Damon Lindelof, creator of Lost and The Leftovers, has been a big name in television for some time (and is one of the few writers who can still inject some unspoilable twists into TV nowadays). But even success stories have to start somewhere, and long before he was penning smoke monsters and memorable karaoke scenes, Lindelof’s career nearly got rolling because of lots of balls.
In the Fandemonium video above, the Star Trek Into Darkness writer gives some insight into his most embarrassing rejection in Hollywood, and of course it came from well before he put a polar bear on a tropical island. When he was just getting started in the industry, Lindeloff interviewed with a high profile producer for an assistant/development position. After a series of meetings, the producer (later revealed to be Fast & Furious franchise producer Neal H. Moritz) told Lindelof that the position called for someone who’s really aggressive and has balls, to which the fledgling writer meekly responded, “Well, okay, I’ve got those.” And in an attempt to really sell the producer on that non-ballsy promise, Lindeloff sent him plenty of footballs, soccer balls, super balls, and every other ball he could find at Toys R’ Us. Needless to say, he did not get that position.
It’s a clearly embarrassing story, but not nearly as embarrassing as a ball-filled story could have been. But hey, if it put him on the track for finally bringing us season three of The Leftovers, let’s just be glad he got that rejection.
