The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne is ready to tackle his first film since his debut, “Christmas On Mars” which was (finally) released back in 2008. That film, a very low-budget sci-fi tale, took about seven years to complete but Coyne called in favors to people in his Rolodex including Steve Burns, Modest Mouse leader Isaac Brock, Adam Goldberg, Fred Armisen & Elijah Wood.
His newest project promises to be a much more modest affair that won’t be hampered by having to build elaborate sets, “My only goal was that I didn’t have to build space station-looking sets every time I wanted to have someone say something, only because I built those sets myself every time we shot something for ‘Christmas on Mars’ over the seven years we took to make it. This one is set in someone’s house and in a back yard and in a slaughterhouse; all those are available to me right here, so I don’t have to build everything this time,” said Coyne.
However, don’t let the relative simplicity of the concept this time around fool you. “Christmas On Mars,” took about seven years to finish and Coyne doesn’t seem to be in any particular rush to complete his latest venture either, “I think everybody would be relieved if it all got done in six weeks and we could say, ‘Look at that!’ But because I get to do it with people I love and it’s my art, I don’t care how long it takes.” So, expect this on BluRay or beamed straight to your brain sometime around 2020?
Coyne has already started working on the soundtrack with bandmate Steve Drozd, and he’s visiting his expanded Rolodex to try and land some new faces for his film. “I’m in the process of begging Justin Timberlake to be part of it; if I’m lucky I’ll be able to wear him down in another year.” And if you’re thinking “Yeah, whatever, good luck with that Wayne,” Timberlake jammed with band on “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1” on “Top Of The Pops” a few years ago (see video below).
We weren’t in love with “Christmas On Mars,” but Coyne’s freaky vision will always have us interested. We’re not expecting this to land anytime soon, but when it does, we’ll definitely check it out.