X-Files
Australian Information Kiosk:
August 1999

Playing By Heart **** (m)
Warm and uplifting, this is a kind of yuppie soap about a number of dysfunctional people gradually coming to terms with life, love and themselves. There's The X-Files' Gillian Anderson as a woman so wary of men she keeps a mastiff to keep them away. There's Sean Connery as a dying man whose wife - Gena Rowlands - suddenly discovers a past betrayal. And Ellen Burstyn plays a mum struggling to know her AIDS-fading son. An upbeat affirmation of life.

Hollywood. "X-Files" star David Duchovny sued 20th Century Fox Film Corp. Thursday, alleging that the studio has cheated him out of millions of dollars in profits from the hit television series.

The lawsuit, filed in the Santa Monica branch of Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Fox sold various rights to the "X-Files" to its own or affiliated companies at below-market prices and engaged in other actions that reduced the apparent profits generated by the series.

Adding an unusual twist, Duchovny also alleges that series creator and executive producer Chris Carter conspired with Fox to cover up the self-dealing, and was paid hush money amounting to millions of dollars for his compliance. Carter, however, is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Although the amount of damages is not specified in the complaint, sources say Duchovny is seeking in excess of $25 million. Duchovny is not planning to leave the series, which is beginning its seventh season.

A spokesperson for Fox said, "It is the policy of this company not to comment on potential or actual litigation. In fact, we have neither seen a complaint nor are we aware of a complaint having been served on Fox. Suffice to say, it is regrettable that Mr. Duchovny and his representatives have opted to communicate this matter through the press rather than directly with Fox."

Carter could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The series, starring Duchovny as special FBI agent Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as his colleague Dana Scully, is hugely profitable. According to the complaint, the series will generate a profit of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion to Fox over its life as a network series, in syndication and in other formats. The series was also the basis for a feature film with a worldwide gross of almost $185 million.

According to the complaint, Duchovny agreed in 1995 to extend his contract to do the show for two more years in exchange for profit participation, which was to be defined and paid in the same manner as Carter's participation.

But, states the complaint, because of "corporate greed," Fox intentionally reduced revenues to profit participants by selling the show to its affiliates instead of seeking the most competitive and beneficial deal.

Fox sold the series to its own broadcast network, Fox Broadcasting Co.; its own cable network, FX Cable Network; and the syndication rights to its own group of stations, Fox Television Stations.

As for Carter's role in the matter, Duchovny alleges that Fox "paid to Carter millions of dollars in 'hush' money and granted to Carter a 13-episode commitment to develop and produce a new television series for Fox and Fox Broadcasting in order to 'buy' Carter's silence and his acquiescence in Fox's self-dealing with its affiliated entities."

Attached to the complaint is an internal Fox memo indicating a $4 million payment to Carter and an additional series commitment. Duchovny alleges that the payments to Carter were charged against "X-Files" as advances to Carter and deducted from the gross receipts of the show. By reducing the gross, these payments also reduce Duchovny's profit participation.

Duchovny and his company, King Baby, are represented by Larry Stein of Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan. In similar suits alleging self-dealing, Stein represented Wind Dancer, the producers of "Home Improvement,'' against ABC, and Alan Alda, who has a profit participation in the "MASH" series, in a suit against Fox. Both cases were settled before trial.

Janet Shprintz, Reuters/Variety

Former "X-Files" executive producers Glen Morgan and James Wong have signed a multiyear deal with DreamWorks Television and NBC Studios. The move follows an announcement that the duo would be producing the supernatural drama "The Others" for DreamWorks and NBC. The show is slated for midseason and has already received a 13-episode order. Aside from their work on "The X-Files," Morgan and Wong have run the Chris Carter show "Millennium," and created the sci-fi show "Space: Above and Beyond." Since leaving "Millennium," the duo has produced a TV pilot and are currently working on the feature film "Flight 180." "Glen and Jim have proven to be a creative force in the industry," said Dan McDermott, head of DreamWorks Television. "We are thrilled to welcome their combined talents into the DreamWorks family and to be partnered with NBC Studios in bringing some exciting new projects to television."

Duchovny Tip
David Duchovny is likely to be the first international star to sign a deal to attend the opening of Fox Studios Australia at Moore Park.

Duchovny, accompanied by wife Tea Leoni, heads a list of possible celebrities that passed under Benelong's nose last week.

The studios officially open their doors on November 7.

Though it's been assumed that the 1999-2000 season would be the last The X-Files' creator Chris Carter says the sci fi series may yet return for another year, even without star David Duchovny, whose contract will be up.

"Right now, I'm preparing in every way for this to be the final season, but I've heard that Fox might approach us about taking the show past the seventh season," Carter said." I'm willing to listen to what they bring to me....I'm staying tuned."

Fox Entertainment president Doug Herzog confirmed the network's interest, "We're always interested to talk to Chris about The X-Files. It's dependent on a lot of things-who might be coming back, who's not, there's a lot of factors.

"If David Duchovny and (co-star) Gillian [Anderson] want to come back, I think that we'd want to see the show on Fox, absolutely."

But Duchovny is hedging. "I can't really answer that." he said.

"I would never say never about anything, but as of right now my contract is up at the end of the coming year, so I'm living my life as if this would be the last year. I'd be fine if it were the last year. I'm really proud of the sixth year so far, and seven years is a long time to be doing one show. And I have other things to do. But then again I don't know."

Herzog and Carter agree that the issue of whether to bring back the show for the 2000-2001 season should be resolved this year.

"I'd consider anything," Carter said including going on without Duchovny who plays alien investigator Fox Mulder "I would have to feel good about the kind of stories we're telling."

Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI agent Dana Scully, is signed through 2001 and could ostensibly return alone for an eighth season.

Carter's next production is Harsh Realm, about a decorated soldier (Scott Bairstow) who winds up stuck in a virtual reality game supposedly used for training but which has darker implications.

Like The X-Files and Carter's Millennium the Harsh Realm pilot contains some violence, including warlike scenes that include gunfire, explosions and a close up of a bleeding wound.

"I'm not interested in blood, guts, gore and/or gratuitous gunfire" Carter said," It's not a glorification of war, it's the opposite. It's talking about the horror of war."

Harsh Realm comes when there is a call for a reduction in entertainment violence.'

Manual Mendoza

Los Angeles: David Duchovny has lost his battle over what he believes is a real-life conspiracy to sell his forged signature.

Duchovny, a star of The X-Files, and Dean Cain, from the US TV show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, filed seperate lawsuits againts Truly Unique Collectibles, an Internet firm that sells signed celebrity photographs.

The suits claimed New York-based Truly Unique was selling fake signatures of the actors and was "stealing fame" by using unauthorised photographs of them to promote its products in advertisements.

The company denied the charges and Judge Robert J Kelleher agreed, ruling the claims were groundless.

Australian band Silverchair's most surprising fan? "Actually Scully from The X-Files," answers drummer Ben Gillies, referring of course to actress Gillian Anderson. "She's a bit of a fan. That was a surprise. We went to this little photo shoot that they were doing and she came up and said, 'Hello.' She said, 'I'm really into you guys, I've liked you for a few years.' I was like, cool. She had a bunch of CDs with her and she put ours on. She said to us while we were there that they were shooting an episode and that if we wanted to go down and have a look we were welcome. So we did. We went down, and that's where we met David Duchovny. We had a gig that night and we invited them along, and they actually ended up coming."

David Duchovny is to quit The X-Files after seven years of chasing aliens and investigating conspiracies. "Seven years is a long time to do one show and I have other things to do," he said. However, Duchovny will not be saying goodbye to FBI Agent Fox Mulder just yet. His contract still has another year to run.