ABC's Once Upon a Time

[Sawyer]

We Grill Two Former Lost Writers on Their Dark Fairy Tale Pilot
2/14/11 at 3:30 PM

When Lost was on the air, pilot season was always abuzz with the question, "What's gonna be the next Lost?" Now that that show is over, the question has become all the more incessant, since many of its writers are free and now pitching new shows: Surely they know the secret to giving us an addictive new series dense with mythology! One pilot in development by Oceanic alumni that's currently being closely scrutinized and prayed for by Lost fans is ABC's Once Upon a Time. It's written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who earned a rep for scripting some of Lost's funniest (and often most touching) episodes, like the season-three hour in which Hurley successfully started an old VW van on the island. Once Upon a Time (on which Damon Lindelof is also consulting) has a twisty, dual-plotted premise reminiscent of their previous gig: A young boy lives in Storybrooke, Maine, where he's convinced things aren't what they seem, and we also get glimpses — through flashbacks? flash-sideways? — of a fairy tale land where familiar evil queens and dwarves with sharply drawn personalities are quite real. Though the project is still early in its development and might not make it to air, the Lost-size hole in our heart propelled us to call up Kitsis and Horowitz to get some early details.

What is Once Upon a Time about?
Kitsis: What we want to do is take a look at well-known characters and stories and kind of dig deeper than what you know, and say, "Here's what you didn't know." We want to try to bring [the characters] out as people instead of just metaphors to deal with our fears
Horowitz: For us, first and foremost, this is a character show. We want to take the iconography that we've always loved and find find a new way to look at what makes these fairy-tale characters tick.

How was this idea born?
Horowitz: It was eight years ago. We had come off Felicity. And we got into a discussion about the kind of show we'd like to do, and why we write. We started talking about the myths and fairy tales that had inspired us, which led to, "How do you explore that in a new way?" We had no interest in retelling every story everyone knows.
Kitsis: And we started to say things like, "What if you were the evil queen? How annoying would it be to live in the enchanted forest ... [and] you have no hope of a happy ending?" It was that kind of weird take on it. We were younger writers, so people weren't in such a hurry to buy a crazy idea from two guys who were very young in their career. But the idea stuck with us.
Horowitz: The six years of Lost were rather intense and didn't really afford us the opportunity to develop it.
Kitsis: Then when Lost ended, ABC came to us and asked if we wanted to do our own show. We said we'd like to do this. They immediately said, "Great." And the very first thing we did was go to Damon and said, "Here's this crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy idea. Is this a show?" He's really been a godfather to us in helping us shape this.

In the pilot script, you cut between two worlds — Fairytale Land and Storybrooke — and two different times. Lost didn't invent flashbacks, of course, but it definitely seems you're borrowing a technique that's worked before.
Kitsis: After six years of Lost, the DNA of that show is in us. We just found it to be an effective way to tell this [story]. The Lost pilot was wide enough and included enough things so that when season five came, and we spent half of the year in 1973, nobody cried foul. It felt like it was already a part of the DNA. We want to go into battle with as many tools as we can so we can tell as many stories in as many ways as possible.
Horowitz: This [technique] was the best way of telling the story in the pilot. If we're lucky enough to move forward, we'd love to explore many different ways to tell stories.

Will this be a show, like Lost, that you need to watch religiously to fully understand?
Kitsis: There will be self-contained stories in each episode. [And] there will be a larger mythology at work. But it's not like if you miss an episode one week, you can't catch up.

Tell me more about how Damon has been involved with the development so far.
Kitsis: He's been great in every situation. We can go to him and say, "We just got this phone call [from the network] — what does it mean?" And he's able to translate that because he's been through it all. What Damon has been really great about is helping us find our vision for the show.

Will we see other Lost-ies pitch in on Once Upon a Time? Maybe Michael Giacchino doing the score?
Kitsis: I would love to have Michael for the score! I would kill for him. But I think he's a little busy right now doing movies. There are some things that might pop up. Geronimo Jackson might appear on the show at some point.

Trying to tell stories with characters we all know could be tricky, especially when it comes to bringing humor to stories. Things could easily get cheesy or corny real fast, right?
Horowitz: It really comes down to grounding it in real characters. If what the characters are doing is real, you have license to be as funny as you want to be. On Lost, Hurley was very funny, but he never told jokes. He never had pratfalls.
Kitsis: The two favorite episodes of Lost that Adam and I wrote were "Dave," which was where Hurley has an imaginary friend, and "Trisha Tanaka is Dead," where Hurley finds a van and starts it. That feeling you got when the Three Dog Night song plays, and Hurley gets the van started — that's what we wanted this to be. It's funny like that. We don't want it to be "Wink, wink, aren't we clever." We want it to feel real and emotional. We want people to be swept up in the story and stop saying, "Hey, there's Pinnochio!" and instead say, "Oh, there's a child with a problem."

So this show won't be afraid to get a little twisted?
Kitsis: We're not doing the 12-year-old kid version of this. We're gonna tell stories that are dark and complex and emotional. They're not going to be lowered for younger people. Because at the end of the day, we want to do something that doesn't suck.
Horowitz: Not sucking is very, very important.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/lost_kitsis_horowitz_new_show.html

I'm plenty intrigued. I hope this all works out.

 

[Metamorpho1977]

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/lost_kitsis_horowitz_new_show.html

I'm plenty intrigued. I hope this all works out.

Isn't this that vertigo comic they were talking about a while ago?

 

[Sawyer]

Nope. That's Fables.

 

[Asgard]

Premise seems vaguely similar to The Talisman.

 

[Sawyer]

Two big pieces of casting:

Former Stargate Universe star Robert Carlyle is set to portray Rumplestiltskin in ABC's drama pilot Once Upon a Time, about a woman drawn into a town where the magic and mystery of fairy tales may be real and hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her troubled past. An expert on black magic, Rumplestiltskin agrees to help Snow White and Prince Charming counteract the Evil Queen's dark spells, but for a price.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/robert-carlyle-emma-bell-join-broadcast-pilots/

Big Love co-star Ginnifer Goodwin has been tapped for a lead role in ABC's drama pilot Once Upon a Time. The project, from Lost executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, centers on a woman with a troubled past who is drawn into a small town in Maine where the magic and mystery of Fairy Tales just may be real. Goodwin will play Snow White/Sister Mary Margaret, a beautiful woman with dark hair and very pale skin who has been placed under a wicked spell by the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), and is brought back from a living death by Prince Charming. WME-repped Goodwin has been busy in features lately with He's Just Not That Into You, A Single Man and the upcoming Something Borrowed.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/ginnifer-goodwin-joins-abcs-once-upon-a-time/

 

[Primal Slayer]

Dont know why they couldnt just go with Fables....

 

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/jen...t-once-upon-a-time-3-others-cast/#more-112726

Jennifer Morrison Set As The Lead In ABC Pilot 'Once Upon A Time', 3 Others Cast
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

EXCLUSIVE: House alumna Jennifer Morrison has landed the lead in ABC's drama pilot Once Upon a Time. Josh Dallas, Jamie Dornan and Jared Gilmore also have been cast in the project, from writers-executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It centers on Anna (Morrison), a woman drawn into the small town of Storybrook where the magic and mystery of fairy tales may be real.

10-year-old Gilmore, who has recurred as Bobby Draper on Mad Men, will play the pivotal role of Henry, Anna's biological son and the only resident of Storybrook who who is not under the spell of the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) and tracks down his mom to enlists her help. Dallas will play Prince Charming. Dornan will play the handsome and authoritative sheriff of Storybrooke. Following her exit from House, on which she played Dr. Allison Cameron, Morrison has recurred on How I Met Your Mother this season. Gilmore is with AEF and David Dean Management.

Nice.

 

[Sawyer]

http://www.tvline.com/2011/04/jennifer-morrison-once-upon-a-time/

Pilot Preview: Jennifer Morrison Says Lost Fans Will Love ABC's Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young actress named Jennifer Morrison. Many adored her when she played House, and faithful fans followed her to a “legendary” place known as How I Met Your Mother. Now, Morrison is hoping to start a new chapter in her career, as the star of an ABC adventure that offers magically delicious treats for those who savored a little show called Lost.
Morrison’s buzzy ABC pilot, Once Upon a Time, is the brainchild of Lost executive producers Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. That pedigree is both a blessing and a curse for the series, as it will no doubt face some folks’ expectations for another Island-esque masterpiece. Fortunately, Morison tells TVLine that Losties need not worry. In fact, the pilot alone promises subtle nods to the Oceanic gang scattered throughout the hour.

“The pilot is so beautifully written, with such a great cast,” Morrison gushes. “It really is very special.”

But let’s backtrack: What is Once Upon a Time really all about, other than simply a “modern-day fairy tale”?

“Basically, it’s as if every fairy tale character ever written is real and actually exists, but they’ve been cursed and they don’t know their true identities,” Morrison explains. (For example, Big Love‘s Ginnifer Goodwin plays Snow White, while Swingtown‘s Lana Parrilla is the Evil Queen.) “They are living in our reality not knowing who they truly are. And because [of that], they’re never going to have their happy ending.”

Morrison plays the series’ main character, Anna, “a child of two fairy tale characters who is fated to save everyone from the curse.”

While Time is in no way an action series, “Anna is a bails bondsman, so her job in real-life is kickass… but realistically kickass,” Morrison promises. “It’s not like she’s flying or anything, she is just a tough chick. She didn’t grow up with her parents and now she’s “the chosen one,” so she’s a little messed up when we meet her.”

Hailing the aforementioned former Lost EPs and what they bring to the table, Morrison says, “Eddy and Adam are just so great at mixing this world of fantasy and reality, which they did with Lost for so many years. The pilot really sucks you in and sets up so much intrigue and conflict.”

Sounds good to me.

 

[SuperT]

I didn't see a thread for this already! Definitely looking forward to this, I have a weird obsession with fables/fairy tales.

Here's the show trailer

[YT]yz9VFa7Z6Y0[/YT]

And synopsis:

From the inventive minds of “Lost” executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis comes a bold new imagining of the world, where fairy tales and the modern-day are about to collide.

And they all lived happily ever after – or so everyone was led to believe. Emma Swan knows how to take care of herself. She’s a 28-year-old bail bonds collector who’s been on her own ever since she was abandoned as a baby. But when the son she gave up years ago finds her, everything starts to change. Henry is now 10 years old and in desperate need of Emma’s help. He believes that Emma actually comes from an alternate world and is Snow White and Prince Charming’s missing daughter. According to his book of fairytales, they sent her away to protect her from the Evil Queen’s curse, which trapped the fairytale world forever, frozen in time, and brought them into our modern world. Of course Emma doesn’t believe a word, but when she brings Henry back to Storybrooke, she finds herself drawn to this unusual boy and his strange New England town. Concerned for Henry, she decides to stay for a while, but she soon suspects that Storybrooke is more than it seems. It’s a place where magic has been forgotten, but is still powerfully close… where fairytale characters are alive, even though they don’t remember who they once were. The epic battle for the future of all worlds is beginning, but for good to win, Emma will have to accept her destiny and fight like hell.

“Once Upon a Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin (“Big Love”) as Snow White/Sister Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison (“House MD”) as Emma Swan, Robert Carlyle (“The Full Monty,” “Trainspotting,” “SGU Stargate Universe”) as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold, Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina, Jamie Dornan as Sheriff Graham, Jared Gilmore (“Mad Men”) as Henry, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/John Doe and Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie.

“Once Upon a Time” was written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who are also executive producers, along with Steve Pearlman (ABC’s “V”). The pilot is directed and executive-produced by Mark Mylod (“Entourage”). “Once Upon a Time” is from ABC Studios.

 

[Sawyer]

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=348626

 

[SuperT]

Whoops! I even did a search and it didn't bring anything up!

 

[Sawyer]

Yeah, for whatever reason, the search option kind of sucks here.

Mods, can we get a merge?

 

[Hunter Rider]

This looks terrible IMO.

 

[Sawyer]

Oh, you and your shenanigans.

Thanks for merging BTW.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

This looks terrible IMO.

Yay! I wasn't the first person to say so.

 

[vindrow]

Why bother watching...ABC will keep it on for 1 season and then cancel it when it isn't drawing 30 million people to watch it.

 

[Specter313]

When I saw a clip of this, I honestly thought it looked like some made for tv mini series ala 10th Kingdom.

 

[Sawyer]

I loved The 10th Kingdom.

 

[Specter313]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I did too, it was just the first thing that popped into my head from you posting it somewhere else, lol. Just it seems like something that would be a mini and not a full series.

 

[flash13]

I'm interested to see where this goes

 

[Doctor Jones]

...

Wow, I don't know what will be better. This or Grimm.

And that's not a compliment.

 

[Sawyer]

No one's putting a gun to your head, Doc.

 

[Sawyer]

http://twitter.com/#!/JaneEspenson/status/70911691117961219

I like the sound of this very much. Jane's been involved in damn near every show I've ever loved. Buffy, Angel, BSG. I'll admit, the trailer wasn't stellar in the least, but the writing talent on this thing gives me hope.

 

[Doc Vape]

ahhhh I'm not liking her with blonde hair but I am looking forward to this show, and any new show, because I loved to have my heart ripped out and stomped on right before the season finale when they announce they canceled the show

If TV wasn't over-run with reality TV, the "Tv Drama" would thrive once again

 

[Sawyer]

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/07/19/once-upon-a-time-trailer-first-look/

Overall, I think that's a much better put-together trailer than the first. And I'm really looking forward to hearing what comes out of it's SDCC panel, especially with Damon Lindelof moderating.