“Well, I think the first thing that would happen is you would say the fundamental, most important part of the story is that he dies – [and that] he is victorious, he beats the machine. It’s the triumph of the human spirit over technology. But with that comes a price. And all the studio execs would say, ‘Absolutely. That’s what we love about this story.’ Two drafts later somebody would say, ‘Does he have to die?'” Screenwriter Damon Lindelof walks us through the studios’ likely development process.