As one of the great modern TV writers of the current time, Damon Lindelof has certainly gotten into the hearts and minds of science fiction fans everywhere with both LOST and several other projects with J.J. Abrams. That coveted spot didn’t come without work, however, and that’s just what we have today.

Back before the show was a hit, Lindelof wrote a short play about a young time traveling boy genius and his awkward dinner with Nazis who were setting out to kill him and his family. The screenplay was then turned into a short last year, and had some pretty impressive guest appearances. Here’s the premise:

When Dade Klublershturf (Samm Levine) brings home his new girlfriend Daniella (Rachel Nichols), it’s as awkward as you’d expect any meet-the-parents dinner to be. However, events take an unexpected turn when Dade’s brother Ollie (Super 8‘s Zach Mills) reveals that Daniella, along with a couple of other last-minute dinner guests (Chris Hemsworth and Norman Reedus) are actually secret Nazis trying to steal Ollie’s time travel machine for sinister purposes. Jack Axelrod, Lainie Kazan, and George Segal also star.

Check out the full short after the jump, in all of it’s dialogue-heavy drama, and be sure to comment below as to how you can see why showrunning partner Carlton Cuse decided to pick up this young writer Lindelof after a simple play about a dinner party.

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This Week’s pick is yet again another World War II classic, the 1969 John Guillerman (King Kong 1976) film The Bridge At Remagen which stars George Segal (Lt. Phil Hartman), Ben Gazzara (Sgt. Angelo), Robert Vaughn (Major Paul Krueger), Bradford Dillman (Major Barnes) and screen great E.G. Marshall as General Shinner.

The film opens in March of 1945 as the American 9th Armored Div began to push elements of the retreating German army back towards the Rhine River. The German high command wants all the bridges over the Rhine destroyed in order to halt the advance of the allies from reaching the heart of Germany.

But one high ranking officer, General Von Brock (Peter Van Eyck) enlists the help of Major Paul Krueger (Vaughn) to keep one bridge, the bridge at Remagen up in order to allow the German 15th Army and its seventy-five thousand men to retreat and avoid capture. Krueger accepts the mission believing that a large force stationed at the bridge will stop the advancing Americans.

The Americans however want the bridge destroyed, but in the end keep it up as a way to help shorten the war. Both the Germans and Americans don’t realize it yet, but Remagen will become one of the last decisive battles of the war in Europe.

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