Gillian Anderson recalls her time in Vancouver

[ethsnafu]

Hi guys,

As thousands are now descending on Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, Gillian Anderson spoke to CNN about her time filming the X-Files in Vancouver, her favourite places there and her reaction to the city after the move there from Los Angeles.

You can check out the interview here!

Eth

[Guest Black's Babe]

The Vancouver yrs were the BEST of The X-Files.

[Guest WaveCrest]

That's something we'll be debating for eternity! I very much liked the LA years, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

I'll read that interview later. Thanks for sharing it Mark.

[Libby]

My view has always been that Vancouver was the third lead in XF and helped in getting XF on the map, but I think the locations people did an exceptionally good job when the show moved to LA where the challenge of finding suitable filming locations was in some ways greater than in the Vancouver area.

One of the principal locations manager on XF in LA was Ilt Jones. From listening to him on the documentaries, to my ear he sounds British. But from his name he could well be from Bucksnort Wales (Ilt could be a short form of Illtud who was a Welsh saint).

XF did make the transition from Vancouver to LA pretty well; but I'm really not sure that MM would have done so well.

Thanks for the link, Eth. It was a very interesting read.

[Guest WaveCrest]

An interesting point there Libby. Millennium was a darker series which wouldn't have made the transition to LA as well as The X Files. I've read criticisms about The X Files, Stargate SG-1 and other TV shows shot in Canada, that scenes set in other countries which used woods and forests were obviously/clearly British Columbia/Vancouver.

[Guest WaveCrest]

Just read the interview. Reading about Vancouver made me want to be there. It sounds like a lovely place. Is there a longer version of that interview, or was the segment about Vancouver just the part which can be seen in the part of the interview linked to above?

[ethsnafu]

HI Richard,

As far as I can tell that is the interview in its entirety.

I completely agree with Libby, Vancouver lent an unforgettable quality to the X-Files and became a tacit motif of what we associate with the show to some degree. I remember when Kyle MacLachlan filmed a series of adds (for SKY TV I believe) that spoofed the X-Files they all adopted that slightly rainy, misty, dully lit vibe that we associate with the show.

I actually found this interview with Chris Carter in which he discusses the then potential move from Vancouver and his efforts to keep the show there. Makes interesting reading whilst we are on the subject.

Eth

Chris Carter would make a fine magician. You watch his face, looking for a lead on the latest trick. You watch his hands, figuring they can't truly be quicker than the eye.

But try to find the definitive answer to The Mysterious Disappearing X-Files. Go ahead. It can't be done.

After all, Carter is the ultimate post-modern Houdini -- able to extract himself from any public relations bind.

So, Mr. Carter, come right out and say it. No more pulling punches. Are you, Scully and Mulder packing your bags for Hollywood?

"I don't know that we are or not," says Carter during an interview at the North Shore Studios, where the series' executive producer, creator, chief writer and surf fanatic bunkers in a darkened office, pounding out the scripts. "I'm actually working on a plan to keep it here, so I can't say with any honesty that there has been a formal decision."

A plan. Mmm. But before fans of the ratings success get their hopes up, they should understand that said plan will remain a mystery -- and they shouldn't hold their breath.

"It's too early to tell," the soft-spoken Carter says of the possibility The X-Files could shoot its sixth season in Vancouver come fall. "If the plan were to work it wouldd be, but right now I wouldn't even lay odds on the possibility."

Lay better odds on Los Angeles, where locations are being scouted and Carter offered what was perceived as an ominous, read-between-the-lines tribute -- "This one's for you, Vancouver" -- after winning his third Golden Globe for best drama in January.

"I wanted to dedicate it to Vancouver," he says, "not because this was so long, adios, goodbye, here's looking at you. It wasn't that.

"Now I realize it's being interpreted as that but I just think it's because, people right now are believing we are leaving town."

Despite what Carter says, it certainly appears to be the case. David (Mulder) Duchovny has expressed his desire to return to California to be with actress wife Tea Leoni, Gillian (Scully) Anderson added that it has been a long road trip, and Fox executives have hinted, anonymously, that the move's a done deal.

The boss won't bite. Not only are the posters still up on his office wall -- a variety of X-Files memorabilia, as well as a movie poster celebrating "The Great Carter" but he doesn't talk like a man who's ready to move on.

"I like making the show here," says Carter. "David knows that. It's been good for the kinds of stories that we tell. I love the acting pool here, I love the crew -- they're very dedicated. They've made the show good in ways that are often unanticipated.

"The weather adds to the show. The quality of light adds to the show. I always say -- and I say this, being careful not to ever take anything away from David and Gillian -- Vancouver is actually one of the stars of the show."

The fact is, Vancouver was never meant to cameo, let alone star. It helps to be reminded that, back when the pilot was being shot in 1993, Carter couldn't find a suitable forest. Enter Vancouver and they've never left.

But the idea of leaving has always been at the back of their minds.

"It's been an ongoing discussion," says Carter of a years-old dialogue. "It's not like there was an ultimatum. It was part of a long ongoing discussion about whether we might go home again."

Going home seems to be a fait accompli for the show, which will leave behind an experienced crew, a dark, moody look and an area that offers a location double for almost anywhere in North America.

The final decision will be Carter's -- after all, here's a man who can field a call from the Emmy Award-winning Anderson, say he can't chat, and tell her to call back -- and he certainly bristles at the idea that a successful series and stars he created might shove him on to the back burner.

"That's a misconception," says Carter, who, usually careful and precise with his words, wastes no time clearing the air. "I've always made decisions based on what I think is right and what my closest advisers think is right. I would never let the direction or fortunes or important creative decisions of the show ... I would never leave those to anyone else."

Carter may yet pack but he's not really going anywhere -- personally. Since his contract on The X-Files and Millennium is up this spring, and he hasn't made any decisions beyond the projected May 4 wrap, he could be around for a while.

"I'm looking at real estate up here now," he says. "And if I create another TV series, it would be with the idea of shooting it in Vancouver."