X-Files at Paley: Your Burning Questions Answered, and Much More!

• Mar 28, 2008 01:59 PM ET
• by movienews

"X-Philes" lined up several hours early at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood to snag the best seats for the Paley Television Festival's retrospective of Fox's hit show. I teamed up with Lisa Angelo from X Files News to snag some awesome pictures (scroll down to see the shots) of the cast and crew, and to make sure we could answer as many of the fans' burning questions as possible. True to form, Chris Carter and company kept the film's highly anticipated plotline to themselves. However, they did show the new movie trailer (not once, but twice) to excited fans.

Let's break the evening down:

Who was there: Rather, who was missing!? David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson did not attend the event (boo). But to the delight of many fans, Mitch Pileggi (aka Walter Skinner), Nicholas Lea (Alex Krycek) and Dean Haglund (Langly) were present and very happy to be there. Several writers and producers also joined the panel, including series creator Chris Carter, exec producers Frank Spotnitz and Howard Gordon, writer Steven Maeda, supervising producer Paul Rabwin and directors Rob Bowman and David Nutter. Surprising the crowd were two very popular writers, brothers Glen and Darin Morgan, who penned some of the show's most memorable episodes. Carter also brought his dog, Larry, and his camera to document the event. I love it when bigwigs get excited about these events. Makes fans feel less stalker-like.

The biggest movie scoop: Carter finally confirmed that in order to be true to the characters of Mulder and Scully and what they've been through over the years, the issue of Baby William (whom Scully had to give up for adoption to protect him from bad, bad aliens) will be addressed in the movie. Even though the sequel offers a stand-alone scary story that has nothing to do with aliens or conspiracies, Carter felt it was important to acknowledge the show's history. Chris also told TVGuide.com that he had just seen a rough cut of the movie - just 10 days after shooting was completed - and that he's thrilled with it. When asked if the flick would serve as closure or the launch of a new chapter of the franchise, Carter answered, "It's closure of sorts, but it will always be an open book. There will never be an end to this."

Burning questions answered!:
1) Baby William will be addressed in the feature!
2) Doggett and Reyes will not be in this feature, and there are no official plans to have them in any future follow-up (if or when there is one).
3) Will it be funny? Spotnitz assured TVGuide.com that Mulder would bring back his trademark humor, and that Duchovny contributed to Mulder's humorous lines.
4) Are Mulder and Scully still on the run? This wasn't answered directly, but from the trailer we clearly see that six years have passed and Mulder and Scully are not hanging out at the hotel in New Mexico.
5) What was the creative process like? How were the shows developed? Spotnitz said it could take weeks to break one story to give to Chris for approval and then another few weeks to get the script written. He also said Darin Morgan used to sleep at the office when his scripts were due.

Awesome stories from the panel:There were many, but I'll do my best to convey the awesomeness.

" A fan asked how the creative team knew if they were going too scary or disturbing with an X-Files episode, and what they would do to fix such a problem. Glen Morgan said that their Standards and Practices rep at Fox was super cool, and would watch the show in the editing room to make sure everything was going to get past censors. But during "Home," an episode about an inbred family who kills its deformed baby by burying it alive, a major fight broke out. One ending was shot and edited to be particularly gruesome. S&P, though, thought it was too over-the-top, so the two sides fought back and forth. To this day, the episode gives people nightmares.

" Darin Morgan talked about playing the flukeworm character in "Host," before he became a staff writer. As he was being fitted for the suit, which was ugly, uncomfortable and hot, Darin was introduced to Duchovny. The only thing the series' star could say to the costumed Darin was, "Why are you doing this?"

" When Carter was asked why they're doing a movie now, he related, "Fox said it was now or never." Pileggi added, "You're making a movie?" That elicited much laughter from the audience, followed by Carter's, "We only asked the popular characters back." Oh, snap! When the moderator asked Chris where Mulder and Scully have been for six years - perhaps in a motel in New Mexico? - Carter said yes: "On a vibrating bed the entire time." Ha.

" One of the funniest moments slipped out as Lea was talking about all the cool stuntwork he did... and will probably never get to do again. Haglund asked Nic, "Wait, you don't get to do that kind of stuff on Kyle KY?" - slightly skewering the wholesome ABC Family series' title. Big laughs.

" Glen Morgan said that Carter was such an amazing source of inspiration and would have fantastic ideas about everything, including X-Files' unique theme song. When Glen heard it, he said, "What the hell is that?" Carter replied, "I like it. It sounds like whistling in a graveyard." Also, when they were designing the opening credits, Carter said to leave space at the end for "The Truth Is Out There." Glen said exasperatedly, "What for?!" What for, indeed.

Recapping the night: The overall tone of the panel was one of mutual love and respect for the iconic show they all were a part of, as well as for each other. Many said they were incredibly lucky to ever be a part of a show like The X-Files, and know that they may never again be involved in something as all-consuming, unique and special. When TVGuide.com asked Carter what makes the show still work to this day, he answered, "Because of David and Gillian. Because of Mulder and Scully, the skeptic and the believer, the way in which the stories are told, the passion that they're told with, the way the stories unfold and the characters pursue their quest. And what larger question is there than "Science vs. Faith"? Erin Fox with additional reporting by Carita Rizzo