Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

Mars Needs Moms!

3/10/10 – Variety reported that Disney’s live-action 3D film Mars Needs Moms, starring Seth Green and Joan Cusack, will be released Mar. 11, 2011.  The film tells the story of a young boy who gains a deeper appreciation for his mom after Martians kidnap her to the Red Planet.  Directed by Simon Wells, the film is the Mouse House's latest addition to the upcoming barrage of 3D titles.

6/25/09 – SCI FI Wire reported that Dan Fogler is preparing for his upcoming film, Mars Needs Moms!  "As we speak I'm wearing a ridiculous outfit with sensors all over it, with dots all over my face," Fogler said. "It's like black-box theater, just very technical theater, which I love. Once you get past the crazy outfits and crazy helmet and the fact you have to use your imagination 90 percent of the time, it's really a joy. It's very physical. It's action-packed, and I'm doing a lot of harness work, a lot of stuff I wouldn't normally do in your regular comedy."  The motion-capture animated film is based on the 2007 book by Berkeley Breathed. Simon Wells adapted the screenplay and directs, while Robert Zemeckis is producer.  "The story is that Mars doesn't know how to control their children," Fogler said. "Their children are like maniacs, animals. So they go to Earth to find the best disciplinarians, the best mothers. They abduct a mother, bring her to Mars, extract her brain and put it into robots, and the robots raise the children. Well, I play Gribble, and my mother was taken when I was 10, which was about 20 years ago. I stowed away on the ship, and now I'm a castaway on Mars, a 30-year-old with the mentality of a 10-year-old."  Seth Green plays Milo, the new kid on the block. It's not long before Gribble and Milo make each other's acquaintance. "Milo is 12," Fogler said. "His mother gets abducted, and he ends up on Mars. And I have to help him save his mother."  Mars Needs Moms! also stars Joan Cusack, Elisabeth Harnois and Mindy Sterling. The film will be released in 2010.

2/27/09 - Seth Green has been chosen to star in the Walt Disney Pictures film adaptation of the Berkeley Breathed children's novel Mars Needs Moms, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Green will be playing Milo, a boy who stows away on a spaceship to rescue his mother after she is kidnapped by aliens. Joan Cusack will portray Milo's mom, while Mindy Sterling will play the alien leader of Mars.  Mars Needs Moms, produced by Disney and Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers, will be directed by Simon Wells.

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