Check out this exclusive clip from Geoff Marslett and Mark Duplass' strange-looking space romantic comedy Mars. We're still not sure what to make of this indy film — the graphics alone freak us out a bit. The picture, which is premiering at SXSW, is part comic book, part love story and part comedy. You may remember Mark Duplass from his Sundance directing days or his role on The League. Here's the official synopsis: In 2014, the discovery of life on the Red Planet leads to a space race between a robotic expedition and a manned mission. Over the course of this interplanetary animated feature, a lonesome robot and a motley space crew discover that love can flourish anywhere - even on Mars. Told in the playful style of a graphic novel, MARS explores why we explore.

A new live-action movie based on H.G. Wells' seminal science fiction alien invasion novel, The War of the Worlds, is in post production, it was announced by Pendragon Pictures. The new movie, titled War of the Worlds - The True Story, has a planned release date of October 2010. Pendragon Pictures is an independent motion picture company that released a previous movie version of War of the Worlds in 2005. Their earlier production grossed $7 million dollars and sold 650,000 copies on DVD, though its critical reception was tepid. Pendragon producer Susan Goforth states, "This is a complete remake, not a re-working of our previous production."

Academy Award winner Michael Giacchino, who won the Oscar for his Up score a couple of days ago, continues his fruitful relationship with Walt Disney Pictures. The studio has confirmed to MovieScore Magazine that Giacchino will be writing the score for John Carter of Mars, the new film by Andrew Stanton. Interestingly, Stanton’s previous films as a director (Wall-E and Finding Nemo), were both scored by Thomas Newman. John Carter of Mars is based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and stars Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Polly Walker and Willem Dafoe. The imaginative story takes place on the planet Mars where Civil War veteran John Carter is imprisoned by 12-foot tall green creatures, escapes and encounter the Princess of Helium. The film is scheduled to come out in 2012.

During the week or so leading up to the start of SXSW 2010, I’ll be providing a glimpse into some of the films I am looking forward to at the festival. SXSW will feature many great films, many more than I can cover, ranging from narrative fiction to documentary, comedy to horror, foreign to animation, independent to studio films. SYNOPSIS: A new space race is born between NASA and the ESA when Charlie Brownsville, Hank Morrison, and Dr. Casey Cook compete against an artificially intelligent robot to find out what’s up there on the red planet. MARS follows these three astronauts on the first manned mission to our galactic neighbor. On the way they face adventure, self doubts, obnoxious reporters, and the boredom of extended space travel. This romantic comedy is told in the playful style of a graphic novel – using an animation process that director Geoff Marslett developed specifically for MARS. Underneath the silliness it is an exploration of exploration. Why do we want to know whatÕs out there? How do we react when we find it? Is it really that important? And where does love fit into the whole thing?

It’s Libby from Lost as you (and Hurley) have never seen her before – animated! Cynthia Watros stars alongside musician/actor Kinky Friedman (he plays the President) in new indie film Mars, which premieres this weekend at SXSW. Mark Duplass (Humpday, The Puffy Chair) plays an astronaut who goes on the first manned mission to Mars, looking for “life and love.” The whole project is the brainchild of Austin, Texas-based animator Geoff Marslett, who has said he wanted the film to look like a cross between A Scanner Darkly and Sin City. But he also notes the film is more like an indie romantic comedy set in space.

Walt Disney Studios announced the date for another 3D movie ‘Mars Needs Moms!’. The Robert Zemeckis’ produced film will open March 11, 2011. The film is about a young boy named Milo (Seth Green) who gains a deeper appreciation for his mom (Joan Cusack) after Martians come to Earth to take her away. The movie is based on Berkley Breathed’s children story.

Remember the people who said the moon landing was a hoax? A New Port Richey company hopes to create a simulated trip to Mars that everyone will know is fake but will appear as realistic as possible. "This is not Disney World or Universal Studios," said Mark Homnick, 52, one of the managers of NewSpace Center LLC. The company has submitted site plans for a 75-acre lot in Titusville on Florida's Space Coast to build Interspace, a space-themed entertainment and research facility that would include the simulated Martian environment. The men estimated the project will cost about $30-million and said their plans began in 2005. Homnick and his vice president, Joseph Palaia, run the company and its parent, 4Frontiers, out of Homnick's waterfront stilt home.

Come on, Mars. I mean, come on.

Performance Network Theatre announces its production of "It Came From Mars" by local playwright, Joseph Zettelmaier, beginning February 18 and running through March 21, 2010. "Mars," which is a co-production with Williamston Theatre (WT), is a recipient of the prestigious Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, which is granted to only a handful of theatres nationwide. This world premiere comedy stars Wayne David Parker, Sandra Birch, Joseph Albright, Jacob Hodgson, Alysia Kolascz and Morgan Chard. It is directed by WTArtistic Director Tony Caselli (A PICASSO). "It Came From Mars," which is featured in the February issue of American Theatre Magazine, is a hilarious comedy about a troupe of radio actors terrified by Orson Welles'War of the Worlds broadcast. Passions ignite and secret identities are revealed when a washed up director, his diva ex-wife, a German sound effects wiz and a wanna-be war hero believe that they are about to be annihilated by men from Mars!

Disney has released the official synopsis for the movie and also started an official Facebook fan page for the film. Production is under way in London for Andrew Stanton’s latest film, which is set to come out in 2012.

Addy and I are both weeping dusty red-colored tears in honor of the Spirit Rover's new permanent surroundings after reading this xkcd chronicle of his poor little life.

"OFF WORLD. Robin Parrish. Bethany House. $14.99 Softcover. Well, Robin Parrish of North Carolina has written an account set on Aug. 11, 2032, about what happens when a crew from NASA arrives on Mars, has an incredible flight back to Earth - and finds that everyone has vanished. Buildings are empty, cars are lined up at the toll booths with no one in them - the world has disappeared. Eerie? Yes! Could this happen if some terrorists have hidden something with plans to blow the world apart. Is Houston's NASA and Florida's Kennedy Space Center taken by surprise? How will we ever know. Until a woman appears. Her name is Mae. Was she ever really born? Was she murdered?

Walt Disney Pictures announced filming is underway on John Carter of Mars starring Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as John Carter and directed by Andrew Stanton. Stanton earned Academy Awards for Finding Nemo and WALL-E, and John Carter of Mars marks his first time helming a live-action feature film.

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars on Saturday delivered BBC America its highest-ever primetime rating and delivery in total viewers and adults ages 25-54. It was the first of three Doctor Who specials airing three straight Saturdays on the network, the finale to David Tennant's era as the Tenth Doctor. More than 1.1 million viewers watched the program on Saturday, ranking BBC America 13th in coverage rating during the premiere among ad-supported cable nets for adults 25-54, the network said, citing Nielsen live plus same day DVR data.

Avatar, the new 3-D blockbuster from director James Cameron, represents a quantum leap in movie-making technology. The truly impressive part of the production was the real-world technology that powered the stunning special effects. How did they do it? For over a decade, James Cameron has been fascinated with the prospect of using 3D in his movies. His first aspiration for the technology was to create a movie about Mars exploration that would symbolize NASA’s Mars ambitions. At the time, stereoscopic 3D camera systems were the size of refrigerators and could weigh close to 500 pounds. Cameron issued a challenge to one of his partners, Vince Pace: Develop a quiet, lightweight 3D camera for a movie I want to do. That was seven years ago, and the result is stunning – the new Fusion Camera System. Considered the most advanced camera system ever designed, it was used to “run the stitches” between live action scenes and computer generated scenes.