about a bunch of people stranded on an island. It's compelling, but kind of tiny. But what sustains you are the characters.
agree appreciate enjoyed experience fact finale hope hours love might precede ruined
I feel like if you enjoyed the 119 hours that precede the finale of 'Lost,' is that whole experience ruined by the fact that you might not agree with everything that we did in the finale? I would hope not! I would hope that you would appreciate the fact that you were entertained for 119 hours even if you didn't love the finale.
passionate personally
I'm a big baseball fan, and I feel proprietary about the Dodgers. I'm not the owner. I'm not the manager. But I feel passionate about the decisions that they make, and I take it personally when they make decisions I don't like.
episode finale odd ruined watch
This idea that you can watch a show like 'True Detective,' and it was awesome, but is it really ruined for you if the finale is not your favorite episode of it? It's just odd to me.
ambiguity analysis discussion lead problem room
I think we very much want to put those things into the show that lead to discussion and analysis and that's what makes the show engaging. It's not a show in which everything is spoon-fed to you, which is the problem with a lot of American television. There is room for ambiguity in this story.
breaking episode shows
The most difficult story that I've ever been involved in breaking on any of my shows was 'The Constant' episode of 'Lost,' which was when Desmond was consciousness-traveling.