At a press conference held this afternoon at the Sutton Place Hotel for the X-Files movie currently in production, creator Chris Carter, writer Frank Spotnitz, and a sleepy-looking David Duchovny (they finished shooting at 8 a.m. this morning) assembled themselves before Vancouver media in a hotel conference room to announce the completion of their principal photography here for the upcoming X-Files movie, and to thank the city.
Chris said that this is “our home now”.
“This was the place where we succeeded," he said. "I think that if there are 10 people things to credit with the success of the X-Files, then Vancouver ranks as one of those.”
There is no title decided upon yet for the forthcoming movie.
The content of the movie is being kept secret, and it was listed as Done One Productions on film production lists when they were filming. Duchovny, looking laid back and comfortable in a blue hoodie, scruffy jeans, and runners, said his character was listed as Larry (which was named after the dog, who also attended the conference and sat quietly at the front of the room).
While they were tight lipped about many details, Carter and Spotnitz revealed Pemberton will be passed off as an Eastern American location. All three talked about how the characters will carry on as if six years time have passed, as it has in real life since their last onscreen appearances.
When asked if romance would be continue, Duchovny said it will be a part of the it as it always has been. “It’s a love story, in a sometimes chaste and sometimes really driven way. So that continues, that’s an elemental part of the X-Files…that’s half of the show.”
He added that the nature of the show allowed it to envelope diverse elements. ”One of the great things about the X-Files was its expansive tone. That it could enfold in itself comedy and horror and a love story.”
When asked about how he felt about the local anti-Duchovny backlash when the media latched on to his negative remarks about Vancouver, he said he felt mispresented and that it became a tempest in a teapot generated by the media.
He had plenty of thoughtful praise to give about Vancouver. “Vancouver was the perfect city to film this particular film in…When we came here, we barely knew what we were doing, and as we got better, they grew with us, and coming back here, you’ve got a film community here that is equal to the one in Los Angeles in terms of the craft, in terms of the people that work the nuts and bolts that make the show. So anybody who comes here is gonna get as good as anywhere in the world.
"Plus," he went on, "you get amazing locations and the people are friendly and not jaded to have us filming in their neighbourhood. Even now when we shoot here, more than any other city than I’ve ever worked in, you get less flack from the people who live in the neighbourhoods you’re filming in...which kind of amazing, considering how much filming gets done in this city.”
Duchonvy now considers Vancouver his “home away from home”.