Alumnus is mastermind behind 'The X-files'

By Ruth A. Williams, On-line Forty-Niner

Jiuly 9,1998

Most people are aware that "The X-Files" feature film has hit the big screen.

Few are aware that "The X-Files" creator and producer, Chris Carter, is a Cal State Long Beach alumnus.

Carter received his Bachelor's degree in journalism in 1979, after serving as editor in chief for University Magazine and working part-time as a potter.

Before writing about things of the paranormal, Carter's life was pretty normal growing up in Bellflower. Surfing piqued his interest, and has remained a passion ever since.

After graduating from CSULB, Carter was hired at "Surfing" magazine as associate editor. He said it was a way to postpone entering the "adult world."

His job at "Surfing" magazine afforded him freedom to travel around the world, to write, to develop a voice, to read and indeed, to surf.

"I had one of the best prolonged adolescence a young man could want," Carter told "Sci-Fi Entertainment." He worked for "Surfing" magazine for 13 years.

In 1983, while dating future wife Dori Pierson, she encouraged him to finish his first movie script. His second script caught the attention of Disney's Jeffrey Katzenberg, who signed Carter for a three-picture deal.

After the first screenplay, Carter wrote television pilots such as "Rags to Riches" and "Brand New Life."

In 1992, Fox Television hired Carter to develop a new prime-time series. He immediately pitched his idea for a scary show, "The X-Files."

"The X-Files" contains anything from weird science to paranormal phenomena, genetic mutations to alien hybrids. "The X-Files" chronicle cases of FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), who are commissioned to investigate paranormal activity and unexplained phenomena.

As a child, Carter enjoyed watching scary movies. Ideas for "The X-Files" were first inspired by "Kolchak: The Night Stalker." Carter admits this particular show scared him, and he wanted to create something just as dark and mysterious.

Contrary to popular belief, Carter does not even believe in unidentified flying objects or aliens. "I am a skeptic," Carter told "Rolling Stone" magazine. He is, however, a combination of both Mulder and Scully, he said. Like Mulder, he wants to believe there are extraterrestrial beings out there; like Scully, he must see them to believe them, he said.

Since the success of "The X-Files," Carter has been nominated for 12 Golden Globe awards and was selected as one of "America's Most Influential People" by "Time" magazine last year. Currently, Carter reigns as one of "People" magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World."

For those who wonder if Scully and Mulder will become romantic, Carter answers, no. If the two become involved, they will lose focus of their search for truth, he said.