Wayne Coyne and his Flaming Lips have been busy playing numerous festivals across the globe this summer. But what’s happened to their much vaunted movie debut, Christmas on Mars? Coyne has been talking about the movie since 2001, and footage of the film even appeared in Bradley Beesley’s Fearless Freaks documentary. The homemade feature, which was mostly shot in Coyne’s house, stars Steven Drozd as a man trying to arrange a Christmas party for the first baby to be born on Mars.

The good news is, the film is nearly ready for release. The bad news is, it’s going to take precedent over any new music from the Flaming Lips. So don’t hold your breath waiting for a new album, because Christmas on Mars has already taken seven years to be made. Coyne says there are tentative plans for the band to go into the studio in February and “if it’s great, we’ll put it out.” The band is wrapping up its summer schedule with a few European dates, full details here. [NME]