08/23/01: Chris Carter Online Chat
TV Guide Online: Tonight we are chatting with
X-Files creator Chris Carter about the upcoming
season of The X-Files. Thanks for chatting with us
tonight.
Carter: Hi. Ready for any and all questions...
Question: Chris, Lucy Lawless is well known for her
role on Xena, how do you think fans will react to her
playing an Agent on The X-Files?
Carter: Well, I hope they like her. We had a chance
to cast someone who I had met at the... I think 1997
or 98 Emmy Awards. She came up to me and
introduced herself, and said she was a fan of the
show. Late last year, when it was announced that
Xena wouldn't be coming back, she and her husband
sent me a nice note about what fans they were of the
show. I took that as an opportunity to take someone
who was a fine actress, who would clearly be looking
for a role different from the one she had played for the
last number of years, and figure out a way to use her
in the show. And it just so happened that how we
were plotting out Season Nine that she fit perfectly
into The X-Files mythology. It's interesting that Lucy
studied acting in Vancouver under Bill Davis, who
played the Cigarette Smoking Man for so many
years.
Question: Are you really into sci-fi stuff or would you
like to expand to another category?
Carter: I never considered myself a science-fiction
writer to begin with. I always thought of The X-Files
as a mystery show that dealt with the paranormal.
Now I've been labeled as a science fiction writer, and
it's accurate. But it is a limiting label. So, I am
interested in doing something outside of that label,
but that doesn't rule out a good mystery or thriller
story, which is what The X-Files primarily is.
Question: Were you disappointed that Mulder left or
were you excited about the new opportunities that
opened up?
Carter: Well, we were all sorry to see David go, but it
was an understandable decision. Anything that
presents itself as a problem to TV producers or
writers seems like a bad thing. But, it can be a
constructive thing, if you can figure out a way to solve
the problem. So, what we're doing is taking a
situation -- a Mulder-less X-Files. We're adding some
new characters. While it is still a 2 or 3 lead show,
there are many more ensemble situations this year
that I think will make the show better in some ways.
Question: With the shady disposal of the Cigarette
Smoking Man in Season 7, are we to expect any
re-appearances or more satisfying closure for the
almighty CSM in Season 9?
Carter: Anything can happen on The X-Files.
Question: Chris, your shows are fantastic! Millennium
was truly the best show on television. Any chance
that it (or any of your other wonderful shows) will be
released of video or DVD?
Carter: They're talking about Millennium on DVD.
Beyond that I wouldn't think there is much hope for
Harsh Realm, or Lone Gunmen. But, I think there are
a lot of people asking for the Millennium DVD, so I
think that will happen.
Question: Chris, thank you so much for adding Cary
Elwes to the cast! The Princess Bride has long been
a favorite movie, and I've always thought he would be
great on TXF. What are the biggest changes we'll see
early on next season, mythology-wise?
Carter: Well, Cary Elwes plays a pirate with a patch
on his eye, so that will be a big change... I think you'll
see when you watch the first episode, there will be
some obvious changes. I won't go into them, but they
are obviously the result of the introduction of new
characters, and ones who have had relationships that
aren't about sexual restraint.
Question: Thank you for bringing us The Lone
Gunmen series, even if it was unfortunately brought to
an end. Any chance the guys might be appearing in
Season 9?
Carter: Yes. You'll see them in the first and second
episode. We're just pulling a trick on Fox. The X-Files
the ninth season will just be starring the Lone
Gunmen.
Question: Mr. Carter, will there be a resolution to the
cliffhanger season finale of The Lone Gunmen on The
X-Files?
Carter: Yes. But, you really have to have been a
careful watcher of that program to understand what it
is.
Question: Will Doggett's son's disappearance
become part of the mytharc?
Carter: It certainly is something that has shaped his
character. So I would say that it won't be the
replacement for the Mulder/Samantha search, but it is
something that informs his approach to life and his
relationship with Monica Reyes.
Question: Hi there, Mr. Carter. I really like the new
characters and I think they bring a lot of very positive
energy into the show. I'm more excited about The
X-Files than I have been in years. How much will
Scully be working with Doggett and Reyes?
Carter: From the first episode we'll see how she
works with them, even though she is a mother. She is
drawn back into The X-Files by the biggest mystery
in her life.
Question: Can you make Cary Elwes say 'As you
wish' on The X-Files?
Carter: Yes. :)
Question: What's the best movie you've seen in the
last year?
Carter: I haven't seen that many movies, but I've seen
some good ones. Last night, I saw the Apocalypse
Now re-release. It was nice to see it on the big
screen, but I though the original release was superior.
We've had screenings of a couple of movies here
recently. We saw Planet of the Apes, which none of
us liked, but we were all big fans of the original. And
the guys at Miramax/Dimension sent us a print of The
Others, and we liked that. We thought it was really
smart and really scary. And you can't take your eyes
off Nicole Kidman. It was scary like my favorite scary
movies. They made a movie based on Henry James'
Turn of the Screw, called The Innocents. It had two
creepy kids in it, and the two kids in this were even
creepier. This also had a lot of good moments that
weren't effect-driven, which was nice to see.
Question: Will Scully's pregnancy be fully explained
in the next season?
Carter: Yes. It'll be explored extensively. Explained?
You're asking a lot for The X-Files.
Question: How are you doing on the next X-files
movie? Have you even started?
Carter: We're talking about it now, pretty actively in
fact. If all the business can be worked out, we could
see a new X-Files movie in the next few years. But,
there's less interest while the series is ongoing.
Question: Chris, are Gillian and David going to make
a 2nd X-Files movie?
Carter: And, yes that's the plan to have David and
Gillian in it.
Question: Are Krycek, CSM, WMM, and other
people from the Consortium really dead?
Carter: That's a question that you have answer
specifically... But, I will say that it looks as though all
of them have met real and final ends. But, one of
them is possibly still alive.
Question: Is there any chance of us seeing the
face-less rebels or even Marita this season??
Carter: Marita has been busy working with Jim
Carrey. And, if we make any more budget cuts, we'll
have to see more of the faceless rebels, because we
won't be able to cast real actors.
Question: Will we be seeing a different side of Scully
now that she's a mother... maybe more of a motherly
side?
Carter: Yes. We'll be doing the breast-feeding
episode. :) I think she's going to have to balance her
life between being a mother, and being a person who
is still looking for the truth.
Question: Hi! Loved season 8! Keep up the great
work! But we have to know FOR SURE, who's the
father of little baby William? And how is it gonna work
without Mulder to play daddy?!
Carter: We're going to turn The X-Files into a sitcom
called Everyone Loves Mulder.
Question: What did you do over the summer, we
heard you were on island or something catching up
on your surfing?
Carter: I went on an amazing surf trip this year to
Indonesia.
Question: Are you influenced by any current TV
shows or movies?
Carter: I loved the movie The Insider, and I think any
contemporary movie that and L.A. Confidential are
movies I watch again and again so I would have to
say that I'm influenced by those movies.
Question: I heard a rumor that there's gonna be a
new syndicate...is it gonna be headed by Director
Kersh (I hate that guy)?
Carter: Kersh is wrapped up in a case that begins
The X-Files season, but his involvement in it is, and
in any larger conspiracy, may not be what you think.
Question: Will there be any scripts written by cast
members? Famous authors? Aliens?
Carter: Yes. We're going to have two of them written
by aliens this year.
TV Guide Online: Is that a first?
Carter: That's a first. And if they do well, we're
thinking about bringing them on staff.
Question: Are there any plans to "intensify" John
Doggett this season? We all love watching him let
loose on villains!
Carter: Yes. We love his character because he
wears his heart on his sleeve, and he is quick to act
and do the right thing. So, I think you can expect to
see more of that.
Question: Was Doggett a collaborative character or
was he created by one person?
Carter: I think it was something that we all talked
about, but I wrote his voice. So, I think he was
someone we all came up with together, but his voice
came out of my head. But, it was something that was
helped in a large degree by casting Robert Patrick.
Question: Will there be some humor oriented
episodes in Season 9, or is the Doggett/Scully
dichotomy not developed enough yet to play off of it?
Carter: It's tricky because Scully's a mother, and
there's great suspicion that Mulder is the father, so
you have a relationship that is unresolved and largely
unspoken. So, I think it's a little early to see Scully
and Doggett get together. But, I think the humor this
year will come out of situations. And also because we
know Doggett better, and we've established his
character, so we'll see him lighten up. So, we should
see that with Scully, and with Monica Reyes.
Question: How have the changes in technology
affected the filming of the XF over the years and what
effects do we expect this new technology to have on
the XF in the future?
Carter: The practical technology hasn't changed all
that much. The effects have become, I think, cheaper
because of the advances in technology. You can do
more in less time, so you can do it on a TV schedule.
But, technology itself is still used best on the X-Files
as a storytelling device, because we are all still so
afraid of it.
Question: The movie is airing on TV, are their any
changes? Has it been edited?
Carter: There are some real slight, and you may not
even notice them, deletions from the movie to fit the
time format. Rob Bowman, the director, did them
himself, so we're all satisfied. It is going to show on
Fox on Friday, September 14th, at 8:00.
TV Guide Online: Thanks so much for chatting with
us tonight!
Carter: Thank you!
TV Guide Online: Tune into The X-Files on Fox on
Sunday nights. Don't miss your chance to catch the
network television premiere of The X-Files movie on
Sept. 14th on Fox. And visit www.thexfiles.com for all
news and information about the series. Thanks for
coming tonight.
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