Maple Ridge became entangled into the mysterious X-Files world Monday as the series took over downtown for shooting of the ninth episode of the 2018 season for the sci-fi series.
Smoke generators, booms, lights and police cars crowded into Memorial Peace Park for most of the day. The afternoon featured a police car scene that ran along from the park to McIntosh Avenue, then down 223rd Street. Scenes were also shot in front of the Randy Herman Community Safety Building and in The Ridge Studios with lead actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in town for the taping.
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The episode marks the return of a major film production following the temporary moratorium this fall on filming in the downtown.
Maple Ridge stopped filming in September and October so it could find ways to accommodate the industry without inconveniencing shoppers and businesses.
City film production liaision officer Marg Johnson said one of the steps that have been taken is using a film site liaison who’s hired by movie production companies to inform businesses what film crews have in mind when they arrive downtown.
That seems to be working well, she added.
“That’s something we just implemented.”
At the same time as X-Files was underway, another film, Cooking with Love, was being shot in Chameleon Restaurant just metres away.
Crews seemed to be able to keep out of each other’s way, Johnson added.
“It really went well. We had a lot of positive feedback.”
The X-Files shoot on Monday required six Ridge Meadows RCMP for traffic control. About 50 production assistants lined the streets along with traffic control people.
X-Files location manager Jendrek Kowalski said they’re at the end of the season 11 and were shooting episode nine.
“We’ve been all over the place really.”
Scenes in Vancouver stood in for other parts of the U.S.
Maple Ridge doubled for the fictional town of Eastwood, Conn.
“All of the crew and the producers were very happy with the look. The town looked great. We wanted to have a small-town feel so that’s why we came to Maple Ridge.”
The shooting schedule for next season hasn’t been determined.
Kowalski said he’s done several films in Maple Ridge.
“It was a great experience. I hope everybody in Maple Ridge had a great experience having us there.
“And everything looked fantastic [on film] from what I’ve heard from my producers.”
