JJ Abrams On "The Mystery Of Magic" In WiReD Magazine
In addition to editing this month's issue of WiReD Magazine, writer/director JJ Abrams wrote an editorial called "The Mystery of Magic" which deals with the importance of mystery in movies and storytelling, and how spoilers effect audience enjoyment.
"People often ask me how Lost is going to end. I usually tell them to ask Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who run that series. But I always wonder, do they really want to know? And what if I did tell them? They might have an aha moment, but without context. Especially since the final episode is a year away. That is to say, the experience—the setup for a joke's punch line, the buildup to a magic trick's big flourish—is as much of a thrill as the result. There's discovery to be made and wonder to be had on the journey that not only enrich the ending but in many ways define it."
I highly reccomend reading the entire article on Wired.com. Warning: The paragraph at the begining of the article is a major spoiler that "ruins" the story at the end of the article — I kid you not. But don't skip it....