Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne talks Christmas on Mars

The long-awaited Flaming Lips flick Christmas On Mars is finally finished. From its beginnings on New Year’s Day of 2001 to its recent release into the world, the film has taken more than seven years to complete. And in an interview with Paste, head Lip Wayne Coyne compared the arduous process to many different things, including hunting for a diamond, having a baby and growing a third arm.

The film itself clocks in just under 90 minutes, Coyne told us, and the plot involves a faulty oxygen generator. “The oxygen generator—you know, it’s kind of a metaphor for the disaster of being human, in a certain sense,” Coyne said. “I know that sounds kind of pretentious. But only when you realize how vulnerable you are do you realize how beautiful life is.” Hey, do you realize…that’d make an awesome song!

Coyne’s character, which he described as “an alien super-being,” manages to repair the generator. “I’m not the only hero,” Coyne said. “But I’m one of the great heroes of the movie. But you know, it’s my movie.” Bandmate Michael Ivins plays “sort of the quiet super-genius who’s trying to fix the gravity control machine.” Apparently life on Mars requires a lot of duct-tape.

Coyne hopes have the DVD released in time for Christmas. And in the meantime, the Lips are screening the film at music festivals. The first festival screening came earlier this summer at Sasquatch in Washington State, Coyne said, though he held private screenings before that: “I obviously played it in my back yard for some people here, but all of those were interrupted by the police because it’s so fuckin’ loud.”

You can catch the band at a handful of upcoming festivals, while keeping your fingers crossed for a film screening:

July

4 - Des Moines, Iowa @ 80-35 Festival

19 - Dorset, England @ Camp Bestival

20 - London, England @ Lovebox Weekender

23 - Detroit Lakes, Minn. @ 10,000 Lakes Festival

26 - Pemberton, British Columbia @ Pemberton Festival

August

7 - Haldern, Germany @ Haldern Pop Festival
8 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Tivoli Gardens Festival
9 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Festival
11 - Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Belsonic Festival
14 - Hasselt, Belgium @ Pukkelpop Festival
15 - Biddinghuizen, Netherlands @ Lowlands Festival

Related links:
Cover Story: The Flaming Lips Demystified
News: Wayne Coyne talks touring, sex and UFOs
FlamingLips.com

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