X Files - Glen Morgan talk on AOL ---------------------------------------start--------------------------------- OnlineHost: Copyright 1994 America Online, Inc. All rights reserved. OnlineHost: Center Stage is the largest gathering place on the service, bringing celebrity guests right into your home, and offering a host of entertainment events led by a team of talented emcees. It's capable of accommodating hundreds of guests an d is truly the showplace of the service. OnlineHost: Experiment with the menu. You'll find many powerful options including one which permits you to interact with other members present in the Auditorium. The interaction "rows" text is prefaced by a number shown in parentheses: (1), etc., which is followed by the text sent by members in that row. Unless a "row" is being "broadcast" your hosts cannot see interactive text. Try it. You can't break anything! OnlineHost: Your attending emcee tonight is JackDL. OnlineHost: Glen Morgan was about to sign on to work on "Moon Over Miami" when he and his friend James Wong grudgingly saw the pilot for "The X-Files". Both were quite impressed. The rest is, as they say, "history". During the course of the season o f "Files", they were made Co-Executive Producers. The second season of the series, filmed in Canada, will open with an episode they wrote. Now, from "The X-Files", meet Glen Morgan! OnlineHost: If you have a question or comment to send to the stage, please select the "Ask a Question" or "Send a Comment" feature from your menu. Type your message then use the "send" option to send it to the stage. All items sent are received sequentially, first-sent, first-received. FoxxMulder: Hi everyone! Welcome to what we hope is the first of several chats with the Cast & Production Staff of The X-Files! JackDL: Thank you for joining us tonight! GlenMorg: Thank you, Jack. I'm so relieved that I could tear my 2 yr. old daughter away from the Crayola Art adventure to make it here. I'm quite thrilled to join you. FOXX, you've been very, very helpful. Thanks. FoxxMulder: No problem. GlenMorg: The AOL Guide to "Being a good speaker in the CS" said to be brief, so I guess I'll be off to a bad start. GlenMorg: But this is very overdue and heartfelt. As "Deep Throat" would say I'm sure you're quite aware that there are those of us who have been monitoring your activities for quite some time". All of you are invaluable to this series. For myself, the AOL reactions are more important than the Neilsen ratings. Since the 3rd episode, the opinions and comments of the on line community *to each other*, not to us have steered the direction of "The X-Files". There have been moments in creating an episode that the direction of the story is decided by considering "What would the X-Philes really love to talk about? "What would blow their minds?" I hope we came through. Thank you. Question: What gave you the idea to write about the Xfiles, what compelled you? GlenMorg: The show was created by Chris Carter who developed it at 20th TV He realized there was not any horror shows on TV. Question: Q for Glenn: When does shooting for next season begin? GlenMorg: We go into pre-prod next Wed. and start shooting July 11. JackDL: Here is an audience comment: Comment: I just dropped in to say that the X-Files is an excellent program! Keep up the good work! GlenMorg: Agreed. Sorry, I thought you said X-Files group, as in you guys. FoxxMulder: Thanks Glen! I think they meant the Program. GlenMorg: I write long hand, so this is tough. Question: Q: What can you tell us about next season? GlenMorg: There will be no alien babies. Question: I just wanted to congratulate Mr. Morgan, and other X-FILES associates on being listed as one of the best 15 shows based on quality, and merit, by VQT as listed in the T.V. guide. Question: looking forward to next season! GlenMorg: Thank you very much. FoxxMulder: Folks, We are talking to Glen Morgan tonight. He is the Co-Exec Producer of The X-Files. Question: Q: What do you think of all the fan enthusiasm for the show? GlenMorg: Blown away. I worked on "21 Jump Street" and saw girls offer $5.00 for Johnny Depp's cigarette butts. But, this is better. Question: Do any of the stories/ideas emanate from the Twilight Zone and Rod Serling? GlenMorg: No, that was a great show, and he was a great writer. He is an influence, but the ideas, we hope, are ours. Question: My wife is deaf. Will there be any deaf actors, or a single episode that might feature a deaf actor in the upcoming season? GlenMorg: Sorry, not in the works. Question: Do you guys know if (not asking either way) DT is dead or alive for 2nd season? (for those who don't know, DT being Deep Throat. GlenMorg: ;) Question: Mr.Morgan: Will there be a new season next year and will Mulder & Sculley be broken up? GlenMorg: We've been ordered for 25 episodes this TV season. They'll be...kinda...broken up. Question: What can Mr. Morgan tell us about the first episode of the second season? GlenMorg: I'm late writing it. Vancouver is breathing down our necks. Sorry, I'm not trying to be a creep by hedging, but it's more fun, really, to find out when you're watching. Question: How will Gillian Anderson's pregnancy affect the show? GlenMorg: It's been tough, however when she looks back on her life, I'm sure she'll want her children by her side and not an episode of "Squeeze". So, we'll make do. Question: We all love the mulderisms and scullyisms. Are they the result of the witty writers, production staff, cast, or everyone at once? GlenMorg: Many belong to Chris Carter. Many are inside jokes Jim Wong and I are making to David Duchovny. David has many of his own. He's very funny and very smart. FoxxMulder: Those are the unique phrases the characters use in the show for those not familiar. Question: What are the other X-Files episodes that you have written? GlenMorg: Squeeze, Tooms (the stretchy guy) Shadows, Ice, Beyond the Sea and EBE. Question: Is there any filming outside Canada planned for this season? GlenMorg: No, we were planning on going to Moscow for a moment but it fell through. Question: How does someone send in scripts for consideration? GlenMorg: They must be submitted through a literary agent or an attorney. They should be sent to 20th TV development. Question: Glen Morgan, how many seasons do you think you will go with the X- Files? GlenMorg: Is that Chris Carter? Probably another year. Jim and I want our own show. We're hungry. Question: What can you tell us about the process for casting DD&GA? Who else was "in line"? GlenMorg: Randy Stone, the 20th TV casting vice-pres wanted David from the word go. Chris had to fight for GA because the network wanted a bimbo type. Question: Why are the forest scenes always filmed in what seems to be the same exact forest? GlenMorg: We film in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Those are the forests we have. Its not the same spot. It just looks that way. Beautiful city, BTW. Question: Were the cast members reluctant to join a series that may have sounded, well, a little kooky at first? GlenMorg: David wants to do films. That's why he was uncertain. GA was very new to TV and quite excited. Question: Which episode was he least pleased with ... and why? GlenMorg: I am proud of Beyond the Sea. I realize people say it seems like Silence of the Lambs. I love that movie, but we went out of our way to avoid being too similar. It was written with the emotion of people close to me who had lost loved ones. I also liked "Tooms" and "Ice". Question: Hi Glen, I just wanted to know if you are planning to create a new recurring villain in the second season like Tooms? GlenMorg: Sorry, in regards to the least liked -"Born Again." GlenMorg: I would like to create a villa, but Chris, I believe has the new Tooms in the works FoxxMulder: Folks, tonight's guest is Glen Morgan, Co-exec Producer of The X- Files. Question: Are any of the ideas on X-Files true? GlenMorg: Well...there are no FBI X-Files. Some incidents are true. In Beyond the Sea, for example 70% of widows say they see their husbands again after the first year of their death. So, we use "real" episodes like that and incorporate them into the story. Question: How much of the scripts are re-written "on the set"? GlenMorg: We're in LA. They're in Vancouver. They call if there's a problem but not as much rewriting goes on as with other shows. Question: How do you feel about the fact that the first-run episodes have gotten ratings very close to Star Trek: TNG? GlenMorg: The audience for these two shows are very intelligent. I think they appeal to the same viewers. Question: How long are the scripts, in pages? GlenMorg: 53-55 Question: It's been said that the X-Files is a 90's Kolchak: The Night Stalker. How do you feel about that? GlenMorg: Proud. We hadn't seen that show since the 70's but we all loved it as kids. Mid way through the year I found the two hour on video and was shocked to see how similar they are. I LOVED that show! Question: How are Fox and Dana going to do their thing if they're not in the X Files unit anymore? Question: Please reassure us that there is a "next" season. GlenMorg: There is indeed a next season. You'll have to watch and maybe be patient. Her pregnancy actually forces us to take chances we never would have had the nerve to take. Question: How have DD and GA gotten along as far as a professional relationship is concerned? GlenMorg: Great. They are friends. Question: Are there any plans for T-shirts, hats, etc.? How about releasing soundtrack music? GlenMorg: I hope there will be a soundtrack. I could use it to listen to when I write. Mark Snow is WONDERFUL. As for T-shirts, I know they are in the works but I don't know the specifics. Sorry. FoxxMulder: Folks, We are chatting with X-Files Co-Exec Producer, Glen Morgan! Question: Have the characters' backgrounds developed as the shows are written, one by one, or is there an overriding concept of what makes them tick? GlenMorg: Well, around the time of episode 12 last year many people on AOL were saying Scully was a wet blanket. To counter this, we worked up Beyond the Sea. That is what I meant at the opening. Last year there wasn't a real season arc to the characters. We flew by the seat of our pants. This season,