SUBMITTED BY Scooby

June 11, 2001 — Ivan Reitman was interviewed about his new movie, 'Evolution':

How did you convince David Duchovny to take another alien role?

First of all, I had worked with David in a movie called Beethoven which I produced. That's prior to his being chosen for The X Files. Even then I remember thinking this is a really funny guy. He has this wonderful wry, intelligent sense of humor. So, he's smart, he's handsome and I always thought one day I should work with him in something else as a leading man. Then he got the job on X-Files and became very famous but he never got much of a chance on that show to show his humorous side, or hardly smile. I've almost never watched The X Files through. I was never a fan, I don't watch much television anyway so it's nothing personal. So, I'm working on this script and not thinking of The X Files whatsoever but I am thinking of David Duchovny, who I've met socially a number of times after Beethoven. I finally sent him 60 pages and asked to meet with him about it and he liked it a lot. He said, "You know, there are a lot of aliens in this, and normally I don't think I could do this but it's such a good part for me I'd like to do it." It wasn't until he said, "You know, there's a lot of aliens" I suddenly put together oh yeah, this is the guy from The X Files.

Was that government line an intentional reference?

That line was always in the script even before he was in the movie. "We can't go to the government, I know those people, you can't trust them." It was there because Ira Kane worked in the government in a large role and he couldn't trust them. But it's a wonderful example of the ironies that can happen when you get an actor with baggage. In a comedy it helps enhance things that were already there. When I finally figured out the X Files connection, I did really believe that there would probably be things that he does in this movie that would enhance the comedy. But we didn't really go after it in a really big way.

And how did you convince Julianne Moore to play the pratfalling klutz?

She had just finished doing Hannibal and End of the Affair, was about to do Shipping News and thought she needed a seriousness break. She said, "I'd like to do this and I'd like to work with you as long as I can fall down a lot." I know you think I'm making this up but it's absolutely true. She does not fall down in the script. I got very nervous about it because I did a movie called Junior where Emma Thompson, also a very accomplished and seriously known actress, gets to fall down a lot and I was concerned that people would start to think this is a thing for me and blame me for taking very distinguished actors and degrading them somehow. She said, "I really think I can pull this off. I don't think it will degrade the part and she'll still be an intelligent person that you will like." So I said, "Aw, what the hell?" We would just pick our spots where it would be appropriate, would enliven the scene that we were doing.

(Thanks to Movie Headlines for the heads up)