May 17th, 2000

Duchovny Inks $20Million Deal to Stay With The X-Files

The Associated Press
L O S   A N G E L E S, May 17  

FBI agent Fox Mulder will continue his quest for the truth and alien invaders next season on The X-Files.
     Series star David Duchovny, who was wrangling over his contract and a lawsuit he filed in connection with the show, has agreed to return for an eighth year.
     “I am pleased we were able to come to an agreement that enables me to remain part of The X-Files.” Duchovny said in a statement today. “Now that all the business issues have been settled, I’m looking forward to going back to work.”
     Gillian Anderson, his co-star in the Fox series about FBI agents on the trail of supernatural forces and space aliens, already was under contract. Chris Carter, the series’ creator and executive producer, struck a deal for another year earlier this week.

Blockbuster Deal
The deal will bring Duchovny more than $20 million, which includes a lawsuit settlement and $350,000 to $400,000 per episode, according to sources cited by Daily Variety.
     The actor’s decision, which came the day before Fox Broadcasting Co. was to announce its fall schedule in New York, was greeted with enthusiasm by Carter. He had said previously he could produce the show without Duchovny but preferred not to.
     “I’m very pleased and I think with the season finale cliffhanger it creates great possibilities to take the show in new directions,” Carter said. The show wraps up this season on Sunday.
     Duchovny, who had been seeking a less-grueling work schedule as well as more money, will not be in every episode for the 2000-01 season, Carter said.
     He said it would be “jumping the gun” to speculate whether the show, a mainstay of Fox’s schedule, will be back for a ninth year. Series co-producer 20th Century Fox Television would have to strike new deals with the stars and Carter.

Lawsuit Against Fox
The negotiations with Duchovny had been complicated by his lawsuit against 20th Century Fox Film Corp. The suit claimed Fox gave its own stations sweetheart deals on The X-Files reruns when the program should have been sold to the highest bidder.
     The result, the suit alleged, was that Duchovny was underpaid on the series’ profits. The actor had said he wouldn’t return to the show unless the suit was settled.
     A spokesman for the actor said he could not expand on Duchovny’s statement.
     Carter said he expected the legal dispute to be a non-issue when filming resumes.
     “I work with real professionals and the work has always come before any personal feelings,” he said.
     The conspiracy-minded series, which made stars and magazine cover favorites out of Duchovny and Anderson, opens with the insistence that, “The truth is out there.” The show was the basis of a successful X-Files movie that Fox and Carter expect to be part of a continuing franchise.

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