The Globe contacted X-Files creator Chris Carter, who is
“basically shackled to his computer,” he said, working on the project.
It will shoot through the summer and likely air in early 2016, he says. Western arts correspondent Marsha Lederman reached him at his farm in Carpinteria, Calif.
I imagine there’s been interest in an X-Files reboot for some time. Why is it happening now?
David
Duchovny kind of got behind this and when the actors get behind a
project, it seems to move faster. That said, it took about five months
to negotiate the deal. So I’ve known about this for the better part of a
year and it’s a good time to do it now. I think the times we live in
present good storytelling opportunities.
The relationship between Scully
and Mulder – how do you get that magic back in the reboot? Or does it
happen automatically because of the chemistry that’s there already?
When
you create a show and write the characters and cast the actors, you’re
lucky if you saw those same actors in the same room together more than
once. But you really hope for the chemistry. And in the case of The X-Files,
the magic was there from the day those actors started to work together.
It’s not something that anyone does through will or design or
manipulation. The chemistry is either there or it’s not. And if you
write good material, it helps to build the chemistry.
Obviously getting the original
cast back for this was key. What about crew members? Will you be working
with any of the original crew on the reboot?
Yes,
I’m trying to put the band back together as much as I possibly can.
We’ve already got the [director of photography] who shot the last two
years of the show in Vancouver coming back; I’ve got a production
designer who worked on the last X-Files movie from Vancouver. Casting is from Vancouver. I’m working with a new Vancouver producer. For me, it’s coming home again.
Why did you decide to shoot in Vancouver?
I love shooting there. It’s a natural place to make a show like The X-Files.
Right now there are certain financial benefits but for me I always say
the reason I come to Vancouver is the crews are so invested in the work;
the work ethic is very strong and I’ve benefited from that commitment
to doing good work.
When you go back at this, are you
at all concerned about living up to the mythology; the huge devotion to
the show during its run, but also since? When Arrested Development
came back with a season on Netflix, some of the original fans were very
disappointed. Do you carry the weight of that possibility?
Always.
You would never want to upset the people who are the reasons that you
are coming back. The hard-core fans are the people that you’re doing it
for. That said, you want to also allow for new viewers. You also want to
allow for the possibility that the show could come back for another
run.
Is that a possibility?
Yes.
Again as a limited TV series?
I’ll answer that last question with the truth is out there.
Read more: The Globe and Mail