The long-awaited film and psychedelic freak out, Christmas on Mars, by the always weird and unpredictable Flaming Lips is being released to select theaters (maybe in your area). The band started making the film back in 2001 and has teased fans with a number of trailers since then. The first trailer appeared on the band’s 2003 Fight Test EP. The newest trailer was officially released by Warner Brothers Records and can be seen here:

After years of anticipated release dates, Christmas on Mars has finally seen the light of day. Although filming completed in 2005, the film was first showcased on a live festival tour where the band members played live music with the movie acting as a visual backdrop. Although Christmas on Mars was originally intended to follow the band’s The Soft Bulletin album, the DVD is set to release on November 11. Lead singer, Wayne Coyne shared the film’s synopsis with MTV:

“Against a background of descending madness, Major Syrtis is trying to use the pageant to provide hope amongst the colonists, and the film tells the story of his struggle. You see his humiliation and his self-doubt because there are all these haphazard things that keep getting in the way of his determination to celebrate this first Christmas on Mars. A lot of the people are committing suicide, and one of them is this sort of Santa Claus that’s supposed to preside over this big celebration. He dies right at the beginning and this presents Steven’s character with several problems. A Martian lands, but the Martian isn’t really perceived as a Martian. People just sort of think he’s another crazy guy who’s flipped and turned himself green. They can’t find a quick replacement for Santa so they just use this Martian guy. So the Martian guy becomes the Martian and Santa Claus at the same time.”

An interview with Wayne about his inspiration for the film can be viewed here:

Several notables appear in the film, along with the band members, including Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, Steve Burns of Blue’s Clues fame, Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live, Adam Goldberg, and Frodo himself, Elijah Wood. A behind-the-scenes clip was posted by the film’s 1st assistant cameraman, Peter Hermes:

According the band’s MySpace page, there are showings of the movie in the following cities:

Playing now until the end of the year if not the end of time:
New York, New York: The KGB Complex’s Kraine Theater
From October till the end of the year:
San Antonio, Texas: Alamo Drafthouse, starts October 19

Limited Engagements:
Des Moines, Iowa: Nova 10 Cinemas, October 1
Columbia, South Carolina: The Nickelodeon, October 3-5
Moline, Illinois: Nova 6 Cinemas, October 5
Atlanta, Georgia: Plaza Theatre, October 8
Peoria, Illinois: Reynold’s Cinemas at Landmark, October 10
Naperville, Illinois: Nova 8 Cinemas, October 11
Nashville, Tennessee: The Belcourt, October 17
Dallas, Texas: Landmark Inwood Theater, October 17-18
Whitewater, Wisconsin: Theatres of Whitewater, October 17
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: Geneva 4, October 18
West Bend, Wisconsin: Paradise Theatre, October 19
Madison, Wisconsin: The Orpheum, October 21-24
Waterville, Maine: Railroad Square Cinema, October 23
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Brattle, October 31-November 9
Omaha, Nebraska: Film Streams / Ruth Sokolof Theater, October 31
Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Cinematheque, November 8-9
Columbus, Ohio: Landmark Gateway Theater, November 14-15
Denver, Colorado: Landmark Esquire Theatre, November 14-15
Hartford, Connecticut: Real Art Ways, November 21-23
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Landmark Uptown Theatre, November 22

To be announced soon:
Seattle, Washington
Austin, Texas
Los Angeles, California

The Flaming Lips are currently working on the follow-up album to At War With the Mystics. The new album  is currently scheduled for a June 2009 release. Coyne describes the new material as groundbreaking:

“Some of it sounds like John Lennon but if he got together with Miles Davis and they went back in time, but there was a supercomputer that they could figure out how to work!”

http://www.flaminglips.com
http://www.myspace.com/flaminglips