The X-Files: I Want to Believe

[MacGuffin]

2nd 'X-Files' pic is close
Source: Hollywood Reporter

The "X-Files" film sequel is heating up.

Co-star David Duchovny indicated Saturday during the Television Critics Assn. press tour at the Beverly Hilton that the film, which has been the subject of speculation for the past few years, is one step closer to becoming a reality.

"I'm supposed to see a script next week," Duchovny said, adding that creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz wrote the screenplay and that Carter is set to direct.

Duchovny also reiterated past remarks that he and "X-Files" co-star Gillian Anderson "are on board" the follow-up to the 1998 film and the series that ran on Fox from 1993-2002.

The film reportedly was delayed in part because of a now-settled lawsuit filed by Carter in late 2005 against 20th Century Fox Television alleging breach of contract, contractual interference and other claims over payments allegedly owed to him from the series.
 
Duchovny was at TCA promoting his upcoming Showtime comedy series "Californication," which debuts Aug. 13.

Also during the Showtime session, Duchovny's co-star Evan Handler evaded a question about whether he would be reprising his role as the husband to Kristin Davis' character in the big-screen adaptation of another TV series, HBO's "Sex and the City."

"If I would have been approached (about reprising the role), I know I would have been asked to not to say that I had been approached," he said.

[Sleepless]

From 'The Independent':

"Ex-files no longer: Partners once more
In the five years since they last struggled with the supernatural in the X Files, the careers of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have diverged: he has struggled to find good projects, she has been acclaimed. Now they are to be reunited in the roles that made them. By Ian Burrell
Published: 18 July 2007
When Chris Carter, the originator of the The X Files, first sat down with executives from 20th Century Fox to propose his idea for what was to become one of the greatest cult shows in modern television, Bill Clinton was a fresh face in the White House and promising to make the world a better place. But Carter told the suits from Fox that what he had in mind was not to put the smile back on the faces of Americans but rather to frighten them out of their wits. "There's nothing scary on network television any more. Let's do a scary show," he told them. And so began a process by which The X Files combined themes such as conspiracy theory, government cover-up, biological terror and decapitation to captivate a global following for almost a decade.

The stars of the show, FBI Agents Dana Scully (played by Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), became Hollywood stars and the series spawned its own feature film, but it seemed that The X Files phenomenon had finally been undone when real-life events left television audiences feeling that they had been scared quite enough already, thank you. Writers working on the ninth and final season of the show in 2002, admitted that they were finding it difficult to compile scripts, compatible with the show's traditional themes, that audiences were able to stomach in the wake of the World Trade Centre attacks in September 2001.

Yet, as one should perhaps expect of a programme that dabbled so much in the realms of science fiction, The X Files (catchlines: "The Truth is Out There" and "Trust No One"), is about to come back to life. Following a succession of false alarms, in which Carter, Anderson and Duchovny have expressed their desire for returning Mulder and Scully back into the line of duty, it seems a second movie is really going to happen after all.

Duchovny, 46, spoke to a small group of journalists of the American Television Critics Association at the weekend and confided that work on the film is due to start in November. "Gillian is on board and I'm on board. It's November for a summer release," he said. "I've been talking to Chris and he's been giving me some progress reports. He actually called yesterday and said: 'Next week you should have something to read'."

In spite of these comments, the legions of fans of the show, collectively known as X-Philes, could be excused for treating them with the sort of scepticism normally attributed to Agent Scully, due to the fact that Duchovny has been chomping at the bit to get back in front of the cameras for more than three years and has repeatedly made that known, only for the plans to be scuppered, largely due to a lawsuit which Carter slapped on Fox in 2005 following a dispute over the allocation of profits from the show.

Duchovny has struggled to find work to match the thrill of playing Agent Mulder. He played a hand model in the film Zoolander in 2001, directed a film called House D in 2005, which received poor reviews, and last year took some unglamorous if well-paid work doing Pedigree Petfood commercials.

But now The X Files legal wrangles have now been resolved and speaking to The Independent last night from a film festival in Italy, Anderson confirmed that she was set to begin filming sometime between October and January. "The script is imminent and we are meant to start doing it by the end of next year and beginning of this year," she said. "I have been for it from the beginning and I have been positive about it from the beginning."

The Chicago-born actress, who spent her childhood in Crouch End, north London, and still speaks with an English accent, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performances as Agent Scully and has gone on to further success in film and television since The X Files went off the air. She won a Bafta for her performance as Lady Dedlock in the BBC's adaptation of Bleak House and has recently appeared in a succession of British films, A Cock and Bull Story, The Last King of Scotland and Straightheads. She is currently working on the film version of British journalist Toby Young's book How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, which is being shot in London.

Two more films, one called The Smell of Apples, which is due to be made in South Africa and a German co-production called Helen are also in the offing, although her availability might be compromised by the new X Files project.

None the less, she said, the chance to play Scully again is irresistible. "It was not something I longed for on a regular basis but as soon as we start talking about doing it again I get very excited. There's always a bit of melancholy about it because of the amazing memories of the experience. It was a very intense period in all our lives and the thought that we are all going to come together again to do it - and possibly in Vancouver where it all started - is very exciting. A lot has happened in the past few years but we are excited by each other's company and I think it will be loads of fun actually."

Carter, 50, was originally advised that Anderson was not the right shape for the part of Scully but was determined that she was by far the best candidate. He set up Ten Thirteen Productions, named after his birthday, to make the show, which he dreamt up after having become bored of working on comedy programmes.

He has made several other shows for Fox, including Millennium and Harsh Realm, both for Fox, but none of them have enjoyed anything like the same degree of success of The X Files, which ran for 201 episodes. The Lone Gunmen, a spin off from The X Files, began in 2001 and was well-received but was taken off the screen after only 13 episodes because of poor ratings.

Anderson, 37, said Carter had been working hard to make the follow-up feature film happen. "I think there were a lot of issues that have stopped it in the past but now it seems clear and they've got the contract details worked out and I guess Chris has had time to write it and all those things equal something positive," she said.

But the chances of a 10th series of the television show are precisely zero, she said. "It's just never going to happen, it's just not on the cards at all. I don't think we have the energy for it either of us."

So the X-Philes, and indeed a potential younger audience of converts to the adventures of Mulder and Scully, will have to settle for another movie. In the years since they have been away there has been more than enough threat of global terror, government skullduggery, conspiracy theories and fears of evil- minded scientists and dark forces at play to provide an appetite for their return.

"That's true and there's an opening for that," acknowledges Anderson before squashing any notion that the film will attempt to focus on such topical issues. "Except that I understand that the script is nothing to do with what some of the themes have been about in the past.

"It's going to be a very scary film about two characters who happen to be called Mulder and Scully. I don't think they are going to draw on any of the mythology or the conspiracy stuff, as far as I know. My understanding is that it's scary like a monster film."

Some of us might think the world is a frightening enough place already but evidently The X Files team thinks the time is right to scare us a great deal more."

[MacGuffin]

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: David Duchovny Says The X-Files 2 Shoots in December!
Source: MovieWeb

During a recent interview with David Duchovny for the recent DVD release of The TV Set, we asked him to tell us what he could about The X-Files 2.

Looking at at your work on The X-Files, it ran for a very long time, are there still things that you would like to see Mulder do? Is that maybe why you're interested in doing another X-Files movie?

David Duchovny: Well, I had always kind of wanted to segue the television show into a movie franchise. I never really wanted the show to die or to quit it. I got tired of the grind of making a network television show but I never tired of the character or the possibilities of the show. I would love it if we were able to expand it into a movie franchise because I love playing the character and I love the show.

Can you talk at all about The X-Files 2? Maybe where that's at or what people might expect from that?

David Duchovny: It's at... the script is written and as far as I know we're all trying to shoot in December at some point. We would all love it if we could keep it a secret and just give everybody a fresh experience of not knowing what the movie's about. I know if I was a fan of the show I would kind of be excited to be surprised.

[Sleepless]

Source: Sci Fi Wire
Oct-16-2007

It is hard to imagine that "The X-Files" ended in 2002. Will we ever see that now seemingly mythical "The X-Files 2" film? Yes, says David Duchovny who told Sci Fi Wire about his lunch reunion in LA with co-star Gillian Anderson and "X-Files" creator Chris Carter. Main item on the menu of discussion: the upcoming sequel.

"That was nice," Duchovny said. "I hadn't seen Gillian in a while. So it was like a reunion. It really was. It was more emotional than I would have though it was [going to be]. If you spend that much time with people and go through that much, there's a lot of residual feeling."

The long-awaited sequel is cautiously set for filming in December with Carter as director and is based on a script he wrote with "X-Files" writer/producer Frank Spotnitz. Both Duchovny and Anderson are expected to return in the iconic roles of Special Agent Fox Mulder and Special Agent Dana Scully.

"I want us to go out and do what the show always did best, which is really smart, scary, ultimately ambiguous stuff," Duchovny said.

The plot is top-secret, as usual with "The X-Files." It is rumored to be a "stand-alone horror film," rather than another installment of the alien conspiracy.

Cautiously set for filming in December??

[MacGuffin]

Exclusive: The X-Files 2 Starts Shooting Dec. 10
Source: ComingSoon

After years of David Duchovny talking about the sequel, and almost 10 years after the first feature, 20th Century is finally ready to start production on The X-Files 2 with the actor in place to reprise his role of Special Agent Fox Mulder. Gillian Anderson is also expected to be back on board to play Special Agent Dana Scully.

Shooting is scheduled to begin on December 10 in Vancouver under the direction of series creator Chris Carter. Carter and Frank Spotnitz wrote the script.

The studio is referring to the film in casting breakdowns as "Done One."

The popular series ran on Fox from 1993 to 2002. Rob Bowman directed the first feature, which hit theaters on June 19, 1998.

[Sleepless]

YEAH!!!!! 

I've just started to introduce my wife to the show, working through one episode at a time. We're getting towards the end of season one right now, and she's really getting into it. Once we hit season 4 I'm gonna start alternating between XF and MM, then LGM once it's time. I'm totally geeking out, and loving the fact I can relive the series anew again through her.

I'm hoping for a Christmas '08 release. If that happens then 2008 has 3 huge films I'm looking forward to, what with this, Incredible Hulk, and Crystal Skull. I'm seriously looking forward to this movie. (You can probably tell since it's mainly me - other than MacGuffin of course - who has kept this thread going). Cheers MacGuffin btw!!! Five years I've been waiting for this, and even though I'm going to hate myself afterwards, I'm gonna read/see every spoiler I can get my hands on!! Although Carter and co should be pretty good at keeping things underwraps like they did on the first movie.

I'm excited....

[MacGuffin]

Fox sets date for 'X-Files' sequel
Scully, Mulder return to theaters on July 25
Source: Variety

The long-awaited second "X-Files" film is finally a go, with 20th Century Fox setting a July 25, 2008 release date.

Untitled project reunites "X-Files" creator Chris Carter with thesps David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who will reprise their signature roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

Carter begins lensing in December in Vancouver from a script he co-wrote with Frank Spotnitz, a veteran scribe of the long-running "X-Files" television series, which became a worldwide hit in its 1993-2002 run on the Fox network. Spotnitz also co-wrote with Carter the screenplay for 1998 feature "X-Files."

Studio is keeping the film's logline under wraps, but stressed the pic is a stand-alone story and supernatural thriller that takes the complicated relationship between Mulder and Scully in new directions.

As of now, there are only two other titles skedded for July 25, both comedies. Sony unspools Will Ferrell-John C. Reilly starrer "Step Brothers," directed by Adam McKay, while MGM has bows untitled Ice Cube family laffer.

Bringing the "X-Files." sequel to the bigscreen was waylaid when Chris Carter brought a 2005 lawsuit against Fox over how the "X-Files" syndication profits were divvied up. Suit was later settled.

Earlier this year, the issue seemed to have been resolved, with Duchovny and Anderson both indicating the that the film was finally forward.

Released in 1998, feature film "The X-Files" grossed $187 million worldwide, including a domestic haul of $83.9 million and an international cume of more than $103 million.

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[MacGuffin]

'X-Files' Sequel: Castmembers, Celeb Fans Want More Mulder-Scully Action, Less Black Oil
Everyone from offed villain Nicolas Lea to longtime viewer Seth Rogen has something to say about the 2008 movie.
Source: MTV

They've been screaming "We want to believe!" for years — but fans of "The X-Files" finally have something real to crow about, with news last month that the seminal TV series is making its way back to theaters in 2008.

"Finally!" is how Nicolas Lea, who played baddie Alex Krycek, reacted to the announcement. "This story had been percolating for a long time. I feel like if this movie has half the quality and integrity of the series, it will pull in not only past fans of the show, but a whole new generation of X-Philes."

His sentiment was echoed by "Deadwood" alum W. Earl Brown, who made a guest appearance during the final season of "The X-Files." "As a fan, I spent a year or so after the finale of the series keeping track on the movie's development," he said. "So, to hear that it is now actually happening is quite exciting."

Starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in their familiar roles as Special Agents Mulder and Scully, the first "X-Files" movie opened in 1998. For fans, it seems as if the sequel has been in development hell ever since then, held up because of a contentious legal battle between series creator Chris Carter and Fox. But even with a script finished for years, little is known about the actual plot of the upcoming film.

With that in mind, MTV News raided the Syndicate and even contacted the Lone Gunmen to try to get some breaking news on the upcoming movie. In the end, we had to concede that, while the truth may be out there, it's in fewer hands than a Black Oil vaccine.

"I am not one of those fans who clamor at any scrap of plot news," Brown confessed. "I've heard that it is a stand-alone plot. Outside of that, I don't want to know anything else. I like being surprised."

But even a desire for surprise didn't stop former castmembers and fans from vocalizing their sequel wishes. And for a show about conspiracies, hidden motives and powerful conflicts, they sure were unanimous in their support for a film unconnected to the show's nine-season "mytharc," which centered on Mulder's quest to discover the truth about his sister's disappearance, alien war and the mysterious substance known as Black Oil.

"I'd love to see one of their stand-alone weird episodes done as a movie," "Southland Tales" writer/director Richard Kelly insisted. "Just something really trippy that doesn't tie into the whole Black Oil thing."

Funnyman Seth Rogen agreed with that sentiment. "I was a pretty big 'X-Files' fan, [but] they kind of played the Black Oil thing into the ground," he said. "They kind of wrapped it up pretty good in the last one."

So, if not Black Oil, what do former castmembers want to see? It's not so surprising: themselves.

"I've bumped into former castmembers who are pretty choked at not being in the film," revealed Lea, whose character's long-running rivalry with Mulder made him one of the show's most popular villains. "I was a little bummed at first, but I feel like maybe Krycek was actually dead when that bullet went through his head! ... It would be nice, however, to see riotous fans hit the streets of all major cities, protesting the conspicuous absence of the missing characters."

No need to bring such force to bear for recurring character Morris Fletcher, joked his portrayer, legendary improv actor Michael McKean.

"I predict Morris will steal the movie with his dynamite cameo, shot in the Bahamas or Prague," McKean quipped.

Which characters ultimately make it in is incidental, Rogen said. Above all else, there's one final bow that needs to be tied for fans to go home happy.

"I want to see [Mulder and Scully having sex]," the "Knocked Up" star announced, alluding to the long-simmering romantic undercurrent between the show's two leads. "That's the only thing that will satisfy my Mulder and Scully jones."

Could a Mulder/Scully kiss finally be in the cards? Maybe. But according to "Circus Sideshow" master Jim Rose — who appeared in a fan-favorite ep with his fish-eating sidekick, the Enigma — if there's one thing you can learn from "The X-Files," it's to "expect the unexpected."

The truth will be revealed July 25, 2008.

[Pubrick]

trippy

confirmation that richard kelly is an idiot.

[Sleepless]

Timothy Olyphant (Live Free Or Die Hard, Deadwood) is rumoured to have been cast in the second X-Files Movie "Done Once". There is no details on what character he might potentially be playing.

Also, the movie has a release date in Germany of July 24th (one day before the US). France is July 30th.

[modage]

he will be playing the character of "bad actor" as previously seen in films like Hitman and Live Free Or Die Hard.

[Sleepless]

He'll probably go more for "bad actor" in Scream 2. You know, back to his roots.

[MacGuffin]

Threesome mark spots for 'X-Files'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

NEW YORK -- The new "X-Files" movie will be packing more heat. Rapper Xzibit, Amanda Peet and Billy Connolly have signed on for director Chris Carter's next big-screen adaptation of the hit series for Fox.

Sources said Xzibit and Peet will play fellow FBI agents to David Duchovny's Mulder and Gillian Anderson's Scully in the supernatural thriller with a stand-alone story, not a sequel or continuation of the hit 1998 feature adaptation. Citing a policy of secrecy surrounding the plot line, Fox would not confirm any details regarding the three actors' roles.

Carter and Frank Spotnitz wrote the screenplay, and production is expected to begin this month in Vancouver. The film is set to hit theaters in July.

Xzibit recently was cast opposite Bruce Willis and Woody Harrelson in Oliver Stone's "Pinkville," but his schedule was freed up when that film was put on hold because of the writers strike. The recording artist, who has finished shooting "American Inquisition," is known for his role in "8 Mile" and as host and producer of MTV's "Pimp My Ride."

Peet also has signed to star opposite Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke in Brian Goodman's drama "Real Men Cry" for Yari Film Group. The "Whole Nine Yards" star can now be seen in another alien-related film, the New Line drama "Martian Child."

Scottish comedian Connolly, who received a SAG nomination for his role in 1997's "Mrs. Brown," has appeared in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" and "The Last Samurai."

[Sleepless]

Please no.