The Cannes Film Festival got off to a kind of dark and depressing start, with two movies about the worst side of humanity screening. But hey, it wouldn't be a film festival without some nice movies about human suffering to brighten your day, right?
Seriously, though, we can see light-hearted rom-coms anytime; a festival like Cannes is where you go to see movies that make you ponder life, wax philosophical with friends about the use of voice-over in film and the deeper metaphorical meanings of this or that scene, and geek out over things like editing and cinematography.
The National Post ran a story today about the press conference the X-Files cast and crew held on Wednesday. (Minus Gillian Anderson, who seems to be practically absent from this whole circus in general.) The cast and crew thanked Vancouver and revealed that those photos of Mulder and Scully kissing were fake.
"We staged that," David Duchovny told reporters. The article mentions the photo causing "breathless speculation about the characters' are-they-or-aren't-they romance" which makes me wonder what sites they visited. Only the most diehard sites could be breathless about it -- and only fans who completely forgot the whole offspring element.
Director Chris Carter complained about the attention focused on the production. "It's been a two-way street. To tell you the truth, I would like to make the movie secretly and put it out there on July 25, have everybody get a gift they could open." Is that why your movie still doesn't have a title?
If you thought werewolves were scary, just you wait. According to Hollywood North Insider, the new X-Files movie, strangely called X-Files: Done One, will have Fox Mulder and Dana Scully heading up to northern Canada -- Newfoundland, to be exact. Their sources say that the extras for the film are being told that they are "Newfies," which is slang for people from Newfoundland, and that they need swimsuits for a scene being shot on a reservation in Mount Currie. Is this where werewolves come from? Considering the suit angle, I wonder -- are the beasties titillated by the appearance of an over-abundance of skin?
Meanwhile, X-FilesNews.com has another source that has provided possible set pictures and call sheets. While the 'Newfies' will be prancing around in bathing suits, this call sheet shows lots of snow, and what's going one with some of the players involved -- like Billy Connelly's Father Joe, as well as Amanda Peet, and Xzibit. So far, this is looking to be one strange film. Whether that strangeness will translate into a good return of the story and characters -- that remains to be seen.
Personally, I just keep thinking about video games. Xzibit makes me think of Def Jam: Fight for New York, which makes me imagine that game X-Files style. I can see it now: Cancer Man stubs smokes out in opponent's eyes, Xzibit trains you, since he's an old pro by now, and Scully just beats down on everyone. Ah, I wish.
I'll just come right out and say it: I think werewolves are dumb. They could be interesting, and I'm sure they once were, but for me they're typically a let down, whether they be the lame werewolves in Wes Craven's Cursed or the badly generated werewolf transformation in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or even the blood-splattering werewolves of a well-written horror film like Dog Soldiers. Maybe it's because the first werewolves I was familiar with growing up were Michael Jackson in the "Thriller" video and Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf, but whatever the reason, the fact remains that I don't think they're scary and I don't think they're cool.
So, you can imagine how disappointed I was to see JoBlo's new spy shots from the set of "X-Files: Done One"(aka X-Files 2), which feature what looks to be a werewolf mask. I guess there's a chance that thing in the photos could simply be a wolf -- not of the 'were' variety -- and that would be OK. But seeing as this is the paranormal world of X-Files, I'm betting on my first thought being correct.
For other fans of the show, these photos are probably pretty exciting. They're certainly a lot more interesting than that first pic we saw last month, and more intriguing than these simple photos and video of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson from FlynetOnline or these more official shots from ComingSoon.net. Also, with all the secrecy surrounding the plot of the sequel, these photos allow us to speculate a great many things while we wait to hear about the actual plot synopsis. Perhaps one of those new cast members, say Xzibit or Billy Connolly or Amanda Peet turns into a werewolf. Wouldn't that be super neat? Yeah, well you already know I think it would be boring, but I'm trying to be excited for the rest of you.
It's been so long since I last saw an X-Filesepisode that I haven't the tiniest recollection of how the series ended. So, it isn't surprising that I'm a little confused about the plot of the upcoming X-Files movie sequel/series spin-off. The guys at Moviehole have the scoop on some heavily spoilerific details on at least the first half hour of the untitled XF2*. Apparently it involves more aliens, a "Frankenstein-type" doctor, body snatchers, missing persons and a hostage situation being investigated by some new FBI agents we've never met before, including one who might serve the bureau as the "new Mulder". There's also another main agent character that might be played by Lance Henriksen, despite the fact that the actor has previously been on the show as his Millenniumcharacter, Frank Black. According to Moviehole, there's no sign of Mulder and Scully in the first-act synopsis given to them by "a little green man," which would certainly be a problem were it to be true.
Imagine an X-Files movie without David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Or, even one that didn't feature them prominently. Obviously, this is not the case with XF2; it's probable that they will indeed be re-introduced early on in the movie and will appear a lot throughout the first act in their own part of the grand scheme of the plot -- the synopsis shared with Moviehole is likely just the subplot that doesn't involve them, perhaps because it's being shot first and/or separately. Anyway, as always, the truth is out there, somewhere, and it's only a matter of time before we hear what the real deal is. Moviehole additionally reports that casting is currently happening in Canada, so hopefully we'll hear some news on that soon, as well. As we previously learned, the movie is supposed to begin shooting in December and is set to hit theaters next July.
*UPDATE: Apparently the plot/character details are incorrect and director Chris Carter is merely using old character descriptions in order to more-secretly cast for XF2. Thanks to all the commenters for pointing out the correction.
It's taken a bit of time for the trades to catch up to the long-awaitedX-Files sequel, currently being referred to as X-Files 2, but now that they have a flurry of information has hit the net. Variety just announced that 20th Century Fox has set a release date of July 25th, 2008 (that's this summer people!!) for the first X-Files flick in ten years. Unfortunately, that's all we know right now, and a plot synopsis was not released, but they did offer up the following: "Studio is keeping the film's logline under wraps, but stressed the pic is a stand-alone story and supernatural thriller that takes the complicated relationship between Mulder and Scully in new directions."
Hmm, so they're taking their complicated relationship in new directions, huh? Perhaps the two will get married and have a child that turns out to be ... a Predalien?! Could it be? Maybe? As of right now, the only other films opening on that same weekend are the Will Ferell/John C. Reilly comedy Step Brothers, and yet another Ice Cube family flick. What's up with Cube and the family flicks, anyway? He was really doing well with the badass roles (although XXX: They Should've Stopped at Diesel didn't exactly live up to the hype it didn't receive); I wish he'd go back to kicking butt. Or, if not that, then give us another another another Friday. All that being said, X-Files 2 should do fairly well against its competition, but they'll need to WOW us a bit when it comes time for trailers. A stop at NY ComicCon this spring wouldn't hurt either.
Random Note: For some reason I kept writing X-Men, and not X-Files, but caught the mistake right before I pushed this sucker live. That would've been a funny one, huh? Oh, the comments ...
Although nothing is official, it looks like we could be one step closer to a live action Dragon Ball Z. CHUD is reporting that an "old and trusted scooper" has confirmed that James Wong (Final Destination) has signed to write and direct a big-screen version of Akira Toriyama's anime series. According to CHUD's sources (one, Tailgunner Joe), a casting notice was released that had not only attached Wong as writer/director, but gave a hint as to what characters would be included in the film. Some of the names mentioned include; Goku, Bulma, Mai, and Gohan. Now, to be fair, I'm not as well-versed in Dragon Ball as some, so I'll leave it to the fans out there to tell me if anyone has been overlooked.
The series was adapted from Toriyama's original Dragon Ball manga, and first appeared on Japanese television in 1989. It was then released in China, Europe, and eventually made its way to the US. The series centered on Son Goku (the protagonist from the original manga) all grown up with children of his own. All the while instilling family values while defending the Earth against various bad guys. The series even ran into some censorship problems when it was released in the States because it included some crude humor and a level of violence that US audiences weren't used to in their children's content -- which seems silly if you think about it; have these people ever seen Rabbit Fire?
Just last month, TV Squad had reported that shooting was due to start this year on the film, which might mean that there is more to CHUD's report than idle gossip. Plus, Wong hasn't directed a film since 2006's Final Destination 3, so it's not like he doesn't have the time. We'll know soon enough if Tailgunner Joe can be trusted though; Dragon Ball Z will reportedly begin shooting in Montreal, Canada this November.
Well, here we go again; talk of another X-Files film seemed to be the movie gossip that refused to die this summer. But for the faithful, it's all finally coming together. Movieweb recently interviewedDavid Duchovny about the release of the DVD for The TV Set (Jake Kasdan) when the actor decided to drop a little bomb. Duchovny told Movieweb, "the script [for X-Files 2] is written and as far as I know we're all trying to shoot in December at some point." Sure, there had been some vaguepromises before, but this latest announcement is the first time anyone has heard of a start date for the production. News of the sequel began to heat up when Agent Scully herself, Gillian Anderson, had discussed the possibility on her personal web site back in May. The last time Duchovny had commented on the film was back in July, but he had remained relatively tight-lipped on many of the details involved.
Duchovny has just finished work on Vincent Perez's film, The Secret, and Gillian Anderson will soon begin shooting How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. After that, both stars will have two big empty spots in their schedules, just in time for December. Duchovny requested that fans try and contain themselves and, "keep it a secret and just give everybody a fresh experience of not knowing what the movie's about" -- staying true to form, there was not much he could add beyond confirming that yes, the script is complete and they are ready and willing to start production. Even though it is not exactly the most detailed information, when it comes to X-Files, I think most fans will take what they can get. Stay tuned for updates as they come our way.
At this stage, if there isn't a new X-Files movie on the way, then a lot of fans are going to feel pretty gypped. Sun Media has reported that during a panel event with David Duchovny, who played the iconic Agent Mulder in the TV show as well as the first movie, the actor confirmed that he was about to receive his first script for the new X-Files film any day now. The panel event was set up for Duchovny's new cable series Californication as part of the Television Critics Association tour. Duchovny was quoted as saying, "I really am supposed to get the script next week. And I am looking forward to seeing what (Chris) did". Duchovny also went on to say, "Chris (Carter) is going to direct it. Gillian (Anderson) is on board and I'm on board". According to reports, the film would starting shooting in November and would aim for a release in Summer 2008.
It was back in April when Patrick gave us the news that creator Chris Carter would be working with writer Frank Spotnitz on a script, but fans were rightfully skeptical since there have been rumors floating around about a sequel for years. The original series ran on Fox from 1993 to 2002, and the first film was released in 98'. It was a commercial success, but it seemed like a sequel was never going to materialize. Duchovny made it clear that the film would not be the start of a franchise, and that the script was going to be a "one-off" (meaning it would have nothing to do with the previous film or the TV show). Having been fairly obsessed with the show, I can only hope that another film would give Agents Mulder and Scully a more eventful send-off than what the TV finale provided back in 02'. But until the film goes into production, I think we know by now not to hold our breath.
The excitement for the next cinematic installment of the X-Files continues to build! As I told you before, there has been some developments lately regarding another movie based on the very successful 1990s TV show. When last we had word, former TV show Exec. Producer Frank Spotnitz let slip that he was actively developing a new X-Files movie. This was also corroborated by series and movie star David Duchovny during a recent radio interview. So, at that time, all signs looked good for the new film to move forward.
And now, we've got yet another person weighing in on the subject of the X-Files. Not just any person, by the way, but a person who should be as in-the-know as David Duchovny -- series and movie co-star Gillian Anderson. Over at her personal blog, Anderson details many different X-Files-related items including her feelings about the TV show and her co-star Duchovny, why she sometimes both hated and loved the X-Files and how much she's looking forward to doing the movie and working with Duchovny again. Even though, as she says at the site regarding her co-star: "Do I imagine that when we do the film together we won't hate each other for a few hours during the filming? No. We will. Vehemently."
As someone who's done some TV in his time, I can relate completely to her love/hate relationship with the show and her co-star. It's inevitable, as Anderson recalls, that when you spend so much time with people under such long, arduous conditions, you'll start to dislike them -- often intensely at times. It's just the nature of the business. That said, I'm glad she came out with it and hopefully put things to rest once and for all. Of course, the most important bit of knowledge gained from her post is that there is indeed a new X-Files movie and she will be working on it. As Anderson says in her post: "And that's that."
According to an interview Gillian Anderson recently gave to Empire Online, the truth may still be out there. As Erik mentioned not long ago, Anderson's X-Files co-star David Duchovny had let slip that there was talk of a new X-Files movie and that production would likely start in 2008. With the settlement of the lawsuit between series creator Chris Carter and 20th Century Fox over syndication royalties, it looks like a new film is now within the realm of possibility.
"They're starting to talk about doing a feature again," Anderson confirms. "Every year or two they talk about it again, but it seems like it might be for real this time. Somehow it seems like somebody's really serious about it. I know that Chris' lawsuit with Fox is over, so maybe now it can be done." Anderson has received no plot details from Carter, but she says he wants to do a stand-alone horror story that does not use the series' long-running alien conspiracy/government cover-up storyline.
For the uninitiated, Anderson played Special Agent Scully on the Fox series The X-Files from its debut in September of 1993 to its final episode in May of 2002, as well as in the 1998 feature film X-Files: Fight the Future. For me, the series really fizzled in its final years, but having recently seen reruns from the first few seasons I was reminded that The X-Files was once one of the best things on television. Anderson mentions that die-hard fans may be disappointed that the cover-up story will be ignored, but I see it as a step in the right direction, since the conspiracy angle had lost steam by series' end.
Yes, X-Files2 is still an outside possibility. It has been in the works for ages, complicated by everything from actors' schedules to legal battles over revenues. However, the primary three players -- creator Chris Carter and actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson -- have all expressed very real interest in returning to the franchise; and as long as you've got that, you've got good odds of the movie eventually coming together. At least you can hope, right?
Well you can now add director Rob Bowman to that list. Bowman directed the first X-Files flick, in addition to a number of episodes for the television show. Unfortunately, his record gets pretty spotty after that, having moved on to direct box office mediocrity in Reign of Fire and Elektra. Bowman just recently expressed his interest in a sequel, saying he'd love to do it, but "can't ask himself." He fully recognizes the franchise does not belong to him in any way, and he can only be brought back on board if the previous three are interested in his return. So what do you think, fans? If X-Files 2 does eventually happen, would you want it to be at the hands of Rob Bowman?
Crazy, crazy Frank Spotnitz is putting his brilliant mind to work again, once more setting his pen to the X-Files universe. According to Spotnitz, who has done rather extensive work with the Files, plans are indeed in place for a new X-Files film. Should this sucker ever get off the ground, it would not focus on the massive alien cover-up story, but would rather act as something akin to an extra-long stand-alone episode. Spotnitz says the people over at Fox are interested in the idea, as are the principle cast members and creator Chris Carter -- but currently some sort of "legal issues" have the project on hold. Spotnitz hopes to see these issues resolve soon, however.
So, X-Files fans, what do you think of this? Is a potential return to the universe exciting, or would you rather it just be left as it is at this point? I think the concept of keeping a new movie separate from any major theme of the show could allow for non-regular viewers such as myself to catch the flick and enjoy it without feeling like we were missing too much because of ignorance of things past. So long as they've got all the necessary people involved, it seems to me it could be a rather decent idea.
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