X-pecting a Sellout

There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding the release of The X-Files: I Want to Believe, one of this summer’s most anticipated films.

Very little information has been released by Twentieth Century Fox about the movie’s plot. The secrecy surrounding the film even trickled down to Inkworks, where the company was trying to prepare the card set based on the movie.

“They wouldn’t even let us read the script,” said Inkworks president Allan Caplan, of the film’s producers. “We had to hire one of their writers to create the trading cards.”

But enough details have come out about the film to get movie goers excited, and the details surrounding the card set are likely to have collectors and fans of the show excited, as well.

The 72-card set will release July 25, the same day as the movie’s debut. The fact that the two primary stars of the film – David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson – along with director Chris Carter have all agreed to sign autographs for the set has made this product an easy sell for Caplan and his staff.

“The public is giving this a phenomenal response,” Caplan said.

This will mark the eighth X-Files set produced by Inkworks. It is the first, however, to feature autographs from Duchovny.

“He had never signed for us before, and at first it didn't look like we were going to get him for this product,” Caplan explained. “When we couldn’t get though to his agent, we went through Fox. Once they told him about the benefits of having him involved in the product, he agreed to work with us.”

No such arm twisting was required to get Anderson to sign for this product, however. “Gillian is one of the nicest people we’ve ever worked with,” Caplan said. “She has signed for us before and was more than willing to do it again.”

Another first-time signer for the product is writer/producer Frank Spotnitz. Additional signers are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

In addition to the autographs, more than a dozen different items from the movie have been obtained for use on Pieceworks cards, including raincoats worn by Duchovny and Anderson, and costumes from other key actors in the film. Single and dual Pieceworks cards will be produced.

At a suggested retail price of $3.49 per pack, the product is intended primarily for hobby distribution. “This is not a mass (retail) product,” Caplan said. “We’re anticipating a complete sell out by the end of June.”