Christmas on Mars | |
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Directed by | Wayne Coyne |
Written by | Wayne Coyne |
Starring | Wayne Coyne Steven Drozd Michael Ivins Steve Burns |
Cinematography | Bradley Beesley |
Edited by | George Salisbury |
Music by | The Flaming Lips |
Distributed by | Warner Independent Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Christmas on Mars is a 2008 independent psychological science fiction film from the alternative rock band the Flaming Lips, written and directed by the band's frontman, Wayne Coyne, and featuring the entire band in the cast, as well as many of their associates, including Steve Burns, Adam Goldberg, and Fred Armisen.
The film began development in 2001, filming was completed in October 2005, and the film premiered on May 25, 2008 at the Sasquatch! Music Festival. [1] For its general release in the United States, Christmas on Mars was booked into several dozen cities for unconventional screenings, in venues which included a former Ukrainian Socialist Social Club in New York City. [2] The film was released in three different packages on November 11, 2008 through conventional retailers as well as through the band's website. A vinyl edition was released November 25, 2008.
The film tells the story of the experiences of Major Syrtis during the first Christmas on a newly colonized Mars.
The main character, Major Syrtis (played by Steven Drozd), is trying to organize a Christmas pageant to celebrate the birth of the first colonist baby. The hype they've added to this Mars mission is that this beautiful woman is giving birth to a baby from an artificial impregnation from the bubble she wears on her stomach. It's all scientifically timed, so she gives birth to this baby the second it hits midnight on Christmas. It is symbolically the beginning of a new civilization. But instead of being born from religious ideas, it's from a scientific idea.
A Martian that lands, but the Martian isn't really perceived as a Martian. People think he's another crazy guy who's flipped and turned himself green. They can't find a quick replacement for Santa, so they use this Martian guy. The Martian guy becomes the Martian and Santa Claus simultaneously.
At the beginning of 2002, over 20 minutes of edited film were ready, with music and preliminary sound effects also completed for these scenes. Most of the movie was shot on 16 mm film, with most of the sets based in Wayne's Oklahoma City house. Most scenes were filmed in and around Oklahoma City, using locations such as old industrial facilities. Further filming was done in Boston, Texas.
Originally, Christmas on Mars was not to be released at conventional movie theaters. Instead, a DVD release would be preceded by a number of screenings at rock venues. Speaking to mtv.com, Coyne has explained "We want to show the movie with a mega-sound system and snow machines and just make it like a bigger event than what has become the typical movie-going experience. I'm hoping that people can watch this movie while they drink beer, smoke cigarettes, and have a good time."
By October 2007, the film was in the final editing stage and the band was also transferring it to HD and adding "in-depth special effects." On September 12, 2008, the film made its New York City debut at 7am within the KGB Complex, a former Ukrainian Socialist Social Club, on the Lower East Side. [3]
The film was released on DVD November 11, 2008 in three different packages designed by the band's visual generalist George Salisbury. One is a conventional DVD available at conventional retailers. There is also a deluxe edition containing the film on DVD in addition to a soundtrack CD. The Mega Deluxe Edition includes: The Film and Soundtrack (in special Deluxe Edition packaging), an exclusive T-shirt, a collectible movie ticket replicating those used during the rock festival tour, trading cards featuring all four members of the band from the movie on one side and performing on stage on the other, an "Eat Your Own Spaceship" bumper sticker, and a box of "Flaming Lips" popcorn featuring Wayne as the Martian. The first 1,000 Mega Deluxe Edition versions will have the popcorn boxes signed by all four members of the Flaming Lips. Of those 1,000 copies ten will contain a "golden ticket" good for two tickets to the Lips annual New Year's Eve concert in Oklahoma City. [4] The vinyl edition is slated for release on November 25, 2008. The DVD contains at least one easter egg.
Once Beyond Hopelessness | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | November 11, 2008 | |||
Recorded | January 2001 – September 2008 | |||
Genre | Electronic music, score | |||
Length | 32:43 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | The Flaming Lips | |||
The Flaming Lips chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Okayplayer | (75/100) [6] |
The Quietus | (favourable) [7] |
Pitchfork | (7.1/10) [8] |
Two tracks from the movie soundtrack, "Protonilus Death March" and "Syrtis Major" were released as a 5000-only picture-disc EP late in 2004, available only through the band's online store in conjunction with the purchase of their limited-edition pictorial biography Waking Up With a Placebo Headwound. "Syrtis Major" and another soundtrack cut, "Xanthe Terra", were also released as B-sides to the 2-part European single release of "Do You Realize??" These songs are both entirely instrumental, in a similar style to acclaimed Lips instrumentals such as the Grammy-winning Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia). For the final soundtrack release, "Protonilus Death March" has been renamed to "The Gleaming Armament of Marching Genitalia," "Syrtis Major" is now "Space Bible With Volume Lumps" and "Xanthe Terra" is now "Suicide and Extraordinary Mistakes."
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Once Beyond Hopelessness" | 3:07 |
2. | "The Distance Between Mars and the Earth, Pt. 1" | 0:52 |
3. | "The Horrors of Isolation: The Celestial Dissolve, Triumphant Hallucination, Light Being Absorbed" | 4:39 |
4. | "In Excelsior Vaginalistic" | 3:02 |
5. | "Your Spaceship Comes from Within" | 1:28 |
6. | "Suicide and Extraordinary Mistakes" | 3:28 |
7. | "The Distance Between Mars and the Earth, Pt. 2" | 0:57 |
8. | "The Secret of Immortality: This Strange Feeling, This Impossible World" | 3:43 |
9. | "The Gleaming Armament of Marching Genitalia" | 3:58 |
10. | "The Distress Signals of Celestial Objects" | 2:11 |
11. | "Space Bible with Volume Lumps" | 3:15 |
12. | "Once Beyond Hopelessness" | 2:03 [9] |
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Derek Brown, Matt Duckworth Kirksey and Tommy McKenzie (bass). Coyne and Drozd have remained the band's only consistent members since 1991, with Coyne being the only remaining founding member following the departure of bassist and keyboardist Michael Ivins in 2021.
Transmissions from the Satellite Heart is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Flaming Lips, released in 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. The album marked the departure of Jonathan Donahue and Nathan Roberts, and the addition of guitarist Ronald Jones and drummer Steven Drozd.
Wayne Michael Coyne is an American musician. He is the founder, lead vocalist, main songwriter, and only constant member of the psychedelic rock band the Flaming Lips.
Adam Goldberg is an American actor. Known for his supporting roles in film and television, Goldberg has appeared in films such as Dazed and Confused, Saving Private Ryan, A Beautiful Mind and Zodiac. He has also played leading roles in independent films such as The Hebrew Hammer and 2 Days in Paris. His TV appearances include the shows Law & Order: Criminal Intent, My Name Is Earl, Friends, Entourage, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Unusuals and his role as hitman Grady Numbers in the first season of Fargo. Since 2021 he has starred opposite Queen Latifah on CBS' The Equalizer.
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Steven Gregory Drozd is an American musician. He is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the Flaming Lips, Electric Würms, and other projects.
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Fearless Freaks is a 2005 documentary directed by Bradley Beesley and edited by JoLynn Garnes, chronicling the alternative rock band The Flaming Lips. While the film features cameo appearances by such actors as Adam Goldberg and Christina Ricci, most of the screen time is taken up by interviews with the band members and their families interspersed with clips of the band's recording sessions and live performances. Wayne Coyne's mother and several of his brothers are prominently featured, as are members of Steven Drozd's family, while Michael Ivins' family receives comparatively little screen time.
"Do You Realize??" is a song by the Flaming Lips, and was released as the first single from their 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. It is one of the group's most accessible and popular songs, having reached No. 32 in the UK Singles Chart. It was adopted as the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma from 2009 to April 2013 and was ranked No. 31 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the 2000s. It is also the band's most popular live song, and has rarely been excluded from setlists since its inception into their live shows in 2002.
Clifton Thomas "Kliph" Scurlock is an American musician. He was the drummer and percussionist for alternative rock band The Flaming Lips from 2002 to 2014.
"The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)" is a song by The Flaming Lips, released as the second single from their 2006 album At War with the Mystics. It is their highest-charting single so far in the UK, peaking at #16.
Bradley Beesley is an American Independent film and video director, producer and cinematographer. Born in Oklahoma and based in Austin, Texas, he "has made a cinematic career documenting oddball Americana, strange sub-cultures and homegrown rock stars."
George E. Salisbury is a film and music video director and graphic designer based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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