Fans have really been waiting for this movie. Are you surprised that they’re still interested?
Yes… I think the reason we made the movie was because we felt that enthusiasm from the fan base. That being said, I think for this movie to be as successful as Fox would like, we needed to make it a movie that would appeal beyond our fan base, to a broader base, and even to a group of people who didn’t what The X-Files before. I would talk with college juniors, sophomores, freshmen—they were too young to see the show when it was on the air. It started 15 years ago. So, yeah, we thought about them when we came up with the story.
So can we expect a romantic relationship between Mulder and Scully?
I’m not divulging the nature of their relationship. Let me just say that it’s honest to where we felt they’d be six years after we last saw them.
And how about the Lone Gunmen or Skinner—are they in the movie?
[Cryptically] You will see someone from the series who is not Mulder and Scully. [Pauses] Someone or someones.
With the tendency to seek and post spoilers online, was it especially difficult to keep the movie’s story lines under wraps?
Yes, there are so many ways a story can leak out, and the Internet has created a competitive environment for people with information. You get a lot of attention for having information. If you’re Harry Knowles [aintitcool.com], you can make a living off of it… There were paparazzi and people looking to capitalize on their proximity or access to our locations. There were call sheets that were intercepted. But knowing we’d run into things like this, we sometimes used counteroffensives, and we’re not above—or below—the use of propaganda.
Could you imagine doing a new X-Files movie every couple of years or so?
That seems like a natural to me, but this movie has to be successful for there to be another one. I think every time you go out you need to hit a home run. [Laughs] I don’t think a double here will do it.