Many X-Philes have been eagerly awaiting for the date that The X-Files twitter feed has been teasing since July 2nd. Well, the online publication "Le Matin" has the scoop for you, straight from Mr. Chris Carter himself. He was interviewed this weekend because of his visit to the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.
In the interview, Carter was asked:
Fans are excited about a tweet: "X-Files": "7.7.15". This date is tomorrow. What will happen?
This is a promotional date: marks 201 days before the first broadcast of new episodes. During this period, a daily episode will be streamed.
While there hasn't been an official announcement of these plans yet, sources inform us that this streaming won't be including The X-Files: Fight The Future or The X-Files: I Want To Believe. If these plans change and there's an official announcement of it per FOX, we'll let you know.
As you may know already, on July 4th, 2015, the global community of X-Philes started a rewatch of the series that does observe the two movies within this plan. XFN will continue hosting our live tweeting sessions according to our advertised The X-Files Global Rewatch.
We've translated the original interview for your enjoyment. To read the entire spread, please click on Read More.
"X-Files": The Truth is in Neuchâtel
Interview from "Le Matin" by Laurent Flückiger (@Fluckskywalker)
Translation by Avi Quijada
In the 1990s, in the classrooms, we used to whistle the generic X-Files theme and played at frightening ourselves. For sure, Chris Carter's creation marked a generation - including the writer of these lines, for whom the world of television has become a passion after spending hours in front of Mulder and Scully's investigations. Inevitably, with March's announcement - six new episodes in January of 2016 - felt like an event. As a guest of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, a now 58 year old Chris Carter, talks about a return expected by many across the world.
LF: Chris Carter, welcome to Neuchatel. Does this region inspire you to the point of turning it one day into an episode of X-Files?
CC: (Laughter.) I'm only here for twenty-four hours. It will ask myself by the end of the festival. But coming to Europe gives you a much different perspective on life. Inevitably, it inspires.
LF: The filming of the new episodes began a month ago in Canada. How's it going?
CC: We just finished shooting the second episode, which means we still have four to go. We just found our stride. It takes a little time to warm up. While I'm here, everyone takes a break. And next week, we return to Vancouver.
LF: How did you feel when you gathered all the initial team?
CC: It was so natural, as if time hadn't passed. This is a family reunion. Everyone is older, has acquired more or less experience, has children ... That's wonderful. It's like life. The passage of time it's part of the joy I feel to revive it. It is a continuation.
LF: Who had the idea of reviving "X-Files"?
CC: It was 20th Century Fox. But I think that the fact that the actors wanted to return also has been important. My impression is that this was not a decision that was taken just for business benefit. When I heard the news, I thought it was the right time to do it, there was a good atmosphere and a season of six episodes was a good size.
LF: The right time, as they say?
CC; The world has changed a lot since we ended the series in 2002. What pleases me is to tell stories in the context of American and international politics. The new episodes will have a WikiLeaks mind.
LF: Will it feature UFOs or monsters?
CC: Both.
LF: Mulder and Scully will they a couple?
CC: We will answer this question in the first episode. So patience. (He smiles.)
LF: Twin Peaks will also return, as Prison Break and Heroes. Isn't it a bit easier to recycle series?
CC: Yes, it is! I am leary to remit to the known series on screen. Regarding X-Files, that is not recycling - or a reboot- it's a revival.
LF: In the early 1990s, how did you get the idea of X-Files?
CC: I was inspired by so many things that I watched when I was a child: Alfred Hitcock presents, Twilight, a series called Night Gallery. And then there was Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which was the scariest thing I had ever seen. I was also inspired by The Silence of the Lambs. When the movie came out, I found it fantastic! If Gillian Anderson has red hair when she plays Scully, is not a coincidence: this is a reference to Clarice Starling, the character played by Jodie Foster.
LF: Fans are excited about a tweet: "X-Files": "7.7.15". This date is tomorrow. What will happen?
CC: This is a promotional date: marks 201 days before the first broadcast of new episodes. During this period, a daily episode will be streamed.
LF: What will happen after the six episodes?
CC: I think it just depends on the success. The desire to do more is present. But we must do a good job. Continue to do, I should say.
LF: Aren't you working on other projects?
CC: Not right now, no.
LF: (The new projects) would be on film or on television?
CC: I believe that thinking that film and television are interchangeable is a misconception. Many film actors are acting in series because there are a lot of good stories. But one episode, in general, it's still eight days of shooting, while a movie is between sixty and a hundred days. With film, we try to achieve a masterpiece at the time, while a series that's about how long it can be done. If you put, for example, True Detective in a movie theater, I don't think that it would be the hit it is.
LF: What are your current reference series?
CC: The excellent The Fall, with Gillian Anderson. I also like House of Cards, Mad Men, it's a masterpiece, and I discovered an interesting French series, Witnesses.
LF: In NIFFF tomorrow you participate in a symposium about the cliffhanger. What is the right way to keep the suspense?
CC: We must ensure that the viewer will be back for the answer to the questions. It's difficult because it's got to be smart and original, but it's also fun.
LF: Will there be in the new episodes?
CC: We'll see ...