The poll results are back
Mar. 12th, 2007 10:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spicedogsWell, I posted the questions that I wanted to ask Michael Emerson. My questions, right along with the other people's questions were posted for a fanwide vote. I just found out that the poll results are final. My questions didn't win. In fact, they were way off the bottom of the list. I am not bothered about this. What I am bothered is that the three questions that won are so lame--no, I will not hold back, they were downright stupid. There is no way that Michael Emerson could answer them. The three questions that won are about the show's mythology. The man is not the creator, producer, or writer of the show. And, if he knew the answers, he would not be able to divulge them. These fans were asking him to practically give answers to what LOST is all about. There were a few of us who asked decent questions about him and his career. Nobody wants to know the man; all they want to know about is LOST. I find that the same is with the reporters who interview him: They either harp on the creepiness of his character or ask him to give details about Henry Gale and Ben Linus, which is impossible for Michael Emerson to answer. My answers and poll placements are in red. The winning questions are in blue.
The Michael Emerson Question Poll
The moment is at hand. The deadline for submitting questions for LOST's Michael Emerson has passed and it is now time to decide which three questions will go to Ben Linus himself! Originally, the plan was to put the questions in a poll, now I see that my poll script has limitation of entry length, so I will number the questions. When you come to a question that you like and would like to see Mr. Emerson answer, scroll to the bottom and vote for it! One vote per IP address! The interview will be conducted tomorrow, barring any schedule snafu's, and the audio and text of the pull interview will be posted at BuddyTV, your questions will be published right here along with the MP3! Thanks to everybody for contributing such great, and thoughtful questions. You're a class act, each and every one of you.THE QUESTIONS
1. Ben seems like so much more of a gentleman now than the sinister leader we saw at the outset of the season. Would you attribute this more to his being largely at Jack's mercy, or is there some other motivation we'll be privy to shortly?
2. Is there any truth to the rumors about the viewers getting a Ben flashback this season?
3. Did Ben and Danielle know each other before they crossed paths in the jungle?
4. Did Benry push the Hatch button?
5. Last season, there was a scene where your character said "If I told you about them, you have no idea what he'll do!" and "He'll kill me!" At this point, did you or the writers already know that Ben would be the leader of the Others? Do those two lines have a different meaning now than they did before? Wouldn't Ben have the power to protect himself, like he protected Juliet?
6. Should we believe every flashback as being the truth, or is it possible that one or more of the flashbacks represent an unreliable narrator?
7. Will Ben die in the season finale?
8. Is there one thing you can tell us about your character, that you wish the viewers knew.
9. How will Ben influence the fate of the characters (Survivor and Other) in the future?
10. What's life like for Michael Emerson on and off the set of Lost in Hawaii?
11. Who the heck is Jacob? Any hints on Others higher in the pecking order than Ben?
12. Will he be back for Season 4?
13. Are you and Carrie planning on having children?
14. Is Ben ever gonna get to see Locke again?
15. Did Ben and the Others know what would happen if the button wasn't pushed? Or did they think it was just part of a Dharma experiment?
16. After LOST is over, will you go back to your roots, namely, live theater or will you try to find a good comedic movie to star in?
17. You have loads of fans all over the world. Are you considering the possibility of performing on stage in one or maybe a few countries?
18. Would you want to do another TV show once LOST is over?
19. When Ben promised to let Jack off the island if he performed the surgery, was he telling the truth?
20. as an actor the bigest trick is honestly portraying emotions in your eyes through your soul, you are by far one of the best i have ever seen, what do you use as your motivation to get you where you need to be, the intense anger, sometimes emptiness, its always so intense what is your motivation if you could speak to that.
21. in all your interviews, what is one question you have never been asked, but wish it to be asked, and what is the answer.
22. As the story unfolds, do you hope the Others end up being "Good People"?
23. Are you a fan of the show, and do you get excited to receive the script for each episode so you can learn how the story progresses?
24. Could we expect some big "Others" action in the upcoming episodes?
25. If Ben was around 20 or even in his teens during the "purge", is it possible that he is the only 'Hostile' still living that has lived on the Island his whole life?
26. How did you feel about your character getting an action figure?
27. Do you know if your character will be in the LOST video game? That would be über awesome! :)
28. Do you enjoy playing with the underlying but very apparent camp elements and black comedy in Lost with your character(s), specifically in relation to how you perceive Ben's relationship with Jack?
29. How do you continue being the "Iowa-boy" yet handle all your newfound celebrity?
30. My question concerning your future as actor. You have already specific proposals of new roles? Especially I am interested with prospects of your arrival to the "big" cinema of a drama or epic genre. Or even a love drama.. Your tremendous deep talent is capable of all! You should play good characters, because you the good person.
31. Whether you plan when or to arrive to Russia? Russian fans adore of you.
32. And if anything in your life will not change after Lost that will allow you force to continue to do your difficult and remarkable job?
33. As we saw on the episode "Enter 77", Miss Klugh would rather die than to let the survivors know the truth about the "Others'" purpose. Ben also would rather die than let Kate and Sawyer escape from the island. What do you think could cause on Ben and the "Others" such a strong feeling about the island and their purpose of being there?
34. For those of us that first saw and loved you on "The Practice" you've shown yourself to be adept at projecting no clear archetype. The audience simply doesn't know how to interpret your chracters and that ability clearly fit really well with Lost. The question is: How do you do it? Do you have some inspiration in mind to maintain this tabula rasa of a on-screen persona?
35. Who did he use as an inspiration when he plays Ben?
36. I read on some spoiler site that Ben had some special talent/power that made him a great candidate for traveling across the island, allowing himself to be captured, getting tortured by the losties, etc. Been clued in at all as to what that talent may be? Will you be shooting lasers out of your eyes at any point?
37. In "Enter 77" we find out about the purge. Can we assume that Ben is an island native who has rid his home of the DHARMA scientists, or is there something more to Ben telling Locke, "We're scientists," while he was captured.
38. In "Tricia Tanaka is Dead," the Three Dog Night song "Shambala" is prominently featured. There are obvious comparisons to the Tibetan Budhist version of what and where Shambala is and the islands. There are also comparisons to an ancient race of people who live in Shambala and Ben's group of "others." Should we be looking more into this?
39. Can Ben, and the Others in general, influence the actions of the island and things on it, eg, its healing capabilities, for instance?
40. Has Ben ever left the island?
41. Do the Others have any involvement in the whispers, heard by Sayid and Sawyer as well as other people?
42. When ben promised that juliet andjack could go home did he mean the outside world "home", or othersville "home"??
43. Why did Ben travel near the survivor's camp? Did he really get caught on purpose? Was he really there to get John Locke? If so, why?
44. Does Ben know anything about any of the hatches on the island? Did he know what was happening when the sky turned purple in the Season 2 Finale?
45. Has he ever had any relations with Danielle? Did he adopt Alex? If so, why?
46. Did Ben really make the mistake of letting Jack take charge for a while, or is that all part of his plan?
47. Has Ben ever left the island? If so, why and when?
48. Does Ben have The Shine?
48. Did Ben have anything to do with the Purge?
49. Are the Others left over Dharma scientists, or are they a race of people that have lived on the Island for generations? Or perhaps both?
50. Does Ben know what the smoke monster is, and its purpose?
51. Does Ben use Vincent to spy on the survivor's camp?
52. If Ben has lived on the island all of his life, is it possible that he is a descendent of the four-toed statue?
53. Tell us three things your fans would be surprised to know about Michael Emerson and three things they would be surprised to know about Ben.
54. You come from a background in Theatre acting. How does this help or hinder your performance as Ben?
55. If You could choose, who would be Your favorite/ most challenging book character that You would like to play in a movie adaptation?
56. If You could choose from all the theatres ever built, on which theatre would You like to play most, even if only once ?
57. what character from LOTR would You to play?
58. When you were cast for 'Lost', where you told that you were to be playing the character Henry Gale, or Benjamin Linus pretending to be Henry?
59. In terms of Ben's background, what details were you given? We know that Ben has a prominantly literary background, and is quite the intellectual -- do share reading tastes with Ben, or did you find yourself reading more what Ben would read as you found out more about the character?
60. What scenes are you most proud of, acting-wise?
61. What do you think "the good ones" means?
62. How intense do you think the romance between Ben and Juliet was? Will we see their romance in a flashback?
63. Ben is an unlikely leader. Do you consider yourself a leader?
64. Which do you prefer: Dostoevsky or Stephen King?
65. Is there a way we might see your artwork and illustrations?
66. Describe the lowest point of your career.
67. What are your favorite books and movies?
68. What are your spiritual beliefs?
68. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
69. How did you adjust from living in Iowa to living in New York? Do you miss the country?
70. Did you always know you'd be an actor?
80. What did "fame" mean to you as you dreamed about acting? What did "making it" constitute to you? Would you have been satisfied with total anonymity for the whole of your career?
81. How do you approach crying scenes? Do you find you can cry on cue?
82. Have you performed in any musicals? What do you think of your singing voice?
83. How would your friends describe you?
84. Do you have any moral boundaries regarding sex, violence, language or nudity in the work you do?
85. In the S2 Finale, you said, "We're the good guys." It that's true, have we met the "bad guys" yet?
86. I saw you in Jumping Off Bridges. I was utterly surprised to see you as a nice and vulnerable person. I loved your characterization of this devastated man, who not only lost his daughter and his wife, but was on the verge of losing his son. How did you prepare for that role? Was the bathroom scene where so much of your emotions had to be displayed difficult to play? Do you ever feel drained of your emotions once your plays or scenes are over?
87. Very few of us, if any, are privy to your earlier works (the ones you did before your MFA), do you attribute the quality of your work to be enhanced by going through the masters' program?
88. Did you always feel that you wanted to be an actor? Or did you have another career in mind? If so, what was it?
89. I read that you were originally supposed to be on for a few episodes, what was the original arc for your character?
90. When did you know your charater was an Other?
91. When did you know that you would be a leader of the Others?
92. Do you know or believe there to be someone higher in rank than Ben amongst the Others?
93. One more question to Mr. Emerson. Who loves striped shirts you or your wife more?
94. One of the great things about the Ben character is that he can seem achingly sincere and sypathetic at one moment, and calculatingly cutting and cruel the next ... sometimes both at the same time. As an actor, what techniques do you use to achieve this effect?
20. as an actor the bigest trick is honestly portraying emotions in your eyes through your soul, you are by far one of the best i have ever seen, what do you use as your motivation to get you where you need to be, the intense anger, sometimes emptiness, its always so intense what is your motivation if you could speak to that.
21. in all your interviews, what is one question you have never been asked, but wish it to be asked, and what is the answer.
22. As the story unfolds, do you hope the Others end up being "Good People"?
23. Are you a fan of the show, and do you get excited to receive the script for each episode so you can learn how the story progresses?
24. Could we expect some big "Others" action in the upcoming episodes?
25. If Ben was around 20 or even in his teens during the "purge", is it possible that he is the only 'Hostile' still living that has lived on the Island his whole life?
26. How did you feel about your character getting an action figure?
27. Do you know if your character will be in the LOST video game? That would be über awesome! :)
28. Do you enjoy playing with the underlying but very apparent camp elements and black comedy in Lost with your character(s), specifically in relation to how you perceive Ben's relationship with Jack?
29. How do you continue being the "Iowa-boy" yet handle all your newfound celebrity?
30. My question concerning your future as actor. You have already specific proposals of new roles? Especially I am interested with prospects of your arrival to the "big" cinema of a drama or epic genre. Or even a love drama.. Your tremendous deep talent is capable of all! You should play good characters, because you the good person.
31. Whether you plan when or to arrive to Russia? Russian fans adore of you.
32. And if anything in your life will not change after Lost that will allow you force to continue to do your difficult and remarkable job?
33. As we saw on the episode "Enter 77", Miss Klugh would rather die than to let the survivors know the truth about the "Others'" purpose. Ben also would rather die than let Kate and Sawyer escape from the island. What do you think could cause on Ben and the "Others" such a strong feeling about the island and their purpose of being there?
34. For those of us that first saw and loved you on "The Practice" you've shown yourself to be adept at projecting no clear archetype. The audience simply doesn't know how to interpret your chracters and that ability clearly fit really well with Lost. The question is: How do you do it? Do you have some inspiration in mind to maintain this tabula rasa of a on-screen persona?
35. Who did he use as an inspiration when he plays Ben?
36. I read on some spoiler site that Ben had some special talent/power that made him a great candidate for traveling across the island, allowing himself to be captured, getting tortured by the losties, etc. Been clued in at all as to what that talent may be? Will you be shooting lasers out of your eyes at any point?
37. In "Enter 77" we find out about the purge. Can we assume that Ben is an island native who has rid his home of the DHARMA scientists, or is there something more to Ben telling Locke, "We're scientists," while he was captured.
38. In "Tricia Tanaka is Dead," the Three Dog Night song "Shambala" is prominently featured. There are obvious comparisons to the Tibetan Budhist version of what and where Shambala is and the islands. There are also comparisons to an ancient race of people who live in Shambala and Ben's group of "others." Should we be looking more into this?
39. Can Ben, and the Others in general, influence the actions of the island and things on it, eg, its healing capabilities, for instance?
40. Has Ben ever left the island?
41. Do the Others have any involvement in the whispers, heard by Sayid and Sawyer as well as other people?
42. When ben promised that juliet andjack could go home did he mean the outside world "home", or othersville "home"??
43. Why did Ben travel near the survivor's camp? Did he really get caught on purpose? Was he really there to get John Locke? If so, why?
44. Does Ben know anything about any of the hatches on the island? Did he know what was happening when the sky turned purple in the Season 2 Finale?
45. Has he ever had any relations with Danielle? Did he adopt Alex? If so, why?
46. Did Ben really make the mistake of letting Jack take charge for a while, or is that all part of his plan?
47. Has Ben ever left the island? If so, why and when?
48. Does Ben have The Shine?
48. Did Ben have anything to do with the Purge?
49. Are the Others left over Dharma scientists, or are they a race of people that have lived on the Island for generations? Or perhaps both?
50. Does Ben know what the smoke monster is, and its purpose?
51. Does Ben use Vincent to spy on the survivor's camp?
52. If Ben has lived on the island all of his life, is it possible that he is a descendent of the four-toed statue?
53. Tell us three things your fans would be surprised to know about Michael Emerson and three things they would be surprised to know about Ben.
54. You come from a background in Theatre acting. How does this help or hinder your performance as Ben?
55. If You could choose, who would be Your favorite/ most challenging book character that You would like to play in a movie adaptation?
56. If You could choose from all the theatres ever built, on which theatre would You like to play most, even if only once ?
57. what character from LOTR would You to play?
58. When you were cast for 'Lost', where you told that you were to be playing the character Henry Gale, or Benjamin Linus pretending to be Henry?
59. In terms of Ben's background, what details were you given? We know that Ben has a prominantly literary background, and is quite the intellectual -- do share reading tastes with Ben, or did you find yourself reading more what Ben would read as you found out more about the character?
60. What scenes are you most proud of, acting-wise?
61. What do you think "the good ones" means?
62. How intense do you think the romance between Ben and Juliet was? Will we see their romance in a flashback?
63. Ben is an unlikely leader. Do you consider yourself a leader?
64. Which do you prefer: Dostoevsky or Stephen King?
65. Is there a way we might see your artwork and illustrations?
66. Describe the lowest point of your career.
67. What are your favorite books and movies?
68. What are your spiritual beliefs?
68. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
69. How did you adjust from living in Iowa to living in New York? Do you miss the country?
70. Did you always know you'd be an actor?
80. What did "fame" mean to you as you dreamed about acting? What did "making it" constitute to you? Would you have been satisfied with total anonymity for the whole of your career?
81. How do you approach crying scenes? Do you find you can cry on cue?
82. Have you performed in any musicals? What do you think of your singing voice?
83. How would your friends describe you?
84. Do you have any moral boundaries regarding sex, violence, language or nudity in the work you do?
85. In the S2 Finale, you said, "We're the good guys." It that's true, have we met the "bad guys" yet?
86. I saw you in Jumping Off Bridges. I was utterly surprised to see you as a nice and vulnerable person. I loved your characterization of this devastated man, who not only lost his daughter and his wife, but was on the verge of losing his son. How did you prepare for that role? Was the bathroom scene where so much of your emotions had to be displayed difficult to play? Do you ever feel drained of your emotions once your plays or scenes are over?
87. Very few of us, if any, are privy to your earlier works (the ones you did before your MFA), do you attribute the quality of your work to be enhanced by going through the masters' program?
88. Did you always feel that you wanted to be an actor? Or did you have another career in mind? If so, what was it?
89. I read that you were originally supposed to be on for a few episodes, what was the original arc for your character?
90. When did you know your charater was an Other?
91. When did you know that you would be a leader of the Others?
92. Do you know or believe there to be someone higher in rank than Ben amongst the Others?
93. One more question to Mr. Emerson. Who loves striped shirts you or your wife more?
94. One of the great things about the Ben character is that he can seem achingly sincere and sypathetic at one moment, and calculatingly cutting and cruel the next ... sometimes both at the same time. As an actor, what techniques do you use to achieve this effect?
| TailSection POLL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
13.1%
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 03:34 pm (UTC)I also concur with your thoughts about him being interviewed. No one ever asks him anything about himself. It's always about Ben being creepy or scary...I wish Michael would come to the Henry Gale Lovers, we'd ask him some really good, decent questions abou himself.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 04:36 pm (UTC)Like Ashli says - I wish he would come to HenryGale Lovers if only once and answer our - his fans - questions, not only Lost and Other's fans questions ;)
Well, I only can wish that someone he knows will read this comments here someday and ask him to come here ^_^ That would be fantastic :]
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 05:18 pm (UTC)I liked your questions. Good job on them, even if they won't get answered. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-12 05:51 pm (UTC)Michael can't answer number 2 because either he doesn't know or it is a spoiler.
All Michael can do for number 15 is to give his opinion on what Ben thought would happen. That settles nothing.
This is going to be a wasted opportunity. People want answers and Michael can't give them. Hopefully Michael will be able to make it interesting but it sounds like it is going to be a rehash of other interviews. The interviewer went about this in the wrong way.
No one voted for the stuff he could answer like questions about himself.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-13 02:44 am (UTC)Katie
www.katiescrazyride.com
no subject
Date: 2007-03-13 03:20 am (UTC)