X-Files
Australian Information Kiosk
March 2000

The father of "X-Files" star David Duchovny has written his first novel, "Coney", scheduled for release in September by Overlook/Penguin, according to the New York Post.

Amram Ducovny, who leaves the "h" out of his last name, has already written non-fiction works including "David Ben Gurion: In His Own Words" and "The Billion Dollar Swindle: Frauds Against the Elderly". "Coney" is a coming-of-age tale set in 1939 Coney Island that follows the life of Harry Catzker, a 15-year old Jewish boy with self-absorbed parents who cavorts with carnival freaks while contemplating life.

Smokescreen

As 'The X-Files' mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man, William B. Davis is the man fans love to hate. But, As Danielle Hood Discovered, the only wicked part of this accomplished actor is his sense of humour.

When confronted with the task of interviewing the actor who plays the most evil character in film and television since Darth Vader, it is tempting to begin the coversation with "boo-hiss"!

But the man who has menacingly thwarted Fox Mulder's relentless search for the truth in "The X-Files' is quick to point out such interviewing insolence will not be tolerated.

"Oh yes. I'm quite dangerous," William B. Davis says with the unmistakable drawl of the Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM).

"Yes, terrible things could happen to you if you are not careful."

But unlike the chainsmoking character he plays in the cult TEN series (Wednesday 8.30pm), the only wicked thing about Davis is his sense of humour. His constant laughter and down-to-earth nature are quite disarming for a fan who wants to give him an earful about his treatment of Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson).

In fact, he even makes CSM (Or the Cancer Man, as Mulder christened him early in the series) seem downright heroic.

"As and actor playing any part, I have to get behind what the character does and believe in what the character does," the 62-year-old says.

"I see the character from the character's point of view, not from the viewers' point of view. And, looked at the way, of course, he may now be doing things he should not do or, if he asked moral questions any more, he would not do. But I don't think he asks too many moral questions any more.

"I do, however, think he as probably quite idealistic when he started. He set out to face an impossible situation and make the best of it. He certainly has not pursued his goals for personal gain - he is not like Saddam Hussein, who is the fourth richest man in the world. He still lives a very simple life and is dedicated to the cause he pursues.

"I'm not sure he cares so much about his own life. Certainly the deal that was struck (with the aliens) involved the saving of some lives. So, to some extent, it could be argued he was making the best of a bad job."

"They are tricky moral questions. But I also don't think anybody, unless they are really psychopathic, thinks they're the bad guy - they always thinks somebody else is."

Chris Carter, the creator of 'The X-Files' had no doubts about CSM being the bad guy on his award winning show.

Davis appeared in the first 'X-Files' episode filmed in 1993, as a silent extra and after 20 episodes finally said his first lines.

"Chris Carter wanted somebody who could radiate a certain power without speaking," Davis says. "I suppose he always imagined this figure being shadowy and in the background, but it has gradually built and has become a much more pominent role than was intended.

"In the early days, whenever I go a script I would read it from back to front to see if I was still alive. Once, when I asked Chris if he was going to kill the character off, all he said was, 'You can't kill the devil'."

The antagonism between good and evil (Fox Mulder and CSM) has been evident from the start of the series and has developed into a Luke Skywalker - Darth Vader- type scenario, with CSM rumored to be Mulder's father (but nothing is a certainy in 'The X-Files').

A memorable Mulder line in an episode in which his mother lay critically ill in hospital sums up the relationship between the two characters.

As CSM made his way along the hospital corridor to visit Mulder's mother, our handsome hero looked at him and said "Please tell me you have come here because you are having severe chest pains".

Davis believes such stinging barbs and being thrown against several walls with Mulder's gun pointed at his head are some of the most memorable scenes in the series.

Off the set, Davis says he and Duchovny "get along fine", but there was one time when on-set tension between the two would not have been difficult to create.

"We've never hung out and, to be truthful, I don't see David that often," says Davis, who travels from Vancouver to Los Angeles to film the series when required.

"We have had a few trerrific scenes together, but quite a lot of the time he is not involved in the scenes or in the parts of the episodes that I am.

"We had a bit of a disagreement, I suppose you could say, about moving the show from Vancouver to Los Angeles (at the end of the fifth season).

"This is what he wanted and I never complained about it personally, but I expressed in the press I was unhappy we had to let go of the crew who had been with us since the begining of the show. Also, leaving Vancouver was hard because it was so much a part of the show. But, on the whole, we have gotten along."

Davis, a competitive water skier, downhill skiing instructor and non-smoker of 18 years, studied at the London Academy Of Music And Dramatic Arts and was an assistant director at the National Theatre in its Laurence Olivier era. He returned to Canada in the mid '60s and today he divides his time between playing CSM, being the director of The William Davis Centre For Actor's Study and pursuing a new interest - writing.

"I'm actually working on writing an episode of 'The X-Files' at the moment, so we'll see whether they use it or not.' he says.

"I'm trying to develop an episode that involves CSM and Scully, because we've never really done anything with that relationship. I've been complaining about it for ages because I think Gillian's such a good actress, but I never get to work with her. So I thought perhaps if I could write something we may be able to explore an interesting new relationship on the show."

Davis also works extensively with the Canadian Cancer Society as a fundraiser and in anti-smoking compains.

"We have been able to turn my notoriety, if you like, to good purpose' he says "The only flack I ever had was from a smokers' rights group. This particular individual was very upset at my presenting cigarette smoking in such a negative light. As long as the smoking is associated with this eveil (in his character) and certainly with the personal pain the character feels, it's fine.

"It would be quite a different matter if Scully smoked. That would make it something that everybody wanted to do, because they want to be like Scully. But nobody wants to be like CSM."

But despite his despicable acts, CSM is a character fans love to hate.

"I recently did an audition and ended up walkaing around downtown Vancouver in my suit, which I rarely ever do - usually I wear casual clothes," Davis says.

"But because I was in my suit it was like, 'Hey, there's Cancer Man. hey, Cancer Man!' The attention I recieve is in moderate doses, but it must be very different for David and Gillian. It's not that extreme so it's not overwhelming. It's generally quite pleasant, actually. A lady in a lift once said to me, 'You look like the scary guy from'The X-Files'.'

"But it has been a remarkable experience,' he says of the show. "It has been an amazing ride for all of us. It has taken us places we never expected to go. So much of it was chance, really - I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

Out-Foxed by David

The truth is out there, if only David Duchovny would spill the beans, writes Hal Boedeker.

Like 'The X-Files', David Duchovny is a big tease. The lanky actor who plays Fox Mulder draws out explanations, says a lot while revealing little and trfficks in playful sarcasm.

In interviews, even the simplest questions are turned into mock confrontations.

When I ask what he did on his summer holiday, the foxy Fox responds: "Why do you want to know?"

I said I had heard he made a movie. He objected to my tone before telling me of making 'Return to Me' in Chicago with Bonnie Hunt, his co-star in the 1992 movie 'Beethoven'.

"I actually did woirk before 'The X-Files', but I have a little secret - I didn't do anything good," he says, pausing before adding: "That's not really true. I'm proud of it all."

I tried another question: Does 'X-Files creator Chris Carter take him into his confidence about the show's conspiracy plot?

Does he understand more than viewers do?

"No" Duchovny says, shacking his head. "I care as little about that as I care about the relationship between Mulder and Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson)."

"As an actor, I approach each script with the questions that I need to ask. I've always thought that it's best if it remains unexplained."

Duchovny believes giving viewers answers reduces the show to science fiction.

"Chris and the writers are in a Catch-22 because people want answers, and when you give them answers, they go: 'well, that's just not as exciting as not knowing. Why did you tell me'?" he explains.

While acknowledging the rumours that this seventh season may be 'The X-Files' last, Duchovny remains noncommittal about his feelings.

"My contract is up at the end of this coming year, so I'm living my life as if this would be the last year, and I'd be fine if it were the last year," he says. "But then again, I don't know."

Gillian Anderson, who plays Scully, is contracted for an eighth year but Carter admits he is plotting the series as if this seventh season will be the last.

Duchovny expects the series finale to be open-ended so 'The X-Files' can continue as theatrical movies in which he would star.

"I feel really proprietary of the character and of the show," he says.

"I feel like I want to take care of the guy (Mulder) and make sure that he is not misrepresented."

Not wanting to ruffle his feathers further, I try another tack.

What impact has the series had, given it is coming to an end?

"In other words, can you do my job for me?" he jokes, then rambles on about the Zeitgeist, the age of conspiracy, the new millennium "and all these things that I'm sure you're sick of writing as we are of reading."

Then, surprisingly, he suddenly turns serious - or as serious as he can turn.

"At the shows heart, it was just a bloody good show," he says.

Later that evening as I walk out of my hotel to go to dinner, Duchovny stands, waiting for his car.

"And what are you doing this Summer?" he asks with good-natured sarcasm.

I smile, shake my finger at him and walk on.

With The X Files possibly being flied away forever at the end of the year, you'll be pleased to hear that NBC have a new show waiting in the wings to take over.It's called The Others, and it combines all the spooky X Files bits with the touch of The Sixth Sense. It's fanastic and I'm sure you're going to love it.

Company Press Release
SOURCE: Nelson, Guggenheim, Felker, & Levine

David Duchovny's Attorney Says Daily Mail Story is Inaccurate
Los Angeles, March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Peter Nelson of the law firm, Nelson, Guggenheim, Felker, & Levine, David Duchovny's attorney, today issued the following statement in response to media inquiries concerning a story in today's Daily Mail of London:

"The information contained in a story in today's Daily Mail of London concerning an offer purportedly made by Fox to David Duchovny for the eighth season of "The X-Files" is inaccurate and has no basis in fact. The source with whom they spoke clearly has no idea what he or she is talking about.''

X-Files Star Rumoured To Have Struck A Deal.

David Duchovny is said to have been offered the most lucrative acting contract in TV history to stay with The X-Files.

Producers are willing to pay the actor AU$1.8 million an episode to keep him in his role of FBI agent Fox Mulder. This will guarantee the actor AU$38 million for the eighth and final series of The X-Files.

"The money is on the table and it looks like David will take it," said one X-Files insider. "It's just too good to turn down."

Duchovny's seven-year contract runs out after the current series and he announced his decision to quit after legal battles with producers over money.

But bosses are determined to lure him back for one last series. Co-star Gillian Anderson is already committed to an eighth series because of a clause in her contract.

The insider added: "If David comes back, he's going to make sure it's more than his while."

X-Files creator Chris Carter is unwilling to film an eighth series unless his two leads both appear in their roles. Sources claim he persuaded bosses to make the huge offer to Duchovny.

The actor, 39, will next be seen on the big screen in the romantic drama "Return To Me" with Minnie Driver. His previous movies have flopped at the box office.

David Duchovny has reportedly been offered $1 million per episode to shoot another year of The X-Files. If he takes it, production will remain in Los Angeles. If he scoots, the show will return to Vancouver with a new Agent facing Gillian Anderson, whose contract has her locked in for another year.

The X-Files (Ten, 8:30pm)
They're back! A lifeline was extended to fans of The X-Files last week with the return of a new series. If the first few episodes are anything to go by, we are in for a wilder ride than ever. The storylines just got wackier, the concepts further out of this world and the sexual tension even hotter. It's only the second week back and already Mulder (David Duchovny [picture]) has managed a roll in the hay with one woman and a few sizzling screen moments with Scully. But, of course, these brief moments of affection play second banana to the main matter at hand - aliens. Mulder holds the key to the survival of mankind in his genes (no jokes please!) and develops extraordinary brain power that allows him to read everyone's mind. However, he is of no use to anyone because he is in a catatonic state in a psych ward. Scully finds a map of the entire DNA make-up and has to battle the authorities to save Mulder. Oddly, even she declares it is all the work of aliens and is spooked by a man who taunts her, then disappears. It's these small changes in the characters that leads one to believe we may be in for some surprises this season.
Pamela Wilson

X-Files Devotees will be rewarded with this flick; it's bigger, better and spookier than ever. Mulder and Scully discover an alien plot to take over the world. In the same vein as the series, sinister government involvement runs to the highest level. The features are few, but there's a dynamite segment of behind-the-scenes. If you're a Duchovny fan, watch the "truth" section and you will find a genuine good-guy in he movie business. Common threads link the movie to the series, but you need not have seen an episode to understand and be rapt with this masterpiece.

TV Previews: The X-Files Ten, 8.30pm

[Thumbs Up]

"Previously on The X-Files..."
Six seasons of slowly deteriorating hocus-pocus now recovering its equilibrium (maybe temporarily, but so far strongly) with a plague of locusts that recalls the original killer bees (always liked those) and Agent Mulder lying in a bare concrete cell in a psychiatric ward, his brain collapsing. But what's this... a note? And why is Dana Scully prowling the East African night, ready for the chop?

The sixth season pulled off a zinging cliffhanger with some strange hieroglyphics on a piece of plastic foam, which then took off fearsomely - on its lonesome. Meanwhile, she really cares about him.

[Old picture of Mulder and Scully. Caption: Photo-booth mugging... agents Mulder and Scully from The X-Files.]

The X-Files, Ten Capital, 8.30PM

Finally, television lives again.

Mulder and Scully are back in what seems destined to be their last season of chasing proof that humans really are not alone. They are so close to their goal of finding Mulder's sister and blowing the lid on the whole alien colonisation of the earth plot that you just know this season is going to be something really special. Of course the focus of the show has changed dramatically from it's first season but it has drawn it's ardent fans along its fascinating arc.

Tonight marks the first of a two-episode story that solves the 1999 cliffhanger finale of season six. The problem is, the station isn't running that cliffhanger episode to refresh the minds of viewers so you're going to have to put your brain to work. You will remeber that Mulder was locked away in a neuro-psychiatric ward while Scully sought to uncover what could pottentially be the source of all life on earth in Africa. Well, Mulder's problems are far from over and death is looming as a real possibility.

With the cigarette-smoking man lurking in the shadows and Diana Fowley (Mimi Rogers) torn between her roles as a friend and foe, the only person genuinely concerned about Mulder's rehabilitation is his partner Scully. Can she save him while also solving the mystery of the object buried in the sand in Africa?

Those dreaded little words 'To Be Continued' will prevent you from discovering the answers tonight but you'll be hooked. Believe that.
-Denise Everton

In every Grandparent’s house was that old couch. The familiar, slightly ragged resting place which you could just sink into and live forever in the soft cushions and pleasing feel. Return To Me is the directorial debut of comedy genius Bonnie Hunt (The Green Mile, Jerry Maguire), and her first film is one of the most endearing, comfortable movies I’ve seen come from a newcomer. Like that old couch, you can just sit back and feel the warmth and love that Hunt creates with her diverse cast and her touching - yet decidedly funny - script.

David Duchovny stars as Bob, an architect who loses his beloved wife in a car accident. At the same time, a young woman with heart disease named Grace (Minnie Driver) waits for a heart donor, and finds one in Bob’s dead wife. Not knowing the recipient of the vital organ, Bob moves on with his life and tries to cope with his tragic loss. A freak meeting in a restaurant brings Grace and Bob together, and they fall in love. Trouble is, Grace finds it hard to tell Bob about her heart operation, and even harder to explain to her boyfriend that his deceased wife’s heart in inside her.

David Duchovny finally gets a chance to shine a little with a leading role that shies away from the dour X-Files Agent Mulder character that Duchovny will be saddled with for the rest of his life. He actually smiles in this film! Minnie Driver has been a charmer for many flicks now, with Return To Me an opportunity for the actress to give her Lucille Ball-like facial gestures a workout. The two share touching chemistry, but Hunt never lets the romance get sappy. There are tears to be had here, but only ones that have been earned.

US networks can be counted on to take a good concept and flog it to death in every way. In an attempt to capitalsie on the success of The X-Files ... [snip] ... But where the conspiracy-laden X-Files offers magnetic actors, genuine thrills and off-beat storylines as well as a good line in dry wit ... [snip]

X-Files' end is out there

The Vancouver Sun, February 29, 2000

This may be the end, X-Files friends. After almost a year of speculation about the future of The X-Files, the final word is about to be written, according to one of the show's stars. Gillian Anderson said in the Australian magazine TV Week this weekend that the show will not return next year.

Anderson, who plays FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the popular series, confirmed that she and David Duchovny will tape their final episode in April, at the end of The X-Files' seventh season.

"We will not be here for an eighth season, so it's a matter of mourning the end," Anderson told TV Week, "and that will be very emotional."

[Series creator Chris Carter has said] that he will not continue the series without both Anderson and Duchovny.

Duchovny has said in the past he has no interest in continuing beyond this year.

"Seeing how the seasons have progressed," Anderson told TV Week, "and seeing where we all are in our lives and in the life of the show as a whole, it seems to me that we've done our best years." She said that everybody's attention is starting to wander. "The most beneficial thing for the series, to keep it in good form, is to go out on a high while we have the strength and the commitment to do it. I personally don't know if -- physically, emotionally, spiritually -- I could do another season and show up and put in 100 per cent."

Both Anderson and Duchovny have expressed interest in reprising their X-Files roles in a series of feature films.

What is interesting about this article is how little play it has gotten outside its original publication. If accurate, this is big news. It should be circulating all over the entertainment news wires, but it's not, which makes one question its veracity.

We should know officially soon enough, because a decision must be made before this season's final episode is put into production. When the word comes out, you can be sure to hear about here at X-Files Fans.

#185 As a younger woman, Gillian Anderson sometimes sang backup in her boyfriend's punk band wearing nothing but bandages.

and:
#391 David Duchovny was so reserved as a kid that his brother told people he was retarded.

The Screen Actors Guild is backing efforts by Fox-TV to close down Internet fan sites devoted to its programs. Appearing on CNN's Showbiz Today on Friday, Leonard Classman, SAG's executive director, said, "The studios have an obligation to negotiate with our members individually if their images and performances are going to be used in anything other than the film that they were originally employed in, and they're subjected to severe damages. And I applaud Fox for taking the action that they did." Appearing on the same program, Fox-TV president Doug Herzog noted that the fan sites are using "trademarks and characters that are owned by somebody else, so, you know, it's not exactly all kosher." But TV Guide's Mark Schwed commented on the same program: "If they stop these fan sites, they're shooting themselves in the foot because these are the fans." And Gina Smith, whose was one of the sites singled out by Fox, added: "By shutting these sites down Fox is alienating the fans and the viewers."

Newsweek, March 6, 2000
It isn't yet the official beer of "The X-Files", but look for Agent Mulder to start lobbying hard. Crop Circle Beer is Colorado native Dudley Cates's inspired way of blending his twin obsessions into one. Brewed only from barley grown in England's spooky (and still unexplained) crop-circle fields, the alien ale hits US stores in May.

• Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny / The X-Files
• Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox / Friends
• Sarah Michelle Geller, David Borneaz / Buffy The Vampire Slayer
• Ben Savage, Rider Strong / Boy Meets World