The Master, which also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, is Phoenix's first feature film since I'm Still Here, Casey Affleck's spoof 2010 documentary which chronicled Phoenix's supposed retirement from acting to launch a career as a rapper.
Phoenix spent its first full day in the Martian arctic plains checking its instruments in preparation for an ambitious digging mission to study whether the site could have once been habitable.
Though increased property sales in Phoenix during the first half of 2009 suggest investors are returning, for example, the housing market hasn't bottomed out yet and most likely won't until the employment picture improves.