Journey to the Truth: Fight the Future, Part I (Production)
W: story - CC & Spotnitz D: Bowman screenplay - CC
North Texas; Dallas, TX; Washington, DC; Georgetown, VA; Montgomery County, MD; Somerset, England; London, England; Alexandria, VA; Wilkes Land, Antarctica; Foum Tataouine, Tunisia
Mulder and Scully bring their search for the truth to the big screen. Written over the holidays in late 1996, filmed with the lead actors between Seasons 4 and 5, and jealously guarded with conspiracy-level paranoia, The X-Files movie was released in theaters on June 19, 1998.
Initially, the intention was to finish filming The X-Files as a television series with Season 5 and follow it with a movie franchise. Twentieth Century Fox then made the decision to continue the tv series. The movie, however, was still a go.
Chris Carter once again was asking for what seemed impossible. GA and DD would only be available for filming for a limited time, so everything had to be scheduled around them. Pre-production was done in 10 weeks; something that would normally take 8 months to a year.
That also meant that all of the sets needed to be ready at the same time, with all the stages rented simultaneously. Construction began 7 weeks before filming. Since the series was still filming in Vancouver, this included separate apartments built from scratch for both agents in LA. (At least those would be used again when the series relocated.)
Filming largely took place in LA. Southern California was used for the scenes in Texas and England, while the icy scenes were shot in Whistler, BC. The principal photography second-unit crew got to experience the 'Antarctic adventure' first-hand. Bad weather left them stranded on a glacier off of Vancouver for 2 days when the helicopter wasn't able to pick them up. They spent the night in the ice station set with outside temperatures in the low 20s.
The working title for the film was Project Blackwood. It was a reference to the fictional location of the cave, Blackwood County, TX. Algernon Blackwood was a writer who described 'a race of intelligent beings who predated humans,' according to IMDb. Later, the film cans for advanced screenings were labeled "Nuts and Bolts."
Speculation over the movie was rampant, with new rumors appearing online regularly. CC sought to lock down secrecy in every step of production. The scripts were printed on red paper with the owner's name across them so they could not be copied and redistributed. Some people were only allowed to view scripts on-site, and most only received the pages relevant to their role. In addition, the filmmakers leaked disinformation of their own.
Despite their efforts, a teen was able to sneak into the cornfield during filming and record a videotape. The footage was sold to a local news station, leaking a few 'big reveals' nearly a year before the movie's debut. (I think the only dialogue is "Scullaaaaaaaayyyy" and "Mulder", so Idk how much they got out of it.)
As with Season 5, CC relaxed his previous casting rule of working only with unknown actors. FTF brought in some Hollywood stars, including Martin Landau and Blythe Danner. It also drew some sci-fi and fantasy elite from Charmed, Buffy, and American Gothic. It shouldn't be surprising, considering how many X-Files alums had moved on to work on those shows. Plus, TXF had a massive fan base. Bartender Glenne Headly was thrilled to accept an uncredited role for the chance to be a part of the movie.
The X Factor? Even before TXF cited it as a location, Wilkes Land in Antarctica had been the subject of a 'negative gravity anomaly'. Eight years after the release of FTF, satellites discovered the 300 mile-wide Wilkes Land crater. Just exactly what were those coordinates again?
This is the first of 5 FTF posts heading your way (in case you were curious about the pic selection). I've been immersed back in 1998 and have so much that I can't wait to share with you. Thanks for reading!
