Prison Break… The Final Break
On May 15, Michael Scofield and his team enjoyed their last moments of glory on the small screen. The show got its foot on the ladder in 2005, winning millions of fans. It’s been a journey with ups and downs, but one which managed to keep many viewers guessing. Along the way, a few familiar faces reappeared, justice was dealt out and in a four year flash forward, a variety of fates were revealed… but that wasn’t enough. During the epilogue, when one normally thinks everything is settled and clear, the producers prepared a huge turnover, where everything is exactly the opposite from one would have expected… but let’s not forget that this gives the cherry on top of the cake for this series, even if this cherry doesn’t really taste sweet…
The surprises and twists don’t perish here… The role of filling in the gap between the present day and the four year flash forward comes to “Prison Break: The Final Break”… Since the Federal Government can’t hurt Michael, they imprison the woman he loves. Arrested for murder, Sara trusts that the love of her life will find a way to rescue her and their unborn child. With time running out, Michael has no choice left but to rely on his worst enemies to help him bring into force the most daring break out ever. You definitely wouldn’t like to miss The Final Break… The movie had its world premiere on May 24, in Israel… but it can also be seen tomorrow night on Sky 1. In an interview to EW, Matt Olmstead gave answers to some of the most burning questions regarding the series finale and the movie…
Why’d you have to kill him?
Matt Olmstead : “It started as a discussion with Wentworth Miller around Season 2. He brought up a good point… His character’s hands are as dirty as anyone’s. If you look at the initial act that he committed – robbing a bank to get into prison to break his brother out – there were ramifications to that; a lot of people got hurt. Not by them, but when they rattled the cage of the company that was after them, the body count started to pile out. And Michael was aware of this. And we’ve addressed his guilt throughout the show. But at a certain point, it felt nobler to have the character die so that others could live.
It just felt a little weird for us to have Michael and Sara holding hands on the beach walking away – though that would be gratifying in the moment. Knowing that there was pretty much a scorched path behind them in terms of what happened, (having him die) balanced the books for us. He also paid the ultimate sacrifice and, in doing so, everyone else close to him was able to live, including his child.”
Michael-Sara fans will argue that they deserved a happy ending after watching these two go to hell and back for four seasons. What would you say to them?
Matt Olmstead : “For me, it is a happy ending. Look at the very first episode of the season when Michael realizes Sara’s alive. They have a chance to run away and they both elect not to because, as two people of conscience, they can’t live with what they both now have experienced. And at the end of the finale, when they’re on the beach and talking about the baby that’s coming, that’s a huge victory in that they both stood their ground and, with the help of other people, brought down the ultimate antagonist. So they have their moment.”
Can we assume that we’ll learn more about the ultimate sacrifice Michael made in the two hour direct to DVD prequel movie (due July 28)?
Matt Olmstead : “Yes, it dramatizes what happened to Michael. The nose bleed that reared its ugly head at the end was a factor in his ultimate demise in that he knew that he probably didn’t have that long to live, but it wasn’t the sole factor. It informed certain decisions that lead to his demise.”
The two-hour movie picks up right after the finale, right?
Matt Olmstead : “Yeah, it takes place fairly soon after they’re exonerated.”
What’s the premise?
Matt Olmstead : Sara is on the hook for [killing] Michael’s mother and she gets locked up while pregnant. The tables are turned… once a doctor in prison now imprisoned, and Michael’s on the outside. The majority of the cast is back. It’s Michael, Lincoln, Sara, Sucre, T-Bag, Mahone… all the heavy-hitters.
Seeing Paul Adelstein back as Kellerman was a nice surprise. How’d that come about?
Matt Olmstead : We reached out to Paul and pitched him the idea of what his character would be doing, and he liked it very much. And then I told him that we would be jumping ahead four years to show where all the characters are, and I asked him where he would want [Kellerman] to be; he was included in the [creative process]. We traded a lot of e-mails and the ideas ran the gamut. We ultimately arrived at what it was, which is he rose to a position of power, but that the widow of his [former] partner that he killed revisits him. In the scene I wrote, she spits on his shoes. [On the day of shooting], I got a call from the director, Kevin Hooks, and he said, “Paul’s here, and he [thinks] she would spit in his face.” And I said, “Have at it.” So she spit in his face. And then he’s in the limo afterward and you can see that private moment where [he realizes] he can never outrun his past. That’s one of my favorite sequences in the flash-forward. He played the self-loathing and regret beautifully.
Did you encounter any problems getting ABC to loan him to you since he’s now on “Private Practice”?
Matt Olmstead : Everybody was very accommodating, and I think it all stems from a universal goodwill towards Paul as a person. He’s a really good guy and people wanted to do him a favor. And we were able to get all his scenes done in one day.
Was there anyone you wanted to get back for the finale and couldn’t?
Matt Olmstead : The only person we couldn’t get was Marshall Allman, who played Lincoln’s son. We would have loved to have gotten him.
Looking back on the four seasons, anything you would have done differently?
Matt Olmstead : “I don’t have a whole lot of regrets. Another journalist wrote that we left it all out on the field by the end of the series and I feel the same way. Every story was exhausted. Every creative juice wrung out. It was a completely worthwhile experience and I know the other writers agree. It was a difficult show to pull off, and we did it.
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how ya’ll gonna spoil the ending for those that didnt watch it?
i cried a river when Michael died at the end.. i don’t think his fans would accept that.. why the director didn’t give the story happy ending?? so michael was died means there is no possible season 5???? i think that’s unfair… please take Michael back..