Major Matt Mason
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Major Matt Mason was an
Toyline description
Mason's crew (The "Men in Space")
The toy line included four astronaut action figure characters sharing a common body molded of a rubber-like material called "Plastizol" (which was also used in the Mattel "Thing Maker" toy line and "Mister Twister" line of fishing bait). The body was molded over a wire armature, with a separately attached head and a removable space helmet based on early
Aliens
The primary alien of the sci-fi period, Captain Lazer, was a giant who towered over the astronauts. The character was originally depicted as a mysterious and possibly hostile entity, but later appeared to be the astronauts' ally against other, more hostile extraterrestrials. The figure had glowing red eyes, a glowing breastplate, and a
Callisto was a Jovian with a transparent green head, the same size as the astronauts, while Scorpio was a battery-powered, purple-and pink-colored, insect-like alien with a glowing head. Another insect-like alien called Or, who would have been packaged with an "Orbitor" flying vehicle, did not make it beyond the prototype stage.
Accessories
Also in the toy-line were a three-story "
There was also a
Mattel dropped the line in the mid 1970s as interest in the space program declined. The series is still fondly remembered,[citation needed] and collectors may pay top dollar for figures and accessories in mint condition.[citation needed] A mint-condition figure of the Major has reportedly[who?] accompanied several US Space Shuttle flights as an "unofficial crewman", and it has been confirmed[who?] that the figure did fly on John Glenn's Shuttle flight in 1998.[citation needed]
In popular culture
In the
In the first few moments of the motion picture The Wedding Planner, a Major Matt Mason action figure is seen dangling on his flight backpack delivering a toy wedding cake to Barbie and Ken dolls.
On Dark Shadows, the popular gothic soap opera of the late 1960s and early 1970s, David Collins had the Space Station in his room at Collinwood.
In the British show,
Major Matt Mason USA is the performing name of Matt Roth, a New York City-based musician and record producer, who is active in the Anti-folk and DIY music scene of New York's East Village.
In Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth, Warren Straub is a 19-year-old from the Upper West Side who reminisces of playing with the Matt Mason line from Mattel as a kid.
Author
The character had a brief mention in the 1984 Garfield book Garfield: His 9 Lives in the ninth chapter "Space Cat".
Planned film
A 3D film based on the toy series was announced in 2011, with a tentative budget of $100 million and Tom Hanks set to star.[3][4] A script was in development, co-written by Hanks and Graham Yost, about Major Matt Mason, an astronaut who lives and works on the Moon.[5][6][7] The producers were trying to reach an agreement with Robert Zemeckis to direct the film.[8] On September 7, 2019, Paramount Pictures acquired the film and Akiva Goldsman producing with Hanks and writing a script based on Michael Chabon's short story about Mason.[9]
Related
- Colorforms' Outer Space Men
- Ideal's Zeroids
References
- ^ "Major Matt Mason Big Little Book". Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
- ^ "Mitch Marmel".
- ^ Goldberg, Matt (18 January 2012). "Screenwriter Graham Yost Says MAJOR MATT MASON, Starring Tom Hanks, Is a Tale of Moon Survival". Collider. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
- ^ Amy Curtis (June 14, 2011). "Toy-Inspired Major Matt Mason To Star Tom Hanks". We Got This Covered. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ Ethan Anderton (18 January 2012). "Screenwriter Graham Yost Dishes Details on 'Major Matt Mason' Film". First Showing. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ Kimberly Potts (17 January 2012). "'Justified' Creator Graham Yost: 'Were We Crazy to Kill Off Mags?'". Reuters. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ Sean (13 June 2011). "Robert Zemeckis to Direct Major Matt Mason Starring Tom Hanks". Film Junk. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ Donnelly, Matt (September 7, 2019). "Tom Hanks, Akiva Goldsman Set Live Action Mattel Adaptation 'Major Matt Mason' at Paramount (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved September 7, 2019.