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Fixed & Synced By MoUsTaFa ZaKi
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Hi, this is John Shiban- I was co-producer
of The X-Files during season Eve,
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and I wrote this episode you're watching,
The Pine Bluff Variant.
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This was supposed to be Folger Park
in Washington DC. There's the Capitol.
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This is actually shot in Vancouver:
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We chose this park because of the
cherly blossoms, to match Washington DC,
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and the Capitol dome was put in.
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Those are CGI shots, that we did two of
there, which worked pretty well.
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I always wanted to do
a story that was a thriller;
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and the great thing about The X-Files
is that you can do different genres.
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We did comedies, we did horror;
we did drama
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The paradigm The X-Files
can stretch to do a lot of things,
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and we hadn't done a thriller like this
in a long time, or even at this time.
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I was inspired by the movie
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,
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the Martin Ritt movie from 1965.
It was based on the John Le Carre novel.
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I had been thinking about
doing a story like this for a long time-
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I had a card up on my bulletin board
that said "Mulder undercover".
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And a couple of years went by
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before we found the right moment
in the show to do it.
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I was inspired by that
and I was inspired by the movie Heat,
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which had a lot of good action sequences
and some surveillance sequences-
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And we talked about just doing something
very different from the beginning.
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In fact, what's great about this to me is
from the start you're questioning Mulden
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That was the thing about season Eve,
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starting with the season ender from the
previous year; and Redux and Redux II,
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the episodes that started,
where Mulder has faked his own suicide,
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there's a tension
between Mulder and Scully.
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That was the idea, to sort of
mix it up so that we don't know.
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Scully doesn't know whether to
trust Mulder; in a way, this season-
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She doesn't know what his motives are,
and she's still dealing with her cancen
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Of course, his motives were pure,
he was trying to End a cure for her cancen
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But that environment
was perfect for this episode.
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The way this is shot, too,
was very different for an X-File.
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Rob Bowman directed it
and did an amazing job.
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Look at all the pieces
that are in this teaser;
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which is the piece that starts the show.
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Long-lens surveillance-type shots
mixed in with Steadicam shots,
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mixed in with traditional close-ups,
makes for a really exciting...
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There's Action Mulden
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We like to say '3¢\ction Mulder"
when we come up with these stories.
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The great thing about Mulder;
and about David Duchovny,
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is he can play a lot of roles.
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He's great with comedy
he was great with action,
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he was great with the cool, detached,
cynical character that Mulder is.
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But it was always a pleasure to see it,
to get him running.
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In fact, I understand
he quite enjoyed this episode
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because he got to play
a different side of Mulden
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This is all about paranoia,
and so is The X-Files in a lot of ways.
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But what was exciting
about this story for all of us
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was that the first half of the story
is Sou/ly's paranoia about Mu/den
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And it's set up here in the teaser;
where she sees him do something
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that is very un-Mulder-like, which is
apparently conspire with this terrorist.
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This shot is not David Duchovny
it's his double.
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Unfortunately when you're
on a TV schedule,
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you have to pick up shots
at different times,
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sometimes the principals
are shooting the next episode.
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We had to do that piece without Mulden
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It works pretty well, though, in the context.
I don't think you would notice.
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Advertise your product or brand here
contact www.OpenSubtitles.org today
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The thing about
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
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is that it's an intricate mystery:
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lies upon lies upon lies.
The audience doesn't know who to believe.
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And we were trying to do that
in 43 minutes,
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the running time of a television show,
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real time, not counting the commercials.
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And I think we did a terrizic job
of telling this kind of intricate story.
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The Hrst half in a lot of ways, is Scully's,
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and it starts with this scene
that you're watching now.
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She wants the truth from Mulden
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And her character is such that
she would just ask him.
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And what was, I think, shocking
to the audience and part of the fun of this,
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is that Mulder won't tell hen
He's got a secret.
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And in the context of season Eve,
you really believe it might be true-
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This episode also calls back to an episode,
I think it was number 13,
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called "Patient X
where Mulder spoke at a UFO conference.
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And that's actually spoken about
during the course of the show
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as the point when,
possibly Mulder was recruited
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by these government-hating
domestic terrorists to join them.
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That's actually mentioned later
by our bad guys.
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One thing also to keep an eye out
in this episode,
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and again, being praise of Rob Bowman,
it has a very movie-like feel.
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If you look at the wide shots contrasted
with the long-lens tight shots that he does,
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a lot of tie-ins,
it's really amazingly directed.
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Especially considering that you shoot
these things in about eight days,
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where you shoot your average movie
in three, four, Eve, ten times that.
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So it was really a pleasure.
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The other thing that is special when you
look at other X-Files in that season,
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and throughout,
is the score by Mark Snow.
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He chose a very sort of thriller-like...
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Where I would characterize The X-Files
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as usually having a haunting
and moody scaly type of music.
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This drives throughout,
which I was very pleased with.
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I think it works really well.
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This character that is leading the brieHng__.
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This character leading the brieHng
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is US Attorney Leamas,
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and the name Leamas is from
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
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That was the character Richard Burton
played. That was my little nod to that.
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I and the other writers like to put in little
nods in these things whenever we can.
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I'll point out a couple as we go.
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The title Pine Bluff Variant
comes a little from truth.
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There is a government lab
in Pine Bluff Arkansas,
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that, up until the late '60s,
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was part of the bioweapons program
in the United States.
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And, as mentioned in the episode,
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that lab was... The bioweapons program
was shut down by President Nixon,
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but the speculation that we 're doing here
is that maybe it wasn't.
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And this harks back to something
that Chris Carter has been saying
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since the beginning of the shovm
"it's only as scaly as it's real".
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We make a lot of effort
and do a lot of research
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to try to give the illusion
that this could be happening- That's---
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I was pleased with the Internet
response I got to this episode,
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a lot of people said things like
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"Vampires are scary,
but I don't think I 'll meet a vampire-
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"But this could happen.
This could happen to me. "
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Watching this episode again
in light of the World Trade Center attack,
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sort of underscores...
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It's a creepy feeling
because, as a storyteller;
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you push the envelope,
make things as scaly as possible.
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And when they come true, it makes you
think about your role as a storyteller:
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And I still believe drama
is supposed to face
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those things in the world that are scaly.
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It's how we deal with it.
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This movie theater is a real theater
The Dunbar is in Vancouven
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The actress playing the ticket taker
is Kate Braidwood,
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daughter of Tom Braidwood,
who plays Frohike on our show.
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She actually read for the part
and was very good. So we cast hen
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Frohike's daughter:
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This kind of shot here I love,
and it's very Rob Bowman.
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That wide shot in the lobby
that sets a mood.
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He called me from the set saying "I just did
a Kubrick shot. You're gonna love it. "
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And in a lot of ways it is.
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It's unconventional for television,
but it really works
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to set this man, Bremmen
who is the bad guy August Bremmen
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to make him scaly to the audience,
because placing him in that environment,
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putting some distance to him,
has that effect.
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These kind of shots are so efHcient,
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that go from a close-up to tight
on this little canisten
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We 're really careful
about props on The X-Files.
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I should say this, Aaron Burr Motor Court,
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was my little nod to the history books
for another American traitor
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I'm hoping people got that, that the whole
idea of this episode is "ls Mulder a traitor?"
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And it's fun
to make those little comments,
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whether in character names
or place names, etcetera.
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This is a motel that we've used
several times in The X-Files,
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if you watch the show carefully.
Vancouver is a great place to shoot.
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There are a lot of locations, but sometimes,
when you're trying to match America,
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you end up using the same places
again and again.
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Because there aren 't many motels
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in the same style that we have
in the States, that kind of thing.
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The character that Dan Von Bargen plays,
Jacob Haley
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who is talking to Mulder right now,
is Mulder's Contact in the---
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With the domestic terrorist group
called the New Spartans.
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He's done a lot of movie acting.
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He has a role in the Fox show
Malcolm In The IVliddle.
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He's a terrifc actor:
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We're back at the Dunbar Theaten
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My inspiration, actually for this moment...
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I spent many years working as an usher
at various movie theaters in Los Angeles
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and always wanted to do
something in a theaten
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We were a little nervous
about this moment,
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because one thing
Chris is always talking about
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and we always try to do on The X-Files
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is keep it from looking like a horror movie.
Again, to keep it real.
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The more real it is, the scarier it'll be,
and I think that's true.
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But the make-up department,
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and the way Rob Bowman shot this,
worked tremendously well.
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Die Hard with a Vengeance
is what's playing on the screen.
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Because it's a Fox movie, to be honest,
we can get it cheap. So we picked that.
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It seemed like it also had
a terrorist theme to it, so it Ht.
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Here's another little nod of mine.
We hear the name George Kaplan here
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as Mulder's alias, and that is
a nod to North by Northwest.
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That's the mysterious character
that Cary Grant is following
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and is mistaken for in that movie.
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It's another one of my little references.
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And here's the point
when Mulder gets fully sucked in.
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He is inside.
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The terrorists have accepted his excuse
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for what happened in the park
and why they were nearly caught.
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And now he's going to be
taken into their inner Sanctum.
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And this is when the story begins to shift,
although not until later in this act
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do we completely go
to Mulder's side of things.
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But up until now,
or through this scene, I should say,
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we 're still in Scully's head,
and this is still "ls Mulder a traitor?"
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"Has he gone that far?"
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And this is the moment now.
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This is what we call an act-out. When you
do a TV show as opposed to a movie...
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Movies have acts as well, but in TV
they're divided by commercial breaks.
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And so what we call an act-out
when we're boarding a story outlining,
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is that you want to engage the audience
so that they'll wanna know what happened.
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This is a perfect example,
men with guns coming out to stop Scully.
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What does it mean? Is it the terrorists?
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Is it the government?
Is she in trouble? We don't know.
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And it's a good place to end an act,
because, hopefully then the audience says
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"I've got to tune in to see what happens".
And we do-
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Again, we're in Vancouver:
This was a building downtown,
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and our art department actually painted
the hallway and this entire ofllce.
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Graeme Murray's palate
in this deep green...
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Really it's interesting to me
because not only is it spooky
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but it gives it a government feel,
gives it an ofHcialdom feel.
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He was very good at playing
with the palate of the Show,
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but keeping it dark and moody at all times.
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This is the scene where the first
deception is sort of unveiled.
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Scully learns that Mulder is undercoven
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But what's fun, and what we've tried to do,
is make this seem the truth.
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And it is the truth
as far as Skinner is concerned.
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But as you peel back the onion
you see more layers in this thing,
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and, hopefully you're shocked at the end
to learn that this isn't the whole truth.
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Of course, on The X-Files
we 're blessed with an amazing cast.
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Not only the principals,
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but we had some excellent casting people
who always found great guest casts.
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And we used some of the same people
several times because of that.
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Because when you End a good actor;
you try to keep him-
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I've been on The X-Files...
I started at the top of season three.
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The show has grown, not only technically...
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The technology has gotten betten
digital technology has gotten better
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The effects that are in here,
the CGI of the Capitol dome,
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the man with the flesh-eating bacteria
in the teaser was also CGI,
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that kind of thing has gotten
so much better in a small amount of time.
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It's amazing to me.
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00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:39,802
But what also happens,
because the show was such a success,
222
00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:44,602
as it continues,
you need to End ways to make it grow
223
00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:49,561
in directions that are unexpected
and interesting to keep it alive.
224
00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,645
And also to keep your actors interested.
225
00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,082
You don't want to play
the same thing every week.
226
00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:01,882
And what l think is great about this episode
is that both Scully and Mulder;
227
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:07,126
David and Gillian, got to play
different things for their characters.
228
00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:11,842
This moment here, the torture of David...
229
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:16,164
Not the torture of David personally
the torture of Mulder..
230
00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:18,005
We just wanted to do an intense scene.
231
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,050
This line here,
"Is this the Pepsi Challenge?",
232
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:25,688
was David Duchovny's improvisation, and
we loved it so much we put it in the show.
233
00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,923
David did a lot of that over the years.
234
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,766
He came up with some great
Mulder lines that we would use.
235
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,204
Other things that have changed...
236
00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:44,683
What I was saying was,
237
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,809
as the show grew and has grown,
and the characters have changed,
238
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:53,808
we try to challenge ourselves
and the actors with a new direction.
239
00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:59,444
Like season Eve, which did have a lot
of distance between Mulder and Scully,
240
00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,770
opened up, dealt with
Scully's cancer in new ways.
241
00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:11,250
Chris Carter's feeling and our feeling
was that if you don't mix it up,
242
00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,961
even though the audience worries
that the show's gonna change,
243
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,004
I think the show stagnates,
244
00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:21,563
and wouldn't have continued on
to be as successful as it was.
245
00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:27,604
I always loved that head butt.
And David, l believe, loved doing that, too-
246
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,524
It's something
you've never seen on The X-Files,
247
00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:36,607
but it's very cool for Mulder to have
that kind of guts. You want a hero like that.
248
00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:41,208
I thought this scene in particular was
marvelously edited by Lynne I/I/i//ingham-
249
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,727
Just to keep the tension going
and to make your stomach hurt
250
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:49,567
for grabbing the man's Hnger
and breaking it.
251
00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,727
We had quite a debate
among the writing staff
252
00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:59,204
over which Hnger was the scariest,
whether it was the thumb or the forehngen
253
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:00,805
We finally... I went for the pinkie
254
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:05,044
because it was so easy to break
and it seems so fragile.
255
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:09,205
But that's the kind of stuff
you talk about for hours and hours
256
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,204
when you are on writing staff
on The X-Files.
257
00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,727
"What's the scariest this?
What's the most disgusting that?"
258
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,724
So it's a fun job in that way.
259
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,964
It really is, if you have
a slightly twisted point of view.
260
00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:30,571
When we broke the Hnger in act two,
261
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,721
we didn't anticipate that it would become
so important, but as we started shooting...
262
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,243
One thing about shooting a TV show
is you need a new script every eight days,
263
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:48,121
because you have to HI/
20 to 22, 24 episodes of television.
264
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:53,001
So the crew keeps shooting
and the staff keeps writing.
265
00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:58,246
And we were still working on the script.
I was still rewriting as we were shooting,
266
00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:01,921
and there was a plot point
that we couldn't quite Hgure out.
267
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,322
And I remember talking to
Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz,
268
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:09,166
how would Scully
recognize Mulder in act four
269
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,449
on the videotape
that is taken of the bank robberies?
270
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:17,686
And suddenly it just occurred to us,
"Wait a minute. That Hngen
271
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,807
"He broke his Hngen He 'd have a cast. "
Those serendipitous things happen a lot,
272
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,486
especially in TM
because you don't have the time always
273
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,643
to write as carefully as you'd like,
274
00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,883
and you have to keep
making it better as you go.
275
00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:46,007
I love the way that this scene,
276
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,971
Scully and Skinner's Search
of the movie theater; was handled-
277
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:57,049
The danger in television, and in any
dramatic art, movie-making, etcetera,
278
00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,210
you don't want it so graphic
your audience is turned off
279
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,365
but you want it to be graphic enough
that it's scaly and impactful_
280
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:08,445
And one of the things Rob did well here
was covered the bodies in plastic,
281
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,161
then used the famous Xenons-
There's a specif c Xenon flashlight
282
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:17,246
that, sort of The X-Files made famous,
and you see it a lot in the show.
283
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:21,566
With that piercing light
that cuts through the smoke.
284
00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:28,761
I thought that the way that was handled
really played, not only the scare,
285
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:32,128
but also allowed us
to show it on television.
286
00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,924
Standards and Practices prevent you
from showing things that are too graphic,
287
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:41,170
although we often argue
with them about what that means.
288
00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,211
Now, here, toward the end of act two,
289
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:49,371
again, we're hoping to
turn the tables on the audience.
290
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:53,889
And instead of just ending on
this nice Mulder and Scully scene
291
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:56,167
where they actually come together
292
00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:59,130
and Mulder; in a way,
admits what's going on
293
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,282
because Scully has been informed...
294
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:06,201
But instead of letting the act end there
and the audience think
295
00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:07,810
"OK things are going to be better
296
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:12,044
"because Mulder and Scully
at least are talking now",
297
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,724
you take it away from the audience by
showing that August Bremmer is listening.
298
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:23,762
And we know our characters are in danger;
even though they're in concert now.
299
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:34,285
The X on the wall is a reference to earlier
in the year when Mulder removed the X
300
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:41,090
they used to put up whenever he would
want to speak to Deep Throat orX
301
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:45,963
So that tape residue, which, in retrospect,
probably looks a little too obvious,
302
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,964
was our little nod to that moment.
303
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,123
Here you see that
the bad guy knows what's going on.
304
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,768
The cigar was the actor's idea,
and I think it worked,
305
00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,080
although it never occurred to me.
306
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,964
But he said "Can I smoke a cigar
in this scene?" And Rob said "Sure
307
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:12,930
You just saw a legend go by there
that said "FBI Headquarters, 3.14am."
308
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,446
There's another big thing we debate,
309
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:19,889
what's the right time
to put on these legends.
310
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,089
Sometimes they mean something.
Sometimes they're birthdays.
311
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:29,167
Other times it just sounds right. And 3.14,
for some reason, sounds better than 3.15.
312
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:34,446
It's really a taste thing, but it's
another writer thing we debate about.
313
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:41,328
This scene, part of the purpose of it
is not only to drive the plot forward,
314
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:46,247
to learn what the terrorists intend to do,
which is rob a bank,
315
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:52,769
but it also plants a seed in Skinner:
And you can see it right there-
316
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:57,926
He begins to question Leamas' plan here.
317
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,762
He's protective of his agents- That's
one of the great things about Skinner:
318
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:09,244
Even if he disagrees with Mulder and
Scully he's very protective of them.
319
00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:14,842
Even though it's not
his jurisdiction to alter this,
320
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:18,049
he lets them know
that he's wary about it.
321
00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:20,886
And this is not only...
322
00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,926
It's a writer's way of planting a seed
that will pay off at the end of the show.
323
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:32,211
And this nice ending shot
of Mitch Pileggi as Skinner
324
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,285
lets you know
what's going on in his head.
325
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:46,207
This is our patented
Scully science-lab scene,
326
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:52,322
which we do, actually
less and less over the years,
327
00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:55,723
again, to mix up the show
and do things differently.
328
00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,485
But she is a scientist
and this is her specialty.
329
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:00,927
It's why she's on
The X-Files in a lot of ways.
330
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:09,004
And Gillian is very very good at playing
these scientizic mumbo-jumbo talk scenes.
331
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:16,763
Not only just for clarity but emotionally
Scully is really concerned with this.
332
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:18,444
Cos to hen this is the key.
333
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,923
This is how you're gonna solve an X-File,
is by the science.
334
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,563
A couple of shots where there are things
on the monitors,
335
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:39,290
we did what we call a burn-in.
336
00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:42,762
Because when the scene was shot
by Rob Bowman,
337
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:44,604
they didn't have the playback,
338
00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:50,608
which is what goes on the monitors.
They didn't have the materials,
339
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:56,403
the cells dividing, etcetera. So they
project a little blue onto the screen,
340
00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,006
and then later; in postproduction,
341
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:04,086
we burn in or rotoscope in
the image on that screen.
342
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:08,290
That's one great change, as
digital technology gets better and better;
343
00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:12,491
it makes it easier and easier
to solve problems and Hx errors,
344
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:16,929
and do things on a television show
that you never could do before.
345
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,480
So you feel like you're watching a movie.
346
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:24,282
And it's a challenge and a lot of fun
for all of us to do a new movie every week.
347
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:36,201
Jacob Haley Dan Von Bargen's bad guy
says a very important line here
348
00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:40,649
which is another subtle clue that
something else is going on in this show,
349
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:46,722
where he talks about lies within lies. And
that was kind of the heart of the episode.
350
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,771
"What's the truth?
Who do you believe? Who knows what?"
351
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,683
And, in a way everybody
in this episode is lying.
352
00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:01,120
Mulder's lying, because he's not
a sympathizer with these terrorists.
353
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,323
And this character; Jacob Haley, is lying
354
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,085
because he suspects his leaden
August Bremmen
355
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,926
to be actually a government agent.
356
00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:15,682
And August Bremmer is lying
in a way that unfolds at the very end.
357
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:20,288
So it's__.
358
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:27,524
We were afraid the audience might have
trouble following the lies within the lies,
359
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:33,249
but I think because we plotted it
so carefully and it was shot so well,
360
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,723
I do believe that you're taking on
the experience with our characters
361
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:43,762
rather than running behind them
and not understanding what's going on.
362
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,451
Here, too- Skinner; also-
363
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:59,405
His suspicions mount, because he keeps
some information from Leamas.
364
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:01,687
He has his lies as well.
365
00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:03,529
It's a very paranoid...
366
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:12,405
It's a very paranoid story and it's taking
the paranoia that is inherent in The X-Files,
367
00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,922
the "trust no one"
368
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:20,562
that has been sort of behind the show
for years.
369
00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:25,370
What I like about this episode
is that it makes it just about that.
370
00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:29,365
You can't trust anyone in this episode.
371
00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:37,523
Even though it's a stand-alone episode,
"stand-alones" versus "mythology"___
372
00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:40,570
Mythology episodes
deal with Samantha's abduction
373
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:45,202
and the conspiracy in the government,
Cigarette-Smoking Man, Deep Throat,
374
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:50,047
and then the stand-alones were the
"monsters of the week", as we call them.
375
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:51,929
And even though this is a stand-alone,
376
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,402
it still plays on the basic themes
of the show.
377
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:58,405
This location was fabulous.
378
00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:04,567
It's an abandoned greenhouse outside
Vancouver; near Vancouver Airport.
379
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,650
And Rob Bowman, when we were scouting,
380
00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:13,805
the minute he saw those sheets of plastic
381
00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:20,923
that are hanging from what I guess
were arbors for vines, etcetera...
382
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:25,165
He saw those and it became a theme
383
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:27,846
that he had the art directors
run through the show,
384
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:30,491
"Keep the hanging plastic."
385
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:36,761
Not to sound like a Hlm student,
but it's hard to see through, it obscures.
386
00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:44,806
And that's kind of what's behind this show.
And you'll see a lot of this hanging plastic.
387
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,771
It's used at the end with the hazmat teams,
it's used right there behind Mulden
388
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:54,242
It's used during the death-march scene,
which is coming up.
389
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:59,531
So it's a way to...
And it was inspired by the location.
390
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,127
It didn't occur to anybody until we saw
the location and how cool that looked.
391
00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:16,083
The terrorists use these masks, and the
Dracula mask actually was David's request.
392
00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,487
In the script, I wrote a Wolf Man mask.
393
00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:23,686
He called us and said that Dracula
was one of his favorite characters
394
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:27,606
when he was growing up,
and could it be a Dracula mask?
395
00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:30,809
Those masks were terriHc_
396
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,641
You'll see more of them shortly
as the bank is robbed.
397
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:40,407
But it was a notion that was kind of
inspired from a couple of sources.
398
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:45,686
A Clockwork Orange
is probably the earliest one.
399
00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:47,410
Or The Killing, even before that,
400
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:49,563
had masks,
another Kubrick Hlm.
401
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:54,407
And when we saw these, we were a little
wary, we didn't want it to look comical.
402
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:58,246
But these masks were just great. We went
for the Christopher Lee Dracula version.
403
00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:05,444
I love the Skeletor mask
that this fellow has,
404
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:10,481
who was in the script as "Skin-Head Man",
the man who breaks Mulder's Hngen
405
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,406
This bank was a real depository
in Vancouver
406
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:18,530
that once held, I believe,
several billion dollars.
407
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:21,686
It was closed when we took oven
408
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:26,004
but all the vaults were real,
the actual vaults in the place.
409
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:31,564
This is an amazing shot
that Rob Bowman designed and executed.
410
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,207
One shot takes you from that money
411
00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:38,569
all the way to bringing the terrorists
out of the van.
412
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:44,727
And not only is it artistically beautiful
and Hlled with tension,
413
00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:49,924
but it also makes it producible
on a television budget and schedule.
414
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:54,403
Television is very tight,
and to get this kind of scale
415
00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:59,481
he had to design some things that were
done as what we call "oners”, one shot.
416
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:02,850
And that's what that was.
And it works so well
417
00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:07,642
that you don't miss that you're not
getting close-ups or things to cut to.
418
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,686
This bank-robbery scene, in particular;
419
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,930
for me at least, as a writer;
was inspired by Heat
420
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,050
and a number of other bank-robbe/y Elms.
421
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:27,923
You always try to do things your own way.
You always try to bring new wrinkles to it.
422
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:32,608
And obviously Mulder being
in the middle of this and having to...
423
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,370
What was interesting about this for us
was "How far will Mulder go?"
424
00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:40,568
Will he let innocent people get killed?
425
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,723
Will he kill an innocent person
to keep his cover?
426
00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:47,921
It's a great quandary.
427
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:53,564
What comes up here is
a different type of act-out.
428
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,723
It's something we call a play-through.
429
00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:59,371
When this poor teller gets shot
430
00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:01,442
for trying to push
the little red button there...
431
00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,609
Actually the button, if you'll notice,
is flashing,
432
00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:06,603
they added the flashing afterwards
433
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:09,729
because you couldn't see it
in the original shot.
434
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:14,931
So that was a way to help tell the story
again, through digital technology.
435
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:20,689
But here Mulder is faced with a dilemma.
And what we often try to do,
436
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:25,084
but usually change our minds
at the last minute, is a play-through,
437
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:32,123
which is the same piece of action, Mulder
with a gun, aiming the gun at this man.
438
00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:37,009
When we come back after the commercial
break, which you'll see in a second,
439
00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,847
we're back where we left off
440
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:46,806
Those don't always work, to be honest,
because it's sort of an old-style television,
441
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:49,964
Mission: Impossible kind of thing to do-
442
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:55,970
Part of the problem, for me at least, is that
when you do those tension can go out.
443
00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,283
It doesn't feel real.
You've been away from the show.
444
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,570
But I felt here it worked, and we all agreed
that it felt like the best thing to do
445
00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:10,569
because the tension was so high
and you're moving so fast when you return
446
00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:14,611
that I don't think the audience
feels they've missed anything.
447
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,883
This, of course, is Mulder's moment
of truth, will he shoot this man?
448
00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:26,250
And again, in a story
about lies and deception,
449
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:31,091
somebody saves Mulder
from that decision.
450
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:41,641
Part of the reason why we chose money
as the delivery system for this biotoxin
451
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:47,602
as the centerpiece of this terrorist act
is, again, what Chris always said to us,
452
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:52,846
which is "It's only as scary as it's real. "
He said while we were boarding the story
453
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:56,407
"I want people to be afraid
to touch their money
454
00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:59,768
"thinking 'There could be biotoxin on this.
455
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:07,769
There's actually research that shows that
most of the large bills in circulation now
456
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:11,530
probably have
microscopic bits of cocaine on them
457
00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:13,921
just because they've passed
through some drug dealer's hands.
458
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:20,004
And we wanted to play on that idea
that it wouldn't take much.
459
00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:25,406
Again, it's scaly in that America
has been attacked by terrorists.
460
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,848
In retrospect, it's creepy
that we talked about things like that,
461
00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:33,050
but, again, drama is here
to deal with our fears
462
00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:36,647
and to help the audience
deal with their fears.
463
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:42,569
Here August Bremmer
is burning the money
464
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:44,449
that they apparently robbed the place for
465
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:47,649
And this is where Mulder Hgures out
466
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:52,130
that the whole idea of the heist
was a deception.
467
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,211
It seemed we were working toward that,
468
00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,248
that's what the FBI
and government thought,
469
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:02,809
but, no, it's to put the biotoxin
on the money
470
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,884
to facilitate a larger terrorist act.
471
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:08,645
Then another deception is revealed here.
472
00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:12,441
This was a very hard scene
to write, actually
473
00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,603
because of the twists and turns in it.
474
00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:22,241
Jacob Haley saves Mulder
from being executed by Bremmen
475
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,927
then he levels his accusations at Bremmen
476
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:27,809
Then Bremmer counters
with the tape of Mulder
477
00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:31,089
that he took from Mulder's apartment.
478
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:37,966
So it's a back-and-forth
that can be convoluted.
479
00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:44,321
And, luckily, when you're a writer
on the show, it's quite collaborative-
480
00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:48,530
We always give notes, help each other
to make each other's scripts better
481
00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:52,161
And I can recall doing
a lot of drafts of this one
482
00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:56,131
and getting a lot of notes
trying to make this scene
483
00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:58,362
and this moment as strong as possible.
484
00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,442
And this is the moment when...
485
00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:08,481
Now Haley realizes
that Mulder has set him up,
486
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:11,441
and both of them are going to die.
487
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,046
This is the moment I spoke about earlier;
488
00:38:14,240 --> 00:38:19,644
"How does Scully recognize Mulder? He's
in a Dracula mask, she can't know that. "
489
00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:23,805
And that's where the inspiration
of the broken Hnger came to us,
490
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,882
at just about the last minute
before they were gonna shoot.
491
00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:33,964
This is another example
of the efhcient shooting of Rob Bowman.
492
00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,082
That Hrst shot that shows you
all the screens
493
00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:40,449
and brings Scully in, it's just wonderful.
494
00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:47,923
And now the deceptions
are beginning to unravel and be exposed.
495
00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:54,201
And what we want the audience to think
is "Now Mulder's in dangen "
496
00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:59,366
And we didn't have her End the Hnger yet.
We save it.
497
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:03,929
So you leave the audience hanging,
"She doesn't know. Will she know?"
498
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:08,923
This scene and the scene that follows,
499
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:13,686
what we call "Mulder's death march
what Rob Bowman kept saying,
500
00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:20,041
we talked a lot about
and were all, in a weird way excited to do.
501
00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:23,681
Because it's very hard
in a returning TV series
502
00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:27,242
to put the audience in the frame of mind
503
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:31,211
that they think a main character
might get killed.
504
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:35,490
Cos they know this is David Duchovny
he's gonna be back next week.
505
00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:41,084
So the trick is to make it
as tension-Hlled as possible
506
00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:43,971
to solve that problem.
507
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:47,362
Cos the audience knows
you're gonna save Mulder
508
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:49,842
because the show is coming back.
509
00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:55,324
This long dolly shot, I think,
was the longest section of dolly track
510
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,689
ever set up by The X-Files
before or since.
511
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:06,722
All the coverage was done from this dolly
but it's beautiful that it tracks through
512
00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:11,004
these haunting layers of plastic.
513
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:17,290
This was done with the Steadicam,
which is different than the dolly.
514
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:22,844
We try to use all of the tools of Hlmmaking
that we can on The X-Files.
515
00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,490
The trick here,
and I think it worked pretty well,
516
00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:34,523
is to make the tension in the audience
be "How will they solve this?
517
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:39,966
"How will they get Mulder out of this?"
Things look worse and worse and worse.
518
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:44,041
And hopefully you have no suspicion
by this point in the story
519
00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:47,010
that Bremmer has a secret too.
520
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:51,130
And that's the heart of the show,
and that's kind of what was at the heart,
521
00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:54,841
and what excited me about
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,
522
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:57,048
my original inspiration for this episode.
523
00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:02,368
In that, it was the spy
that Richard Burton is trying to catch
524
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:07,486
actually turns out to be working for us.
He's a bad man, but he's working for us.
525
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:14,723
It's a moral dilemma that
every country has to face.
526
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:21,081
I mean, do you work with these types
of people who swim in these dark waters
527
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:24,010
in order to try to stop others?
528
00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:27,969
And it's kind of what Mulder
has to face here.
529
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:40,202
So August Bremmer has saved Mulden
530
00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:45,525
The very man that he started the show
to thwart, the leaden
531
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:50,811
is actually Mulder realizes,
working undercover for the government.
532
00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:55,761
But, again, there's still layers here
that have yet to be uncovered.
533
00:41:57,880 --> 00:41:59,848
I like that shot
that leads Mulder away and I wish...
534
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:04,527
One of the restraints is
you're limited to about 43 minutes,
535
00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:09,322
and in movies you can be more flexible-
That shot went on for much longer:
536
00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:13,689
I wish we could have kept it,
but the networks won't let you do that.
537
00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:17,964
Again, the plastic that I talked about,
just as a design element.
538
00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:20,722
Here's something coming up
539
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:25,203
that is always a joy to write
and to see for Scully's characten
540
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:32,209
Cos Scully's always been reasonable,
scientiHc, a very very smart characten
541
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:37,326
And then every once in a while in the show
we've allowed her to get angry.
542
00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:42,401
And when she does. and Gillian
is so good at it, it's shocking for us,
543
00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:48,931
as audience members who love Scully, to
see her; as we say, "Scully takin' names".
544
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:53,324
She gets in there and she goes off
on the government lawyer here.
545
00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:57,924
And it's always nice to see that in hen
546
00:42:58,000 --> 00:42:59,365
You don't want to see that every week,
547
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:02,842
it's not Scully's personality
she's the rational one,
548
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:05,321
but it's great when it happens.
549
00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:11,931
Here we leave,
and what we like to do often on The X-Files
550
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:16,364
is not answer all the questions
for the audience and not...
551
00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:19,367
There she is takin' names.
552
00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:23,404
We don't always wanna tie the loose ends.
553
00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:28,281
And we left the audience with a moral
dilemma here, and a question for Mulder;
554
00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:33,730
"What are you trying to do, Mn Mulder;
with your quest for the truth?
555
00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:38,562
'3¢\nd if your quest for the truth means
exposing this government operation
556
00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:43,726
"that is trying, ostensibly
in theory to stop terrorists,
557
00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:47,123
"are you gonna actually help terrorists?"
558
00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:52,491
It's a very interesting quandary for Mulden
it's something for the audience to considen
559
00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:56,884
And, to me, the best of
The X-Files is that you can do that
560
00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:03,923
in the context of a fantasy science Hction,
whatever you want to call it, show.
561
00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:07,647
You can actually deal
with real-world dilemmas.
562
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:12,609
How do you Hght these people, and do you
Hght them using their own weapons?
563
00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:20,323
And our little denouement here
is the demise of Jacob Haley.
564
00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:26,847
As you recall, August Bremmer
gave him car keys that were...
565
00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:35,120
We hope the audience gets, I think they do,
the car keys were tainted with the biotoxin_
566
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:42,287
We have a wonderful... We've always had
great make-up departments on the show.
567
00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:47,571
And once again you get a hint of what
you know is there, the eaten-away flesh.
568
00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:53,002
And the last lie is supposedly exposed.
569
00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:55,731
But hopefully the audience is left with
570
00:44:56,640 --> 00:44:57,641
some questions to ponder
571
00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:01,169
I was very very happy with this episode.
572
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:06,406
Not only in the directing
and the acting and the art direction,
573
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:13,121
but also in where it Ht
in the grand scheme of The X-Files.
574
00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:19,009
I felt it was a nice twist, a nice
change of pace for Mulder and Scully.
575
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:26,006
And a nice place to step off for next week,
when, hopefully the audience came back.
576
00:45:26,080 --> 00:45:27,969
Thank you for watching.
577
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:29,326
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577
00:45:30,305 --> 00:45:36,511
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