Reprising Scully character was ‘odd’

New York – Gillian Anderson says getting back into Dana Scully’s character for “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” was harder than she expected.

“It was a little odd,” Anderson told Newsweek for its July 21 issue. “It was more disconcerting than I anticipated. I expected it to be a breeze. But I tried so hard since the series ended to do things as different as possible from the character.

“When I was faced with making acting decisions on that character again, my brain started backfiring and internally combusting,” she said.

Anderson, who is pregnant with her third child, said she has also been spending time buying and selling houses in London, California, Canada and elsewhere.

“I like doing up houses and getting into the architecture,” she told the magazine.

“The X-Files” ran from 1993-2002 on the Fox network. Anderson reunites with co-star David Duchovny for “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” the second feature film spun off from the paranormal series.

The movie will be in theaters Friday.

‘Life of Brian’ gets makeover for stage

Los Angeles – In Eric Idle’s world, a leaf blower is part of the orchestra.

The Monty Python star and “Spamalot” writer is bringing his silliness back to the stage with “Not the Messiah,” a musical comedy hodgepodge that features a full orchestra and the occasional leaf blower.

“Musically we’ve put it in,” Idle said.

After putting on the production in Toronto and Sydney, Australia, (and a one-off performance in upstate New York), Idle and composer-conductor John Du Prez are bringing the show Stateside for a limited run.

“Not the Messiah” gives a musical stage treatment to “Life of Brian” the way “Spamalot” did for “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Backed by a 104-piece orchestra, Idle and his comedic crew will perform “Not the Messiah” at Wolf Trap National Park in Vienna, Va.; the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles; and the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.