quote:

Dear Flaming Lips fans who suggested we screen Christmas on Mars near you:

Hi there. My name is Ray. I've been working on distributing Christmas on Mars to movie theaters and other strange places around the U.S. I have been very honored to work with the band, with Warner Brothers Records, with you, and with a number of superb venues, on this project.

We've already booked 32 cities. It's deliriously fantastic. Please, right now, check out this page to see if the movie is already booked near you. If it is, please buy tickets right away.

We've had great fortune in those 32 cities. But some cities just haven't come together.

So let's reconfigure.

The DVD is coming out on November 11. (Preorder it here.) Let's try to organize some public screenings in non-traditional spaces. And let's try to set ourselves up to do this over and over, maybe every weekend. Here's what we have to do:

- First, make sure that your area doesn't already have a public show of the movie booked. If there is a show booked nearby, we'll respect those as the first public screenings of the movie in your area. The venue bookers have taken a chance on this movie for their venue. Please, support them - even if the movie is booked after the DVD street date. Help Christmas on Mars become a regular community event. Probably, it should be a late night community event.

- Second, think of a cool, public space where you can watch the movie. Maybe it's a little rock club that you have access to, and which has a good projector, good DVD deck, and good surround system. Maybe it's a little independent record store that has the same. Or maybe it's a bar that has the same. Or maybe it's some other public space, that has a bunch of TVs with a good sound system and a good DVD deck.

- Third, talk to the people in charge of that space. Figure out who really makes the decisions. Then, ask them if they'd be open to you hosting a screening of a movie in their venue, perhaps Friday November 14 or Saturday November 15. (Or both!)

- Fourth, think about a local record store that might be willing to co-present with you. Don't get any commitment from them yet, just figure out who the right store is, find the manager, and tell them you're thinking of setting up a Christmas on Mars screening, and are wondering if they'd like to co-present. Tell them, yes, there might be a little bit of cost to it. But you will definitely try to arrange for them to sell merch at the screening.

- Fifth, pause for a moment. Realize that, because the Flaming Lips do hold public exhibition rights on Christmas on Mars, realize that legally you can't just show the movie in a public space. Think about what that means to you. Hopefully, you will recognize that this means you will be willing to make a deal with us. (If you do, we will also be able to list your event on CinemaPurgatorio.com).

Get back in touch with me through this form.

Tell me about who you are, where you want to screen the movie, etc.

I realize many of you filled it out before. But please, fill it out again, this time thinking more of non-traditional theaters etc.

And we'll see if we can make a DVD release happening happen near you!

Now, if it goes well, maybe we can screen Christmas on Mars over and over and over and over and over and over, until you all have it memorized like I do now after having personally run it about twenty times (so far) in New York City.

One little note: a few cities aren't yet listed on the site that we expect to close on soon. So, dear Chicagoans, hold on. We'll have a date for you soon. And ye Los Angelenos, hold on. That's a tricky situation, but we think we're going to get to you. Meanwhile, you proud sons and daughters of Oklahoma, just let the band take care of that, please. Then there are a few other similar cities, where we've got something in the works, which probably will close. But in general, if your town - or a town nearby - is not listed on cinemapurgatorio.com, I'm open to your suggestions.