CONCERN
From the "Pilot" to "The Truth," I was a great "X-Files" fan. I still am. They mytharc always captivated me (even when it became convoluted) and Scully and Mulder are unquestionably two of my all-time favorite characters. So, naturally, I'm thrilled that Chris Carter and you are producing "The X-Files: I Want To Believe." I can't wait for July 25!
In the meantime, I've been reading the interviews and watching the online visuals that have come out. The latest -- the trailer just out today -- certainly had my full attention and definitely conveys a sense of palpable fright and suspense. I loved the snippets of M&S we got, although I rather missed the shot of them exiting the helicopter.
One thing this trailer does however is prod this X-Filer's concerns that IWTB will concentrate so much on its supernatural thrills and chills plot that airtime for Mulder and Scully will take a back seat. I realize that you and Chris Carter desire to appeal to the widest audience possible, and more power to you since solid box office receipts could cement an "X-Files 3" movie. But I sincerely hope that both you and CC don't minimize the need to satisfy the sustaining fan base. After all, those of us who watched the show through the years were not only your best "customers" but are also the main group currently anticipating IWTB. It is my intention to go to a screening opening day, and I fully intend to see the movie more than once in the theaters and then to buy the DVD when it is released.
But as a fan for whom the unique and irreplaceable duo of Mulder and Scully remain my most enduring and beloved reason for being an "X-Files" fan, let me say that I've been somewhat dismayed by some of your (and CC's) comments about what we'll see six years after we left them in that shabby hotel room in New Mexico at the end of "The Truth."
Honestly, as I wrote to a fellow X-File fanatic yesterday: "From CC and FS, I get the impression that they sometimes confuse M&S's space and time with ours. They seem to think that just because we all missed that last six years of their lives that the characters missed them too...or should have. I find that possibility very frustrating."
In other words, at the end of "The Truth," Scully and Mulder believed the same thing and were united, body and soul. Now, of course the grind of the last six years will have had their effect on both partners, but when I hear these not-so-subtle hints that they have been apart for a long time, that Mulder lives alone, that Scully has her apartment, that Mulder is a fugitive but Scully is out in the world, well, I feel despair that the creators/producers might have failed me and other devoted fans.
Now, of course, I realize that you and CC like to play cat and mouse with the audience. You like to tease because, I assume, you think this will arouse curiosity and up the ante for fans to come and see what has actually transpired. Well, here's the thing. I don't mind at all that you both want to keep the plot of the movie a secret. But when it comes to Mulder and Scully, I don't want to be toyed with. I want to be able to have confidence that you and CC understand that this treasured pair, after all they went through from 1993 to 2002, would not have allowed anything to break their bond of love and commitment. I sincerely hope that when I sit down in the theater on July 25, I can revel in seeing them, not cringe in my seat because of some lame plot device that kept them apart. And I hope fervently that the movie will contain a generous helping of scenes of them together; I want to see a film in which they are on a lot, especially together, and when they are that they aren't constantly arguing. It bothered me to hear that the first scene David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson filmed was one in which they had a confrontation. A certain amount of drama is necessary, but please, oh please, keep in mind your core audience -- the audience that loves M&S.
By the way, I've read, as many have, the conflicting items about whether or not this film has (or should have) an M&S love scene. Here's my two cents: I can live with the idea that steamy love scenes per se are Mulder and Scully's private business (that's surely what they would say), BUT I definitely do want a nice extended scene at the end of the film where their love and trust in one another shines forth unambiguously and demonstratively (like with a really romantic kiss in full light, LOL). Some people who didn't watch all nine seasons on TV don't know where M&S were at the end of "The Truth." The conclusion of IWTB should leave those folks (and all of us who do know) happy in the knowledge that nothing can or has broken up M&S. They make each other whole. The time for temporary ditching is long past. They don't leave each other of their own accord, no matter what, and they always maintain their basic unitedness regardless of the circumstances.
Thanks from the bottom of my "X-Files" fan heart for persevering and getting this second movie made. I expect that you and Chris Carter do understand your audience and that you'll give us great entertainment in IWTB
Kirstin
Santa Rosa
In the meantime, I've been reading the interviews and watching the online visuals that have come out. The latest -- the trailer just out today -- certainly had my full attention and definitely conveys a sense of palpable fright and suspense. I loved the snippets of M&S we got, although I rather missed the shot of them exiting the helicopter.
One thing this trailer does however is prod this X-Filer's concerns that IWTB will concentrate so much on its supernatural thrills and chills plot that airtime for Mulder and Scully will take a back seat. I realize that you and Chris Carter desire to appeal to the widest audience possible, and more power to you since solid box office receipts could cement an "X-Files 3" movie. But I sincerely hope that both you and CC don't minimize the need to satisfy the sustaining fan base. After all, those of us who watched the show through the years were not only your best "customers" but are also the main group currently anticipating IWTB. It is my intention to go to a screening opening day, and I fully intend to see the movie more than once in the theaters and then to buy the DVD when it is released.
But as a fan for whom the unique and irreplaceable duo of Mulder and Scully remain my most enduring and beloved reason for being an "X-Files" fan, let me say that I've been somewhat dismayed by some of your (and CC's) comments about what we'll see six years after we left them in that shabby hotel room in New Mexico at the end of "The Truth."
Honestly, as I wrote to a fellow X-File fanatic yesterday: "From CC and FS, I get the impression that they sometimes confuse M&S's space and time with ours. They seem to think that just because we all missed that last six years of their lives that the characters missed them too...or should have. I find that possibility very frustrating."
In other words, at the end of "The Truth," Scully and Mulder believed the same thing and were united, body and soul. Now, of course the grind of the last six years will have had their effect on both partners, but when I hear these not-so-subtle hints that they have been apart for a long time, that Mulder lives alone, that Scully has her apartment, that Mulder is a fugitive but Scully is out in the world, well, I feel despair that the creators/producers might have failed me and other devoted fans.
Now, of course, I realize that you and CC like to play cat and mouse with the audience. You like to tease because, I assume, you think this will arouse curiosity and up the ante for fans to come and see what has actually transpired. Well, here's the thing. I don't mind at all that you both want to keep the plot of the movie a secret. But when it comes to Mulder and Scully, I don't want to be toyed with. I want to be able to have confidence that you and CC understand that this treasured pair, after all they went through from 1993 to 2002, would not have allowed anything to break their bond of love and commitment. I sincerely hope that when I sit down in the theater on July 25, I can revel in seeing them, not cringe in my seat because of some lame plot device that kept them apart. And I hope fervently that the movie will contain a generous helping of scenes of them together; I want to see a film in which they are on a lot, especially together, and when they are that they aren't constantly arguing. It bothered me to hear that the first scene David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson filmed was one in which they had a confrontation. A certain amount of drama is necessary, but please, oh please, keep in mind your core audience -- the audience that loves M&S.
By the way, I've read, as many have, the conflicting items about whether or not this film has (or should have) an M&S love scene. Here's my two cents: I can live with the idea that steamy love scenes per se are Mulder and Scully's private business (that's surely what they would say), BUT I definitely do want a nice extended scene at the end of the film where their love and trust in one another shines forth unambiguously and demonstratively (like with a really romantic kiss in full light, LOL). Some people who didn't watch all nine seasons on TV don't know where M&S were at the end of "The Truth." The conclusion of IWTB should leave those folks (and all of us who do know) happy in the knowledge that nothing can or has broken up M&S. They make each other whole. The time for temporary ditching is long past. They don't leave each other of their own accord, no matter what, and they always maintain their basic unitedness regardless of the circumstances.
Thanks from the bottom of my "X-Files" fan heart for persevering and getting this second movie made. I expect that you and Chris Carter do understand your audience and that you'll give us great entertainment in IWTB
Kirstin
Santa Rosa
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