Aug-??-2002
The X-Files Magazine
That’s a Wrap Party
Andy Newcomer
The date: Saturday 27 April. The Time: 7pm onwards. The event: The X-Files wrap party! Andy Newcomer fills us in on all the gossip from the event of the year!
From the moment Chris Carter announced that The X-Files was coming to a close, the Ten Thirteen staff worked to come up with a fitting send-off for the show and the crew. “A lot of importance was placed on the party by not only the producers, but the studio and the network as well,” say Ten Thirteen office manager Jana Fain. “There were many people involved who wanted the party to be an amazing event. The invite list was overwhelming, to say the least!”
Because of the party’s size, the venue – the world famous House of Blues -was booked months in advance. To help with costs, the studio made sponsorship deals with Ford and Absolut Vodka. Absolut held a drink contest within its own company to concoct a special martini using their vodka. They toyed with ideas like a dark-liquid drink (an Absolut Black Oil) but decided to use Absolut Mandarin instead.
Guests were able to enjoy this attention to detail from the moment they boarded the shuttle buses at a nearby parking garage. Images from all nine seasons ran on the video monitors in the buses, and alien lollipops were available for people to snack on. When partygoers arrived at the House of Blues, it was lit completely in green with white X’s projected onto its side. Guests walked down a green carpet (in place of the standard red carpet) past a chorus of reporters, which included Access Hollywood, E! News and more).
“We wanted to spice the whole red carpet thing up a little bit,” Fain says. Little People (known as L.P.s) dressed as aliens paraded down the carpet, posing with the VIPs for the press. Then guests took photos with the “aliens” in front of an enlarged reproduction of the famous I Want to Believe poster that normally hangs in the X-files office.
“Everyone loved the aliens,” Fain says. According to several witnesses, one of the L.Ps took off his alien head and approached The X-Files movie guest star Martin Landau to say, “Mr. Landau, you don’t know me but I’m your smallest fan.”
Inside the party, the cast and crew enjoyed a wide variety of food from a menu specially selected for the party. The X-Files set-decorating department adorned the buffet tables with foamcore X’s and four foot tall aliens. They also lined the bars with jars filled with alien fetuses, original props from the show. The most popular bar for most of the evening was known as the martini luge, which was an ice sculpture in the shape of an X through which the Absolut Truth martini was poured. “There was a line at that ice sculpture all night long,” Fain laughs. Green rubber aliens decorated the outside of every martini glass, with small blue and green glowsticks floating in the drinks.
A couple of hours into the party, Dean Haglund jumped on stage to introduce executive producer Frank Spotnitz, who gave a short speech. Spotnitz then helped gift Carter with an original painting by Los Angeles artist Cliff Nielsen to commemorate the show’s nine-year run. After he thanked all of his many co-workers, Carter moved off stage to allow the annual projection of the show’s gag reel. This one reel, however, had bloopers from all nine seasons, as well as heartfelt gratitude videos from everyone involved with the show. There was even a special tribute from outer space, as the astronauts floating in the space station sent their regards to Carter and the show.
For the music, Ten Thirteen booked a local cover band and DJ. “When we started looking at bands, we heard about this 70s cover band called Bootiequake that has a large following in L.A. for parties like this. They are just a lot of fun,” Fain notes. A couple of hours into the party, Gillian Anderson, Annabeth Gish and more than a few crew members ended up on stage to dance and sing with the band.
David Duchovny spent most of the evening dancing, as well as chatting and posing for photos with crew members. Mitch Pileggi was also seen on the dance floor. Unfortunately, however, Robert Patrick missed the fun. He was en route to South Africa to film a movie. Former guest star Junior Brown surprised the crew with an impromptu performance of Johnny Be Good. “That was my favorite moment,” Gilligan says. “I cast him in an episode I wrote early in Season Six called Drive. So it was great to see him up there performing.”
Over 1200 people attended and partied into the small hours. “It’s a great crew,” Fain says, “a great group of people. And it is a great show. I’m happy that we got to have a night that really celebrated it.” A fitting end to a fantastic show. #
Absolut Truth
The Martini
4 parts Absolut Mandarin
1 part Blue Curacao
½ part Lime Juice
1 part Sour Mix
2 parts Cranberry Juice
Can you handle the truth?
Tags: date undefined, jana fain (1013 office manager), x-files