'The Maze Runner' Author Was Just As Obsessed With 'LOST' As We Were, Says Series Heavily Influenced His Work

The Maze Runner author James Dashner calls himself an entertainment "nerd," and clearly has the same taste in television as the rest of us. "The show LOST really influenced [The Maze Runner]. That show just means the world to me," he told VH1 at the New York premiere of the film adaptation of his best-selling novel.

"[LOST] was really brilliant about creating mysteries that were layered on top of one another and giving you just enough information to keep you satisfied, but intrigued," he continued. "The structure of it — like commercial, episode breaks, season breaks — I think my books were heavily influenced from that, and the movie is really paced brilliantly." After seeing the film, we have to agree. You will find other similarities to LOST throughout The Maze Runner, including recurring codes (4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42!!), flashbacks, plenty of "WTF is happening?!" moments, and of course, a ridiculously sexy male lead played by Dylan O'Brien. There are other notable pop culture references throughout the film. James' favorite movies are the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is apparent through the edge-of-your-seat action. He cites Lord of the Flies and The Shining as having an impact on him growing up (even if the latter also terrified him).

But it's clear that LOST was and always will be the biggest inspiration on his YA series. And with the 10th anniversary of the pilot rapidly approaching, he's not going to let go of his fandom any time soon. "You should’ve seen me absolutely flip out, fan girl when I met Naveen Andrews, who played Sayid," he said, "You would’ve thought I met the president of the United States."

[Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox, ABC]