The Flaming Lips' CHRISTMAS ON MARS: A Fantastical Film Freakout
Nov 21 - Nov 22, 2008
(Wayne Coyne, Brad Beesley & George Salisbury, USA, 2008, 35mm, 82 min)
Psychedelic rock band the Flaming Lips' Christmas on Mars: A Fantastical Film Freakout is a glorious science fiction film marking the directorial debut of the Lips' visionary frontman Wayne Coyne. Seven years in the making, Christmas on Mars features original music by the Flaming Lips ("The greatest U.S. band today" -The Guardian), with acting performances by all band members, and many others from their Oklahoma City-based team. Comedian Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) and actor Adam Goldberg (Dazed and Confused, Two Days in Paris) also appear, as does Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, and performer Steve Burns of the band Steve Burns and the Struggle (who had also appeared in children's television show Blue's Clues). Bradley Beesley and George Salisbury co-directed the movie with Mr. Coyne.
It's Christmastime, and the colonization of Mars is underway. When an oxygen generator and a gravity control pod malfunction, Major Syrtis (the Lips' Steven Drozd) and his team (including the Lips' Michael Ivins) fear the worst. Syrtis also hallucinates about the birth of a baby, and many other strange things. Meanwhile, a compassionate alien superbeing (Coyne) arrives, inspiring and helping the isolated astronauts.
"A thrift-shop Solaris...realized through homegrown special effects
that would please fans of Eraserhead-era David Lynch."
-Steve Dollar, New York Sun
Watch the trailer:
2008 - Christmas On Mars - Trailer from George Salisbury on Vimeo