Lawrence.com

A screening of a 35mm print of The Flaming Lips' psychedelic space trip "Christmas on Mars." Lips' drummer and movie co-star Kliph Scurlock will be there at 8 p.m. Friday to hang out and sign autographs. Read Melin's preview and watch video interviews with the Lips' Wayne Coyne.
"Christmas on Mars" trailerFrom the promoter: THE FLAMING LIPS will finally release their long-awaited film debut, CHRISTMAS ON MARS: A Fantastical Film Freak-out Featuring the Flaming Lips, on November 11, 2008, on Warner Bros. Records. Two different packages will be available to consumers: A single DVD disc of the 86-minute movie starring THE FLAMING LIPS along with various family, crew members, and famous friends, and a deluxe DVD/CD package that includes the movie as well as the complete 12-track original film score by THE FLAMING LIPS. The disc will allow the viewer to choose between standard stereo mix of the super 5.1 Zeta Bootis Surround Sound specially designed by THE FLAMING LIPS and producer Dave Fridmann. Video extras include interviews with band members Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Michael Ivins, and Kliph Scurlock, as well as a bonus featurette entitled: FROM DRAWINGS TO A MOVIE: Inside Wayne's Endless Yellow Notepad, in which Coyne walks the viewer through the film's conceptual genesis from an idea, into sketches and storyboards, and eventually onto film. The deluxe edition will also contain a set of movie postcards, a commemorative screen-printed Movie Ticket and Popcorn Box (which were only available at the original concert festival screenings over the summer), and a special limited-edition T-shirt designed by Coyne, all exclusive to this package. The movie will be available for purchase via iTunes Movies upon its release date making it even easier for fans to see CHRISTMAS ON MARS as soon as it becomes commercially viewable. Seven years in the making, the film made its theatrical debut this past September exclusively at the KGB Film complex in New York City where it was screened in high-definition video and the custom-designed Zeta Bootis Mega Supersonic Super-Sound Surround System, which The LIPS created for the film. Screenings sold-out immediately and the critics have showered the film with abundant praise: The New York Times wrote that CHRISTMAS ON MARS is "destined for cult status. Forget the plot, it's about textures: black and white images with psychedelic bursts; dashes of David Lynch, the '70s midnight movie Dark Star and 2001; an echo of The Wizard of Oz; and in a riff on maternity, maybe an iota of The Matrix. Dude, pass the munchies."Due to overwhelming public demand, Warner Bros. Records and film company Cinema Purgatorio will bring CHRISTMAS ON MARS to offbeat venues across the country, such as rock clubs, stage theaters, museums, and select movie theaters. The film had previously been presented by THE FLAMING LIPS at rock and film festivals over the summer. The movie will continue its NYC engagement through the end of 2008. Due to overwhelming demand, CHRISTMAS ON MARS will now screen in more than 22 additional cities across the US beginning this month.CHIRSTMAS ON MARS is the directorial debut of Wayne Coyne, lead singer and front man for THE FLAMING LIPS. Coyne co-directed with George Salisbury, an audiovisual technician who works with the band. Coyne constructed much of the set -- representing Mars -- in his Oklahoma City backyard.The film does indeed take place during Christmas time on Mars, as the colonization of the Red Planet is underway. But when an oxygen generator and a gravity control pod malfunction, Major Syrtis (The Lips' Steven Drozd) and his team (including the Lips' bassist Michael Ivins) fear for the worst. Syrtis 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. Also appearing in the film are the band's road drummer Kliph Scurlock, manager Scott Booker, and many other familiar figures from The Lips' community.