X-Files mythology, TenThirteen Interviews Database, and more

Posts Tagged ‘frank spotnitz’

Jul
28
2024

PhileFest: Creatives panel

I wrap up my notes on last year’s The X-Files PhileFest events with the Creators panel. This one is so long and full of cool info that I’ll split it in two. Featuring: R.W. (Bob) Goodwin (BG), Frank Spotnitz (FS), Chris Carter (CC), James Wong (JW), Glen Morgan (GM), Kristen Cloke (KC), Darin Morgan (DM). [+ my comments in brackets]

  • CC on Scully’s 2nd pregnancy being mysterious and science-fictional as well [eh, rinse and repeat… that My Struggle IV finale will haunt CC’s public appearances to the end of his days!]
  • GM cheers on CC repeating GA’s comment about firing all the writers! [I love how they are all comfortable enough to troll each other!] BG praises the writers [in response to GA’s comment] and that he and Sheila had their last child at age 71 [what does this refer to? a grandchild? a film/series he did? BG’s last film credit is “Alien Trespass” from 2009, when he was 66]
  • GM on the unwritten “Lincoln’s Ghost” episode
  • JW and GM on “Home”, trying to have a sequel in “Millennium”; they get no residuals
  • JW: “Home” was the reason for a “violence” check from FOX; BG: Deep Throat’s death in “The Erlenmeyer Flask” had been used to illustrate violence on TV [how times change!]
  • GM on doing sequels/prequels (DM: Flukeman as a tadpole! Small Potatoes: The Series!)
  • BG on meeting DM in the Flukeman costume
  • FS tried to include Charles Scully in “Christmas Carol/Emily” but Pat Skipper was very good, no place for Charlie
  • GM on inspirations for “Home” (“Brother’s Keeper”, Charlie Chaplin autobiography, “Dark Nature”), JW on reception of the script by FOX executive Charlie Goldstein (“you’re sick!”), GM on Karin Konoval
  • BG on having a nervous breakdown upon reading the “End Game” script with the submarine conning tower (CC had said “Bob will figure it out”), FS pitched that idea based on a New York Times article CC had on his bulletin board with such a photo
  • CC on directing Steve Railsback in “Duane Barry”, BG on casting director Rick Millikan, CC on Vancouver extras appearing over and over, BG on using girls after facing difficulties with boys as aliens in “Duane Barry”
  • JW on directing “Musings” (GM: “you also had an amazing script!”)
  • GM on their 3 main directors, Rob Bowman, David Nutter (“treat yourself”, he got that from his college film professor, that’s where DM got it for “Small Potatoes”), Kim Manners; shooting “The Field Where I Died”, DD’s hypnosis scene originally lasted 12 minutes! Someone fell out for directing “Die Hand die Verletzt” and GM & JW brought over Kim Manners.
  • DM on getting help from Rob Bowman on directing; wrote last act of “Jose Chung” in one go during the night before it was due; filming “Forehead Sweat” UFO scene at 3 am
  • KC thanks CC for being open to possibilities, that’s what made the show (unlike modern TV); talking with Bowman when shooting “The Field Where I Died” about music and the feel of a scene
  • CC thanks BG for producing, pushing for increasing the budget; BG negotiated one extra day of shooting for “The Erlenmeyer Flask”, the studio didn’t think TXF had a chance, proved its worth on its own and so there was no studio interference, studio said “spend what you have to spend, just don’t miss an air date”; budget went from 1.1 M$ in the “Pilot” to 2.8 M$ in “The End” [all hail Bob Goodwin!]
  • Did Scully sleep with Ed Jerse in “Never Again”? BG: there was a time he thought everybody slept with DD!
  • “Humbug” was a writing assignment from GM to DM, do something with circus freaks and Jim Rose; BG: was supposed to be Florida but it was Vancouver in winter, the crew had to melt the snow
  • “Rm9…” was a writing assignment from GM to KC, do something with drones with no dialogue; JW: GM broke up with me because of KC; before that, there was a “Space: Above and Beyond” episode with no dialogue; KC: there’s a real vibrator that tracks your “activity”; CC: the gifts M&S exchange in “The Ghosts Stole Christmas” were vibrators [crowd goes wild! CC is such an enigma, both enraging and enchanting fans and especially shippers!]
  • JW: “Beyond the Sea” was written as a reaction to online comments that “Scully’s a bitch”; FS read online comments a lot; CC: we heard fans, we didn’t necessarily incorporate feedback; CC: after “The Erlenmeyer Flask” there was an uproar, that was a great thing [CC likes controversy!]
  • BG showed director of photography John Bartley a Caravaggio painting, “The Calling of St Matthew”, as inspiration for the look of the show, to get darker and darker
  • GM & JW shot the footage of Frohike being killed at the end of “Musings”, they wanted to put it in the edit, but the footage had “mysteriously” disappeared [CC was against it]; FS lobbied CC not to kill Frohike

Second and last part of the Creatives panel from last year’s #TheXFilesPhileFest. There were more panels, especially one focused on #Millennium, but no recordings have surfaced, unfortunately. Below, more trivia and stories from the past, and some more Carter controversy [+ my comments in brackets]. Here’s to TXF’s longevity!

  • DM: “Forehead Sweat”: the only note from the studio was not to mention Trump by name (although they quote him directly); he would change “War of the Coprophages” so that cockroaches kill Frohike! He apologises for killing Queequeg; he remembers struggling with writing “Quagmire”, the writers had floated the idea of giant clams eating Scully’s car (Mandela effect: FS doesn’t remember that story)
  • BG on directing 15000 people in “The End”
  • CC: the reboot [he still calls it that…he means the revival] aired around Trump’s inauguration, and it predicted everything that came to be in the next 4 years; TXF is not science fiction, it’s a documentary [he really dislikes the term science fiction]; he mentions alien artifacts in TXF and David Grusch [UFO/UAP whistleblower that testified in a congressional hearing in 2023] and the episode “Eve” that dealt with cloning before it was a thing [interestingly, he mentions that episode was “largely” JW & GM, although different writers were credited]
  • CC: if he had wanted to end TXF after 5 seasons, FOX would have fired him and taken somebody else to continue [as much as we can fantasize about TXF ending at its peak before declining, that’s the sad truth…]
  • FS remembers that the original plan was that Mulder would find Samantha alive at the end of the show [CC doesn’t react to that, it would be nice to have a first-hand confirmation]; but by season 7 they made a “brave and controversial” decision to end differently [and by that time that was a good choice, but we are still left to wonder about that Redux II Samantha]
  • When did they know that there was something romantic between Mulder & Scully? CC: in the “Pilot”, in the mosquito bites scene, [FOX executive] Peter Roth asked “where’s the sexual tension?” CC said there is sexual tension, it’s just not of the same kind; FS: he knew from season 1 “Tooms” “if there’s iced tea in that bag, could be love” [ironically, a compliment from the most shipper-friendly writer to the least ones!]
  • GM on how a mysterious quarter in his mom’s belongings when she died found its way to “Home Again” (mentions his daughter Chelsea, DM’s wife Caroline)
  • GM & JW: quote George Roy Hill, 80% of anything is directing and casting; describe how casting director Rick Millikan was bringing them typical network TV people but they wanted freaks; after the casting of Doug Hutchinson as Tooms, he knew (describes Hutchinson’s casting session; mentions he didn’t hit it off with the episode’s director [Harry Longstreet, indeed he only directed that episode]); “Pilot” casting director Randy Stone saw DD as Mulder directly after reading the script.
  • Was the CSM William’s father? CC mentions mitochondrial replacement/removal, thanks to which a child can have two fathers and one mother, and “that’s the answer”; DM and the audience boos him! [a way to have your cake and eat it too – both Mulder AND the CSM are biological parents, according to CC, and that’s final; so much for the CSM just enabling the pregnancy; not to mention that biologically this is wrong, mitochondrial DNA is passed on from mother to offspring only and does not consist in the main cell’s DNA, so at best William is biologically Mulder and Scully’s and has CSM’s mother’s mitochondrial DNA, plus some alien DNA here and there; the more you think about it the less it makes sense]
  • How about a season 12? CC doesn’t want to answer [fine by me!] BG gives an impression of how CC works: when shooting the ending of “Anasazi” with Mulder inside a burning box car, CC had said “I wonder how he’s going to get out of there”!
  • What was so important about TXF 30 years later? CC: Mulder and Scully! The best advice he got was when he showed the “Pilot” script to a production designer for Spielberg and Cameron who won two Academy awards [that would be Rick Carter, no family relation], that with no money and no time the best thing to do is to keep the scary stuff hidden. BG: there are three elements that define a success, the casting, the writing and the execution (it could have been cheesy) [I especially agree about that underappreciated third item] and “we got it”! BG got a call from Spielberg at some point, he told him that TXF was the greatest TV series ever made! GM: DD & GA! GM credits CC’s thing of “I want to believe”.

Top photo from XFilesNews

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Feb
07
2024

25 years of One Son + Frank Spotnitz interview

25 years ago today, The X-Files mythology essentially wrapped up with “Two Fathers” and “One Son”! A quarter of a century ago! What better way to celebrate than with a new interview with writer-producer and mythology second-in-command Frank Spotnitz, courtesy of The X-Files Diaries. “Incredibly ambitious episodes!” Here are the highlights [and my comments!]:

Why end the Syndicate storyline then? “When I look back on the evolution of TXF mythology and the storytelling, it was very elusive and teasing a lot, the first 4 seasons at least. Then the movie came along and we had to deliver more explicit pieces, that was sort of our mandate, the movie has to give to give you something you haven’t had in the TV show. So by the time we got to s6 we felt like we need to give more answers, we’ve teased people long enough.” We were “telling the audience it all does makes sense, this is what we’ve been hiding from you and here are the pieces all in one place, bringing that chapter to a close with the death of Jeffrey Spender and the Syndicate”. [The puzzle-like way the mythology of TXF was built and written is something that fascinates me endlessly.]

The flashbacks in the scripts: inspired by Godfather II. The scripts were late, not enough time for hair & makeup to do good work; all scenes were shot, the footage exists; but they were not happy with the wigs; but also the past/present narrative connections were not working. They were happier with the decision to substitute them with scenes where CSM is exposing everything to Fowley. [I agree, although I’d love to see those scenes!]

What was planned ahead? “I can’t entirely answer this question honesty because a lot of these things were in Chris’s head before I even came on the show” “when I came on, I don’t think anybody really understood the ‘mythology’, that we were actually building a coherent narrative” “the Black Oil, which was my thing, I didn’t understand how it connected, I didn’t even realize it was going to need to connect later on”. “Some of it was there from the very beginning, some of it had to be knit together, most of it we did understand going into the movie”. “Chris and I had talked in s4, maybe earlier, a lot of it didn’t make it into the show explicitly — it was sort of the petrochemical era of human civilization that brought the virus back”. [Amazing that Carter wasn’t sharing everything about the mythology not even with Spotnitz. The oil connection adds an ecological-historical reading to the mythology that I find very appealing, I wish they had developed that more.]

Diana Fowley: the writers wanted to play the ambiguity regarding Fowley’s allegiance, on who to trust, Mulder’s or Scully’s reading of Fowley? To the point where Mulder calls on Fowley’s bluff to see where her loyalties lie (end of One Son). But how the episode reads to the viewer is that she is an antagonist to M&S, not as ambiguous as intended. He would have liked to see more of Fowley. “That was explicitly one of the reasons why we wanted the Fowley character, it was a way to indirectly mine the sexual tension between M&S, by creating this new threat that you hadn’t really seen since s1, a rival for Scully”. [The inclusion of Fowley was very soap operatic from the beginning, but it worked rather well for what the show was doing by then.]

It was another time in terms of storytelling on TV: “We were so busy having to move the story and the plot along, you almost wish it had been 3 episodes and you had more time to slow down and look at the character dynamics and the emotional reality.” [3 episodes, I agree!]

On the MSR: “their work is what brought them together and is what kept them together, if they become lovers it threatens their ability to work together. This is one of those issues that I’m sure nobody anticipated at the beginning of the show, because you don’t know how long the show will go on you don’t realize it’s going to be 9 seasons+. By s6 and 7, you’ve got to go somewhere with this, you just cannot keep teasing the audience, you’ve got to honor the reality of these characters after all these years together.” [Similar thoughts to wrapping up the Syndicate plotline here, agreed. But extending the same thought further, it becomes less and less interesting the longer it goes on, like in s9 and beyond.]

On Mulder’s wedding ring (Unusual Suspects, Travelers): definitely not in the writers’ intention, was a DD thing: “we didn’t have the visual effects capability to erase the ring.” All the fan theories about Fowley being the ex-wife are good, but they were “not in the text”. [We’ll always have fan theories!]

On Krycek: “one of my regrets is we were going to do a Krycek episode, that would have been maybe a chance to explore the Marita-Krycek dynamic more fully”. Krycek as the ‘one son’? “Krycek not born to the throne, he’s working to earn his place”. [He doesn’t refer to a draft script for a Krycek episode, I wonder if he’s forgotten or if it really existed.]

On whether the CSM was Mulder’s father [at that point]: “that was an idea we had, an argument we had about whether he should be, we just agreed to not commit.” A revealing sentence about how Carter thinks: “Chris would often have ideas he wasn’t going to share until it was time, and we’d realize, oh you were thinking that?” Also, FS always assumed that Samantha is Bill Mulder’s.

On Jeffrey Spender: “Once he understood the moral dimension of what his father had done to his mother, it was a natural point for him to stand up to his father and redeem himself, and in redeeming himself he had doomed himself. There was no way he could stand up to the CSM and walk away. it felt like the inevitable Shakespearian conclusion.” [Again, great, but spread over more episodes would have been better.]

Cassandra’s “I’m going to pee the floor” was probably a Carter line; Mulder’s reply “don’t do that” was a Duchovny ad-lib.

M&S shower scene: stolen from James Bond “Dr No”. The partition between M&S was not scripted.

Ending: they were not allowed to shoot the Syndicate burning for fire safety issues, “it’s the largest wooden hangar in North America” [unfortunately just burned down in November 2023!]. When the show was ending in s9, if they had the money, he would have liked to redo some of the effects, like the morphing.

Next mythology was less about the grand conspiracy and was more focused on the characters, was that planned or not? “It just came about”. “We just trusted, as we often did, that we would find our way”. “We’ve never done the show with a map, with a plan, we always trust we’ll figure it out when we get there”. Fox was not happy to hear that from FS, when CC was absent, when they asked what s9 was going to be about. With all the changes, “it became very hard, even if we wanted to, to plan ahead the last 3 seasons”. [No change of method over the years, but it became more and more difficult to reconcile the cumulative storytelling of what was done already with what was going on behind the scenes.]

https://xfilesdiaries.libsyn.com/134-two-fathers-one-son-with-frank-spotnitz

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Jan
06
2024

Interview: Frank Spotnitz on “Detour”

Happy new year! Perhaps the last year without an X-Files reboot? We continue our catch-up of 30th anniversary interviews with an audio commentary of “5X04: Detour” with writer Frank Spotnitz thanks to The X-Cast: An X-Files Podcast! Summary below:

  • With TXF, the writers-producers explicitly tried to make something that would last the pass of time [30 years later, congratulations!]; they had in mind Jaws (leave it to the imagination to fill the blanks); they were conscious to write strong women characters (like when Scully had to protect an impaired Mulder); the smart MSR was at the heart of the show
  • Shooting in the woods was a cost-saving measure, but weather made it costly (because of the rain, they had to build the camp fire scene in a set); How The Ghosts Stole Christmas was also a cost-saving ep but set building made it very expensive; Dod Kalm was successful in saving money
  • Behind the names: Marty and Michael were FS’s business partners; Louis was a cousin of FS; Michelle Fazekas was a 1013 assistant; West Virginia setting is where FS’s mother is from; Jeff Glaser was a Fox executive that gave them notes (“it’s only scary as it is believable”)
  • Leon County: a clue to Ponce de Leon
  • FS had done a lot of mytharc at that point, he wanted to do a stand-alone
  • Inspiration: things that scared FS when he was a kid, like a dog barking at something unknown at night; was fascinated with tree rings
  • Introductiory scenes: invest the viewer in secondary characters before something bad happens; also, FS had just become a parent a few years before
  • FBI team-building comedy scene was Carter’s idea
  • Brett Dowler had done a lot of 2nd unit directing, this was his first ep as director
  • Leonard Betts: Spotnitz-Gilligan-Shiban were in competitiong with Morgan-Wong on which ep would make it to Superbowl
  • FS was present in Vancouver for prepping and just the first day of shooting, then back to LA for scripts and post for other eps
  • 1930s The Invisible Man on the TV: it was all about whether they could afford licensing costs
  • Ground the episodes in reality: Scully is like the smartest member of the audience, if you can erode her skepticism then the script works
  • During s2 they had to go to the library for research, by s5 they had internet
  • Civilization is encroahing on nature, that’s why creatures react
  • Mark Snow wrote so much music, more than the average TV show; editing was done without music, then they’d go to Mark’s home in Santa Monica to hear it with music
  • Beyond s6 they were wondering what can they say that is new? s8-9 had a different storytelling format, leaning more into The Twilight Zone influences
  • Director of photography Joel Ransom used a lot of steadicam; even in interiors scenes the light is not flat, half their faces are in shadow
  • FS developed a show with Adam Rapp (brother of actor Anthony Rapp) but that didn’t get made
  • Creature stealing stones: inspired by Planet of the Apes (humans steal clothes), one of FS’s favourites
  • They typically had 8 days main unit, at least 2 days 2nd unit (which here did things like POV shots of the forest); the record was Jose Chung’s, 20 days (!)
  • Every 12 pages of script there had to be a cliffhanger for the act break, that forced good discipline for script writing; FS still does it even if there’s no need for commercials breaks
  • Mulder’s line “I don’t wanna restle” was improvised; there was very little ad-libbing, actors were used to follow the script closely, a lot of pressure to make the air date; today, there are daily phone calls, actors feel more empowered and change lines, the culture of movie-making has moved to TV, sometimes it is for the better
  • Running out of bullets: FS compares it to Hitchcock’s “Notorious”, where Cary Grant and Claude Rains run out of champagne
  • Mulder’s disappearance: they trimmed individual frames to make it seem sudden
  • The monster was a mix of practical and early CG effects
  • FS wanted M&S alone scene like in Quagmire; they rarely did character continuity, like Scully reflecting on her cancer
  • Originally Scully was to sing Hank Williams’ “I’m so lonesome I could cry” but GA said she can’t sing, the only thing she can sing was “Jeremiah…”
  • They were stuck during script writing on how to get them out of that hole; the solution was team building
  • The timing was down to the second for the ad breaks, they were shaving frames off shots (!); editing was done in a trailer at the end of the Fox lot
  • FS thought DD mispronounced “conquistadors” but he was right
  • They were careful with whose POV they were showing, that final shot with the monster was not Scully’s
  • Ending: there’s still something left, in typical TXF fashion

http://www.wemadethispodcasts.com/podcast/the-x-cast-an-x-files-podcast/episode/the-x-files-30-commentary-track-detour-ft-frank-spotnitz

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Jun
15
2013

Season 10: Interviews and Odds & Ends

A round-up of interviews and non-artwork material related to the Season 10 comics that have surfaced up till now.

On the menu:

  • Joe Harris seminal interview
  • Chris Ryall – Joe Harris – Chris Carter meeting
  • Chris Ryall teasing
  • Carlos Valenzuela interview
  • Joe Harris podcast
  • Joint Joe Harris & Michael Walsh interview
  • Frank Spotnitz’s reaction
  • Joe Harris’ guide on buying XF comics

Click below for the lengthy entry:

Mar-03-2013
Comic Book Resources
ECCC EXCLUSIVE: Joe Harris Explores IDW’s “X-Files: Season 10”

Last month, IDW Publishing announced its plans for an ongoing series based on “The X-Files,” one of the biggest sci-fi televisions eries of all time, airing for 9 seasons and inspiring two feature-length films starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as paranormal investigators working for the FBI.

Today at Emerald City Comic Con, IDW announced writer Joe Harris and artist Michael Walsh as the creative team responsible for the further adventures of agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Beyond that, Harris told CBR News that original “X-Files” creator Chris Carter is executive producing the new title — subtitled “Season 10” — saying Carter is “personally reading outlines and scripts, providing feedback and suggestions.”

Harris, who recently launched “Great Pacific,” a creator-owned series released through Image Comics, spoke exclusively with Comic Book Resources about “X-Files: Season 10,” teasing the title’s debut story arcs, revealing the status of Scully and Mulder’s relationship as the series opens and more.

CBR News: First off, Joe, what’s your history with “The X-Files” and how did you come to be involved in this iteration of the franchise?

Joe Harris: I’ve been a fan since the show was buried deep on the Friday night network schedule of my lonely teenage ’90s life. Honestly, I can’t think of many characters or comics properties I could be more excited to write.

IDW asked me if I was a fan, and I jumped like little else can probably get me to in this industry. I’m writing the series, ongoing and for as long as they’ll have me!

And all the art we’ve been looking at has been spectacular. In particular, Michael [Walsh] should bring some grit and mood to this series that really pushes the darkness and paranoia.

What can fans expect to see in the first arc of “The X-Files: Season 10?”

It picks up some time after the last movie and re-introduces Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, along with plenty of the supporting cast of characters everyone remembers and would expect to see. I don’t want to give away too much, but I can tell you it opens with a pretty deadly mystery that’s connected to the now-shuttered “X-Files” division at the FBI and what appears to be an effort by some pretty dangerous folks to eliminate the personnel associated with them.

We’re going to re-establish the mythology, the ever-elusive but tireless quest to discover “the Truth,” while conspiratorial elements work against our heroes from both within the government, as well as outside of it, and we’re going to dig into plenty of paranormal threats including some that just might be of the extraterrestrial variety.

We’re going to try and usher “The X-Files” into a new age. We’ve got WikiLeaks, now. Drone warfare, the Patriot Act and challenges related to the government and influence from outside forces, corporations and lobby groups. America has challenges, problems both new and old, related to how it functions, as well as just who it really functions for. I think the “X-Files” mythos will fit nicely into these chaotic, interconnected times.

What’s the status quo between Agents Mulder and Scully as the series starts? Will you be exploring their personal (and sometimes romantic) relationship?

Let me just start by saying, I adore Mulder and Scully’s relationship. From when Agent Dana Scully first walked into Fox Mulder’s basement office in the series pilot and confronted this seemingly desperate believer with her almost unbreakable skepticism, it just worked. It evolved over time. Respect and reverence grew between them, and, with what they’ve been through together, how could they not have grown even closer?

They’re together in this series. They’re an item. But it’s not nearly that simple, or easy, and there are extenuating circumstances related to who they are and what they’ve been through, both together and apart, that will really test them.

In the show’s finale, it was revealed that civilization would come to an end after a massive alien invasion in 2012. Since “The X-Files: Season 10” debuts in 2013, how quickly do you plan on addressing that issue in the comic?

You’re going to have to wait and see on that score — sorry!

This isn’t your first foray into ‘creepy’ story-telling. You’ve done work for “BPRD,” “Vampirella” and even “Creepy,” itself. What attracts you to these types of stories?

Well, horror and horror movies, along with science fiction, have always been a big part of my life and ambitions. The possibilities attract me. The chance to evoke and illuminate real-world issues, challenges themes and concerns through that speculative fiction prism is a big draw. Almost as much as the chance to pull off big sci-fi concepts and creepy, as you say, storytelling.

My “X-Files” stories are a mix of both horror and sci-fi. There were some moments in that show that just made your skin crawl. I really, really want to try and replicate that experience as best I can.

This series is being billed as “Season 10” of the show. Have you had access to any notes or musings from “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter, like how Joss Whedon oversees the “Buffy” comics, or is this series entirely independent from the original show’s creative team?

I actually just spoke with Chris Carter today! Made my morning. And he’s agreed to executive produce the comic.

When you say Chris Carter is “executive producing” the comic, what exactly does that mean? 

Chris is personally reading outlines and scripts, and providing feedback and suggestions.

What are some of your favorite “X-Files” episodes?

Wow, I can rattle off a bunch — “The Erlenmeyer Flask,” “Ascension,” “The Host,” “Paperclip,” “Piper Maru,” “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man,” “Tunguska,” “Josie Chung’s From Outer Space,” “Drive,” “Pusher,” just about anything Vince Gilligan wrote starring The Lone Gunmen. And really, all of those great season-ending cliffhangers that Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz pulled off which really amped up the conspiracy and elevated the whole mythology to another level.

But I think my favorite episode from way back is the Season Three finale, “Talitha Cumi,” in which Mulder and X — my favorite character back then played by Stephen Williams — beat the living crap out of one another in a parking garage after Mulder discovers an alien weapon artifact, but refuses to hand it over to his informant, who had expected to get it from him. It ends with them pulling guns on one another, “Mexican standoff”-style, and the paranoia and tension was just oozing out of the show at that point.

Will you be picking up any plot threads from the original series or either of the two movies?

Well, maybe — just maybe.

In all seriousness, there’s lots to Mulder and Scully’s experiences we’re going to pick up on, sure. Lots of old relationships and unfinished business to delve into and use as a starting point. That goes for both their personal lives, and the overarching “mytharc” that defined the series.

Another thing I plan on doing every now and again is creating what amounts to a sequel for some classic standalone “Monster of the Week” stories. We’ve already got one of these in the works and, I do suspect, it’s going to get some people excited when they hear about it.

How long will ‘Season 10’ last? How many seasons are planned at the moment?

I’m not certain, to be honest with you. At this point, we’re an ongoing series with some big, mythology-building and steeped arcs that will be interspersed with some standalone stories and smaller arcs.

So we’ll see, I guess. But we’ve got plenty of big-ass cliffhangers and “holy crap” moments lined up that go for that same season-ending magic I absolutely revered.

“The X-Files: Season 10” by Joe Harris and Michael Walsh hits shelves this June from IDW Publishing.

From Michael Walsh’ twitter (Mar-08-2013): “Me, X-Files creator Chris Carter & @joeharris after a successful “X-Files: Season 10″ plotting session this morning”

Michael Walsh, Chris Carter, Joe Harris

Michael Walsh, Chris Carter, Joe Harris

Mar-30-2013
ComicBook
WonderCon: X-Files Comic Will Be Stories that “Matter” to Fans

At WonderCon earlier today, IDW Publishing’s Chris Ryall revealed a handful of details about their upcoming series, The X-Files Season Ten. The comic, announced earlier this month, will include the involvement of series creator Chris Carter in the first ongoing comic book series since the long-running Fox drama ended.

“At the last point where people saw these characters, these comics will pick up beyond that,” Ryall told fans, suggesting that the recent feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe, will still count. “We’re telling stories that extend the characters forward,” not telling stories that don’t “matter.”

“At that point, they couldn’t necessarily tell stories that advance the plotlines the way we can,” Ryall said of the previously-published X-Files comics by Topps comics and WildStorm, which IDW intends to republish in new collected editions. “There’s something about doing comics where the show has already ended. We can tell stories that matter. It’s very exciting to us.”

The solicitation for the comic describes it as follows:

In the opening story arc, “Believers,” readers will catch up with Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, living normal lives together under secret identities. However, a visit from an old friend threatens to rip them from suburban anonymity, as they learn that someone is preying upon everyone involved in the X-files. Prepare to revisit familiar faces—some very unexpected, threats old and new, and an intriguing mystery designed to return the beloved franchise to its former glory!

May-01-2013
X-Files News
XFN Exclusive: Interview with Carlos Valenzuela

X-Files News had the pleasure to talk to Carlos Valenzuela, one of the artists comissioned to draw the newest installment of The X-Files comic books.

Valenzuela, a professional illustrator and comic book artist from Chile, has worked for several companies in the entertainment industry, like Fantasy Flight Games, Pyranha Bytes, SQP Publishing, Under The Floorboards, Ballistic Publishing, IDW Ltd, just to name a few.

XFN: How did you get into the business of illustrating?

“I always wanted to enter the world of illustration. My artistic influences are mainly from classic illustrators like Frazetta, Corben, Wrightson, Moebius, Elvgren, etc. and thanks to some online communities like DeviantArt or CGSociety I was able to show my first works. Also, I work for a couple of years being represented by an US agency. With them I did almost illustration work, from book covers, card games, to posters and comic book covers.

Right now, I work mainly as an illustrator, but with some comic book works from time to time, like the upcoming Mars Attacks story from IDW.”

XFN: You mentioned in a past interview that you’re a horror fan. You also seem to have drawn a lot of Marvel characters. What are your influences and how do they transfer into your work?

“I grew up watching horror and sci-fi movies, and thanks to my older brothers that collected several superhero comic books, I spent a long time reading (and copying) the covers from Hulk, Iron-Man, Batman, etc.”

“As I mentioned before, my main artistic influences coming from illustrators and artists from the 50’s and 70’s, as well as my favorites movies are from that period (the classics are still unbeatables). So as you might guess, I’m a bit of an old fashion artist,” he laughs.

XFN: What is your ultimate dream franchise that you’d love to illustrate for?

“Well, I’m a huge Star Wars fan, so I would love to illustrate anything that happened in that galaxy far far away. Everytime that I have some time to do something just for me, I put my hands on those classic characters.”

XFN: Everyone has seen your artwork for the new comics and can’t wait to see more. So what can you tell us about your involvement in the new X-Files project?

“At this moment I can tell is like a dream come true. Is a very strange and funny feeling to become an official X-Files artist being a big fan also. This is the first time that I work with a franchise so huge and with a really big fanbase, so the excitement is equal big as my responsibility. Each time that I show any preview or little advances I feel so many eyes watching, but gladly people and specially X-philes seems to be enjoying what I’ve done so far,” he hopes.

“Also I would like add that besides the covers for the comic book from IDW, at this moment I’m preparing, along with the great people of Under The Floorboards, another X-Files print to be presented at this year London ComiCon. The print that we did last year was a big success, becoming some kind of cult piece for X-Files fans, and also was the work that produced that I landed at IDW as a cover artist. So X-philes, stay tuned for this!”

XFN: We read that you were an X-Files fan before this project. Can you tell us how you got into the show originally and what it’s like as a fan to be creating new X-Files material?

“The show started airing here in Chile almost at same time than US, so I became addicted almost immediately! I’m always being intrigued and fascinated by UFOs, extraterrestrial life, conspiracies, strange creatures, monsters, crime thrillers… and The X-Files has all that ingredients, and much more. I felt that Mulder’s crusade represented us all in one way or another.”

XFN: Favorite episode? Character? Guest star? Monster of the Week or Mythology?

Several indeed, but to name just a few: “Home”, “Our Town”, “The Host”, “Post-Modern Prometheus”, “Duane Barry’”, “Agua Mala”, can I continue?” he laughs. I must say that Monster of the Week are my favorites, but I enjoyed as well the Mytharc storyline.

XFN: Mulder and Scully are iconic characters, even for those who’ve never seen the show. How do you go about bringing them to life while still maintaining your own artistic style?

“That’s a good question. One of the things that intimidated me when I started with this job was exactly that thing. Both of them (as well as the other characters from the show) are truly icons. I think that IDW and FOX liked the way that I approach to them, trying to keep the likenesses as much I can, but bringing my ‘classic/noir/vintage’ vision as well. And being myself a big fan, I always try to see the work from that point of view, and trying to maintain the overall atmosphere of the show.”

XFN: When it comes to X-Files comics, many artists have come before you. Do you look to past artists for inspiration or do you prefer to keep your work separate from that influence?

“I try to avoid as much as I can to watch anything that has been previously done. I want to keep things fresh, but as I said before, being faithful to the spirit of the show.”

XFN: What do you want X-Files fans to take away from these new comics? Anything you’d like to tease for the fans, or will the Truth remain out there?

“Well, I don’t have permission to reveal much information besides the previews and sneak peeks that I’ve shown already. Since I started working on this job that I have the very strange feeling that my phone line and internet connection has been hacked, and also a very suspicious black van is parked in front of my building since the first cover… uh oh there’s someone’s at my door!”

The XFN Quick Six

Favorite Food: Spaghetti
Favorite Word: Awesome
Favorite X-Files line: Mulder: “Scully, I was like you once. I didn’t know who to trust. Then I chose another path, another life…another fate” [from episode ‘The Sixth Extinction, part 2, season 7]
Your guilty pleasure: Learned to make sushi and eat until almost explode
Dream job: Bartender in the Mos Eisley cantina
I wish I had invented… the human teleportation machine

Thanks so much to Carlos for sharing this insight into his work and his excitement for The X-Files comics. You can check out more of his artwork on his DeviantArt page and continue to follow his work through his website. Remember, the new stories hit the stands starting in June, so make sure to get yours from your favorite supplier.

May-05-2013
The Patrick Philiips Show
Joe Harris – ‘THE X-FILES: SEASON 10′ Writer

THE X-FILES: SEASON 10 Writer Joe Harris joins me to chat about the new comic book series, what we can expect for Mulder and Scully, and what it’s like working alongside creator Chris Carter.

May-10-2013
GeekMom
Interview With X-Files Season 10 Joe Harris and Michael Walsh

In March, IDW announced that The X-Files would be returning with a tenth season in comic book form. Almost immediately, fans began speculating about what stories this new season would include; when would the stories be set? Would the show’s incredibly complex mythology be continued? Would “baby” William be involved? I spoke to series writer Joe Harris and illustrator Michael Walsh about some of their plans for Season 10, and the difficulties of bringing such an iconic, cult show back for a new season after more than ten years off air.

What made you both decide to become involved with the new The X-Files series?

JH: IDW had asked me if I was interested and, in a span of about three seconds, the question registered, sank in and motivated my “hell yes!” reply. I’m a huge fan from way back at the beginning and the opportunity to write these beloved characters, and contribute to one of the greatest mythologies in television and science fiction history, was too great to let pass.

Michael Walsh: When IDW asked me about working on The X-Files I was ecstatic. I had been coming off of a Crime/Sci-Fi comic and was really in love with the idea of drawing something with some horror themes and supernatural elements. Not only that but I loved the show as a kid and it gave me the excuse to go back and watch it from the very beginning. It was an instant “Yes, when can I start?”

When Chris Carter came on-board as an Executive Producer/Consultant did you have to change any of your planned stories/arcs as they didn’t fit in with the plot of a hypothetical third film?

JH: When my editors first told me about Chris Carter’s involvement I was both thrilled and, I think you can probably imagine, intimidated as hell. It all came about so quickly, and organically though. He had read the story outline I’d put together, along with my script for the first issue, and was so complimentary and supportive it’s almost embarrassing. He also had some notes and wisdom to impart, as well as some great advice. His coming on board did help to refocus the original scope of our opening story arc and I feel like we’re really fortunate for his coming in and offering what he’s been able to impart.

How many comics are you planning for the first run/season?

JH: That’s a good question. Honestly, I’m not certain. As of now, we’ve got an opening five-issue arc that re-establishes everything. The characters, the mythology, the conspiracy, everything. Then we’ve got a bunch of shorter stories, two-parters, and single issue standalones that will harken back to the “Monster of the Week” formula and, in some cases, be direct sequels to some of my favorite old episodes. New monsters and paranormal stuff as well as some returning characters and creatures. After that, I’ve got another big storyline lined up that further builds on the “Mytharc,” the alien colonists out to retake the earth, Mulder and Scully’s connection and role within it all, and conspiracies both old and new related to it all.

Whether or not we rebrand ourselves as “Season 11″ after that, or at some other point, remains to be seen. But the series will be published monthly for the foreseeable future, regardless.

There are a couple of other TV shows that have continued on as comics. Have you looked to those for any lessons, i.e., things to do or not to do in a comic extension of a TV series?

JH: Well, there’s been a lot of this sort of thing getting done right lately in comics. From Buffy, including Angel at IDW, to the more recent Star Trek and Doctor Who books, the appetite for a continuation of these stories starring the characters the fans don’t want to say goodbye forever to doesn’t seem to let up.

With The X-Files, I really want to give the fans what they want while maintaining some of the mystique and coyness that kept us coming back season after season. It’s really its own thing, so it’s hard to gauge. I mean, we’re going to nail the likenesses and, I’d like to think–or, at least, I hope–the voices of the characters. We’re going to be presenting what I hope feels like the next chapter in a long narrative we’ve been following for many years now, as well as something I hope really harkens back to the vintage energy and paranoia and sense of “holy s*** did you see that!” that used to really permeate the series.

MW: I’ve definitely been skimming through comics that have been adapted from television and film. It’s interesting to see how different artists depict characters that have already been portrayed by iconic actors in other media. Mostly I’ve been trying to grasp when artists are really nailing likenesses and when the drawings are becoming too stiff or referenced, then applying those ideas and methods to my own work.

Will each comic be an episode in its own right as most of the original ones were, or will one case run across multiple issues as in the 30 Days of Night series?

JH: It depends. Like I said earlier, the first storyline will span five issues. I think the next story after that is slated to be a two-part story to be followed by a couple of single-issue, standalone tales. Before we gear up for another big “event” storyline that will run five issues, all over again.

Have you taken any cues from previous The X-Files comic runs in illustrating the new series or did you want to take the look in a completely new direction?

MW: I briefly took a look through the The X-Files/30 Days of Night crossover as well as what I could find of the Charlie Adlard illustrated Topps stuff. That said it was more out of curiosity than a desire to emulate what had been done before. I’m starting fresh, stylistically speaking, when approaching The X-Files comics. If you’re familiar with my work you will see a lot of the same approaches in terms of rendering and framing that I’ve used before on other work but I’ve taken a lot of cues from the actual show in terms of pacing, lighting and acting.

A lot of fans were upset that Agent Doggett and Agent Reyes did not appear in the second The X-Files film, will we get to see them in the comics at all? Are they still with the FBI?

JH: Yes. And yes. :)

All the characters are now much older than they were during the show, has that influenced the stories you wanted to tell or the illustration style at all? How much freedom were you given in creating the current “look” of the characters?

JH: I’ll let Michael speak to the specifics regarding the “look” of the characters, but I can tell you, from my end, it’s a balancing act. The short answer is, yes, of course, the stories are affected by these characters’ experiences, along with the audience’s. We call the series “Season 10″ right from the get go, so we’ve got a little baggage to sift through. A lot of triumph and tragedy and unresolved stuff. But we want to make it feel fresh too. We want to make a satisfying read for people who’ve followed Mulder and Scully’s journey all this way, as well as do something fresh and new and now.

MW: Since the story is canonical with what has been established in the show, these characters aren’t the spry young Mulder and Scully from the first few seasons. This is how they might appear had they filmed another season directly after the second film. I’ve slightly modernized them and designed some plain-clothes looks for the characters based on their already established style. That said, when designing the look of the characters I played it really close to the show and really tried to capture what makes them so iconic. So far I think I’m having the most fun with Skinner.

The biggest question in the fan community is about William, will his story be addressed in any way?

JH: Baby William Scully–who, I guess, wouldn’t really be a baby anymore–will figure prominently.

You’ve said that issue one begins with Mulder & Scully living “normal lives together under secret identities.” How will that be set up as we left them back from exile at the end of the second film?

JH: We’re going to hit the ground running a little ways after the bikinis and boats glimpse of their “happily ever after” post-credits moment at the end of the second movie, if that’s what you’re referring to. Some time has passed.

That said… we may go back and fill in some blanks in some instances, or we might leave things mysterious and full of questions in others. I have plans to include some “untold” moments in The X-Files chronology, going back to the early days of the show, to just after the end of that second movie.

Can you give us any indication of how far after the second film issue one is set?

JH: Some time has passed. One thing I really dug about the second film is that the creators let the characters live and age, and Mulder and Scully have been out of the game for a little while. The break is kind of integral to the genesis of the new comics series.

The Lone Gunmen appear on the cover of Issue #2, can you give us any clues about how they will be involved considering they were killed off in Season 9?

JH: Well, they did die “off camera” so I’d like to think the opportunity to bring them back in some way shape or form was always there. So far as what they’re up to, or how they figure into our story, I can’t give away too many details. They’ve been through some stuff and experienced some more. But, suffice to say, they’re going to play a familiar role.

You’ve also said that an iconic villain from the show will be making a return, what was it like to continue that character’s story and to illustrate them in comic form?

JH: We’re bringing back a bunch of folks: allies, enemies, and shady characters who aren’t quite one or the other too. That’s been the candy so far, for me. When it comes to the icons, be it the Lone Gunmen or some of our other, yet-to-be-revealed returning champions, I feel so giddy to be doing this, yet, sometimes anyway, so intimidated! It’s a tremendous amount of fun bringing back this character or that one and I feel a lot of pressure to get it right. In some cases we’re really presenting the next chapter in their chronology, or even filling in some past blanks that shed new light on who they are or why they do they things they do. In short, I’m honored, and psyched, and at least a little scared.

What prompted you to choose that character to bring back? Was it someone whose story you didn’t feel had been completed on the show?

JH: I had a wishlist I wanted to tackle with regard to which characters I wanted to bring back. In the case of folks we haven’t seen in a while, or whom we’ve been led to believe might have met their demise, I made sure I had a good reason why or how, and I presented my ideas to the publisher, as well as to Chris.

We’ll be introducing some new characters too, but I know who, as a fan, I’d want to see if I were just reading this series. So I let that sensibility guide me.

Regardless of what approach you take it is unlikely that you will please all of the The X-Files fan base. Are you prepared for the criticism you will likely face from some people?

JH: Hey, writing comics isn’t for the faint of heart. If you’re going to step into the arena, you need to be prepared to fend off a few slings and arrows. I’m hardly inexperienced when it comes to criticism. That said, I respect fandom deeply. I only get to write this series because the studio and the publisher are betting on a reservoir of support and appetite for the further adventures of Agents Mulder and Scully and their long and winding journey down the rabbit hole. And I’m here to serve that want and fill that need.

MW: As an artist you receive criticism all the time, It’s something every professional artist understands. Knowing when to learn from it and when it put it aside is an ability that comes with time. I’m really trying to capture the feeling of the show and service the fans while still maintaining my own established style and artistic sensibilities, it’s a balancing act that I hope long time The X-Files fans can appreciate.

Many thanks to John at IDW for setting up this interview, to Joe and Michael for their time and to the X-Philes at Idealists Haven for providing some excellent questions.

May-13-2013
Big Light (Frank Spotnitz’s blog)
“X-Files” Season 10

Hi Frank,

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the official, in-continuity X-Files: Season 10 comic book being executive produced by Chris Carter and published by IDW Publishing including the return of several important franchise characters!

With all the buzz about this new comic book series, I was wondering whether you are going to be involved at all. Any possibility of you guest writing an issue or an arc (Monster of the Week or Mythology) within Season 10?

All the best,

Justin

New York City

P.S. A gallery of the variant covers for the premiere issue are showcased on the IDW tumblr?

Justin, never say never, but I have no plans to contribute to the series at the moment. I’m excited to read them, though!

June-04-2013
Joe Harris
I Want To Know How To Believe: The Non-Comics Reading “X-Files” Fan’s Guide to Buying New “X-Files” Comics

Hey guys!  Since IDW announced that I’d be writing the new, monthly THE X-FILES: SEASON 10 comics series (working with artist, Michael Walsh and colorist, Jordie Bellaire) back in March, I’ve gotten the not-too-subtle impression that there are lots and lots of “X-Philes” out there who are absolutely, passionately, ravenously excited to follow the new adventures of Mulder and Scully… but might not really know the ins and outs of the comics marketplace, culture, etc. – So I wanted to help ease this transition, if I could, and put together a sort of “cheat sheet” for the otherwise comics shop-challenged… as well as see if I couldn’t help swell the crossover ranks a bit and bring a few more of you into our merry fold.

[read the rest on his site]

That’s all for now!

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