Post by darkstar3 on Aug 4, 2011 14:12:02 GMT
I find the year 1987 interesting as it tells quite a different story than the "Los Angeles Times' "Ray Manzarek: Serious, Mellow Pace Is What Lights His Fire Now." Dance On Fire" was released this year. A video montage directed by Ray Manarek which featured scenes from "A Feast Of Friends" and out takes from several years of film footage shot during the Doors hey-day.
It had been Manzarek's quest a few years before to have a Morrison/Doors film made." The idea had been in serious consideration since 1982 when Sasha Harari bought the rights to NOHGOA for $50,000.
A 1990 LA Times explained the discontent regarding NOHGOA: "Trash city," is how Mrs. Courson described "No One Here Gets Out Alive. Are you aware that for years, they tried to bypass the estate to get a movie made of that book?" After the publication of "No One Here Gets Out Alive," Manzarek and Sugerman met with interested film makers-sometimes without the blessing, or even the knowledge, of Densmore and Krieger. Today, both Manzarek and Sugerman insist that what they were trying to do was drum up interest in a Morrison project. "The book was just a jumping off point," explained Manzarek.'
Released in 1980, No One Here Gets Out Alive was a tell-all book, leaning heavily on the myths. Sold as a biography, there was little humor within the pages and looking back over the course of the past 30 years since the book went to print there have been a lot of critics that claim the stories within have been extremely exaggerated to the point where members of the Doors camp split. As we all know, sex and sensationalism sells and in this department this publication exceeded expectations.
John Densmore: "It was kind of like a People magazine listing of binges. But all the binges were true. But there were things missing. Where was the guy who wrote, `Before I slip into unconsciousness/I'd like to have another kiss/another flashing chance at bliss' (the opening lines to `The Crystal Ship')? That guy didn't make it
into the book."
Sasha Harari had talked with producer Allan Carr and director William Friedkin at Warners. In addition other filmmakers made inquires about a Morrison/Doors movie that included Jonathan Taplin, Jerry Weintraub, Aaron Russo, Irving Azoff, Michael Mann, Francis Coppola and Martin Scorsese.
Danny Sugerman: "I begged Sasha not to bring Allan Carr in. I just didn't think that the man who had produced 'Grease' and 'Can't Stop the Music' could be sensitive to the story of the Doors." Sugerman did not think Travolta would make a good Morrison. Sugerman did however introduce him to The Doors and he and Manzarek squired Travolta around town, taking him places where the group hung out but Travolta’s involvement failed to materialized into any concrete plans.
Robby Krieger: “John was a nice guy and all that. But he was too nice. He didn't have Jim's dangerous edge.”
In lieu of Travoltas’ inability to secure the role as Morrison, Brian DePalma fashioned an idea of directing Travolta in a fictional project similar to “The Rose.”
In addition to the efforts of Manzarek & Sugerman’s interest in getting a Morrison/Doors movie made there were other voices who were in the stages of launching their own productions. Most notably was Jim Morrison’s sister, Anne and her then husband Alan Graham who had the idea of producing a rock opera, ‘in which seven actors would play various aspects of the Morrison persona. The rock opera actually happened at Gazzarri’s on the Sunset Strip, where the Doors had played 16 years earlier. Robby Krieger still laughs about the night that the two Morrisons’ showed up at a club where he was playing and got into a fight with each other.’ They also planned a ’90-minute TV documentary.
The Grahams have since divorced and with exception of the one stage production at Gazzarri’s, the TV documentary at this point in time was never fully realized.
As for Harari’s involvement in a Morrison/Doors project he eventually dropped the option on “NOHGOA” but he did not loose interest and in 1985 he succeed in acquiring the rights of the three Doors.
Tony Krantz and Tony Ludwig of Creative Artists Agency contacted rock promoter Bill Graham to come on board to become the negotiator to the Morrison and Courson families. During the negotiations, one condition was adamant, the Morrison and the Courson families requested that the movie ‘would not be an adaptation of “No One Here Gets Out Alive. The condition was satisfied and in 1985, Bill Graham was successful, securing all of the necessary dramatic rights from the Estate.
Noteworthy is the fact that following the security of the Estates rights the filmmakers bought NOHGOA’s research materials from Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman. In addition, ‘Danny Sugerman came on board the film, as a consultant.
At this point in time, Harari called Oliver Stones’ agent and inquired if Stone would be interested in scripting? A meeting was set up between Harari and Stone but Stone got the green light to make Platoon and headed for the Philippines.
Considering Harari’s unhappiness with previously written scripts, Oliver Stone became Harari’s first choice as the man for developing a new screenplay. Since Oliver Stone had not been heard from due to a conflicting schedule in the filming of Platoon, there were two drafted scripts submitted for the project for consideration, one by Ralph Thomas and one by J. Randall Johnson.
In September of 1987 Imagine officially acquired The Doors project from Columbia. Imagine Chairman Brian Grazer and Ron Howard began seeking prospective directors including Oliver Stone. Recalled Stone: "But they passed me up. I think it was because I liked a draft of the screenplay that the Doors hated."
Imagine Productions set up a $2 million dollar development package for the project with assistance from Bill Graham who shared production credit on the film.
When the development costs of the Doors project began to exceed $2 million, Imagine consulted with Mario Kassar & Andrew Vajna of Carolco Pictures who raised an additional $3.8 million. Vajna had a director in mind to take over the project. Oliver Stone agreed to come on board the Doors project at the completion of his next film, “Evita.” Meryl Streep was cast in the role of Eva Person but dropped out when the production could not meet her salary requirements. Stone immediately moved to the Doors project and completed the first draft on a script in the summer of 1989.
Stones resume during this period of time included “Born On The Fourth Of July” and Platoon”. These two films had garnered a lot of media attention as well as praise in the awards show venues along with box office profits. All in all Stone at that time had a penchant for making hit movies which was a deciding factor as well.
Oliver Stone: “The script was written more as a tone poem. The concept was that the movie was all in Jim’s lyrics. I picked the songs I wanted and wrote each piece of the movie as a mood to fit that song … I tried not to put my rationalizations about motivations between us and the songs.”
Oliver Stone had been interested in the music of The Doors since April 1967 when he was in Vietnam. When he returned to the States he wrote his “first” screenplay. Titled, “Break” it was inspired by The Doors surreal imagery in their music. Stone sent a copy of the screenplay to Jim Morrison, hoping he would star in the film. Whether or not Morrison received the screenplay is unknown as there is no recorded evidence.
In drafting The Doors screenplay, Stone referenced three previous drafts. One by Randall Johnson (Dudes), another by Ralph Thomas (Ticket To Heaven) and the final draft by Bob Dolman (Willow). In addition, Stone relied on stacks of transcripts. The budget at for the film swelled to approximately $20 million at this stage.
Previously, Stone had written screenplays for several hit movies including, Midnight Express,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Scarface,” “Wall Street,” and of course “Platoon” and “Born On The Fourth Of July.”
The last draft of the script is credited with Stone co-writing with J. Randall Johnson.
Executive producer Brian Grazer “"Oliver was my first choice as the director. He does what nobody else does--he takes dark, difficult subjects and turns them into hits." Grazer said, “the film is less linear and narrative than "a film made from a real rock-music point of view. Oliver has made a movie that shows the world as dangerous and erotic. It has a real feel for the period."
The project was given a green light and commenced shooting April of 1990.
On a side note, Oliver Stone became interested in another project involving Morrison. Based on the autobiographical novel “Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess”, by Danny Sugerman which was published in 1988. Sugerman wrote the first draft of the script when Stone came on board showing interest in producing the film. Although a script was re-written and many articles of the time suggested the project was moving along from the development stage into production the film stalled out and never materialized.
The task of finding a male lead to fill Morrison’s shoes for The Doors project had begun. As mentioned John Travolta was approached for the role and sources have it that Timothy Hutton, Charlie Sheen, Jason Patric, Bono, Kevin Costner, and Michael Hutchenece were all rumored to be associated with a Doors project over the years.
Of course the lead role was given to Val Kilmer who went to considerable personal expense by making a MTV style video of himself in the Morrison role.
The final say on Kilmer’s acceptance would come from the Doors themselves. Stone invited all three down to Ditigal Magnetics Studio in Los Angeles to join Paul Rothchild who played Kilmer’s recording of “The Wasp.” When one of the band members asked, “Are we listening to Val or Jim?” Kilmer got the part.
A few weeks later, Rothchild invited Krieger and Densmroe to an L.A. post production studio called, “The Bunker.” After a screening of “The End” Krieger told Rothchild, “I’m really glad we finally got “The End.” We never got a recording of that live with Jim. Now we’ve got it.”
Val Kilmer: ''I told Oliver, 'If your intention is to glorify his lifestyle, I've got no interest.' Which was pretty pretentious for me to say. But Morrison was an alcoholic, and that's no way to live.'' (1989)
One article suggested that Stone had toned down the production from his previous idea by scrapping the lurid sex scenes showing the Morrison character with different groupies. There have also been claims that Stone was ‘trying to keep a balance-between man and myth, '60s freedom and '90s caution.
Oliver Stone: "This won't be easy. After all, we're sailing in the wind of the Just Say No era, which is pretty simplistic. And there's the matter of Jim. Everybody will disagree on what he was."
Friends and confidant’s of Morrison’s surrounded the production. In being on set their presence was that of a dual role one of reassurance because of their insight that they offered and intimidating because of their personal judgments. Some withheld cooperation most notably, Ray Manzarek who for years had tried unsuccessfully to make his own Doors movie.
Val Kilmer (speaking of Ray Manarek): “We never met. I tried to reach him, but it was just something that wasn’t meant to be.”
Ray Manzarek: ''Let me just say this about the film. There are two Doors that had absolutely nothing to do with the Doors film: Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek. I'm basically going to ignore the thing.
Val Kilmer: “One of the band members got in a fight with Oliver. Ray (Manzarek) had his version of the story and it didn’t match what Oliver had been researching and fell out of support for the project.”
Ray: It didn’t matter. I’d be there saying “yes, no, yes, no” to the best of my abilities with a director who might then at one point say, “Get out of here. Get off the set. Don’t tell me how to direct.” That’s what Oliver Stone said to me. He said, “Don’t tell me how to direct.”
Ray: Yeah. I said “I’m not telling you how to direct. I’m telling you how to do the story.” He said, “I’ve got three Academy Awards.” I said, “I’ve got eight gold records. Who cares man? I know how The Doors movie should go and you don’t know how The Doors movie should go. You’re going to mess it up. The script of yours is ridiculous.” Then the movie came out to be ridiculous which is exactly what I told him would happen. He played such mental games. I said, “Listen, I’ve taken LSD, you don’t want to play mind games with me. I took LSD and I’ve broken through to the other side. I can see right through mind games. Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s have some fun.” Except for him it was absolutely serious. One male is going to dominate the psyche of another male. That’s what goes on in Hollywood. I thought we were artists.
'Ray Manzarek speaks of "the magical symbiosis" and "synchronicity"
of the Doors, and would like to see a movie that focuses on the group, as
opposed to their lead singer. Stone, however, clearly sees this as a
Morrison movie-in which the other three Doors are supporting players. Thus,
there have been difficulties between the two men. Or as Manzarek put it,
they aren't on speaking terms, they're on "shouting terms."
Shrugged Manzarek, "Oliver's passionate and I'm passionate. He has a
vision, and I have a vision."
’Ray Manzarek: "He (Oliver Stone) over-sensationalized. I don't think he knew what psychedelia was all about. LSD opens the doors of perception, and once you step through, you never want to go back, because you realize you've been in a closed state of mind. What a joyous state! We made music from that perception. Stone missed that entirely."
Manzarek: “I see the picture as a joyous celebration of youth and
life. It's got a great upward arc and then, boom, the lead singer dies in
Paris. And it becomes an American tragedy-showing not just what happened to
the Doors, but what happened to America. I want the movie to be spiritual, transcendental, psychological, psychedelic and kick-ass rock 'n' roll. That's all I ask for.”
Robby Krieger, "I think Ray always believed that he could keep control over
it, enough to make it his idea of the movie. And that's why he wanted to do
it so bad. I always tried to tell him, `Hey, you know, once it gets too big
in Hollywood and everything, we're going to lose control.'
Val Kilmer: ''Ultimately,the movie isn't about the '60s. It isn't about the Doors. It isn't even about Jim Morrison. It's about fame. That's the line that Oliver chose to hang it on. In my feeble way, I've been trying not to suffer those pains.''
Val Kilmer: "I wanted to sing the songs live because the band was kind of the first punk band in a way. They had real legitimate ideas about the theater and entertainment — a sort of classical definition of entertainment that could be cathartic — and grand ideas that he had gotten out of ideas and books and life that was going on at the time. He believed these things could happen in the theater that were great and life-changing.
"He obviously had that, because I met — I remember specifically — eight girls who had written biographies, and three of them only knew him for a couple of days. So he was doing something really well just going into people's heads in such a vital way."
"But the guitarist, Robby (Krieger), was there every single day, I remember him. And that was great."
Oliver Stone did cram years worth of events into a two hour space and he morf’d certain characters into one not mention the out and out fabrication of events that the screen play touts. Considering Stone wasn’t here in the States during the Doors rein where did he get the stories that made up his screenplay?
In retrospect you have Oliver Stone and the script that he co-wrote based almost entirely on NOHGOA as the primary resource and then you have Ray Manzarek who for years tried to get his own Doors movie made based on the book NOHGOA. The two men have two different interpretations of the same book. Stone shows a downward spiral of a rock star who abused his body and has been wrung out by the trappings of a lifestyle that flipped out of control. Manzarek has a different prospective which includes a fun loving, humorous, spiritual acid trip, hippy dippy psychedelic experience for the screen.
Taking into consideration Manzarek’s description of his vision of a film, as described in his interviews or the independent films he has written and produced leaves the reader/viewer of his unrealized Doors project somewhat puzzled. It has been referenced over the years by certain people who knew Danny Sugerman, that Manzarek had ghost writer status over the final draft of NOHGOA. The book over the years has been criticized heavily in the press for magnifying the Morrison/Doors myth.
A counterpoint would be that Oliver Stones’ movie reconstituted that magnification of the myth. If both the movie and the NOHGOA book are accused of the same charge what is the difference between the book and the movie?
I suppose a line from John Ford’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” is in order at this point, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
In the last twenty years since “The Doors” movie was released we have witnessed Ray Manzarek’s criticism of this film in the press and the inclusion of continued reprimand sandwiched into his solo performances. It is safe to say, Doors fans have been privy to the outline of Manzarek’s “Doors” movie for years.
Most recently, following the release of The Doors documentary, “When Your Strange” Manzarek says he has plans for another Doors movie to be released in five years that will be the definitive “true” Doors story.
In conclusion it may be worthy of Ray Manzarek at this point in time to contact James Cameron. As we know, James Cameron is a self admitted Doors fan and in addition was given an oscar nomination this past year for his 3-D film, “Avatar.” Taking into consideration Manzareks’ continuing advocacy of the use of the mind altering drug, LSD which is illegal, perhaps a happy medium could be incurred in a union of Manzarek’s “true Doors story” script and the 3-D technical abilities of a Cameron film production.
Sources/Reference: The Distracted Globe Film Reviews & Commentary Jun 29 2008, The Doors 1991 Star Pulse/WENN, Ray Manzarek Claims Oliver Stone Missed The Mark On 1991 Doors Movie Mar 16 2007, Ray Manzarek "Snake Moon Interview" Sep 9 2006, FILM COMMENT (LA Times) - 'The Doors' and the '60s--A Fantasy Mar 10 1991, Val Kilmer revisits 'The Doors' Shreveport Times News Jun 12 2008, Jim Morrison: Back to the Sixties, Darkly (LA Times) Jan 7 1990, RIDER ON THE STORM - With 'The Doors,' Director Oliver Stone Exhumes the '60s in All Their Lurid Excess (LA Times Magazine) Feb 24 1991, & Becoming Jim Morrison -- Behind the scenes of Oliver Stone's ''The Doors'' (Entertainment Weekly Cover Story) Mar 1 1991.
END.
'THE DOORS" (FILM) Press Release
Los Angeles, California…January 4 1990
Academy Award Winner Oliver Stone and the members of the rock group, THE DOORS, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore, announced today that a movie entitled “THE DOORS”, story of the late Jim Morrison, poet, lyricist and singer for THE DOORS will begin filming this spring for Carolco Pictures.
“THE DOORS” will be directed by Oliver Stone from his original screenplay. The film will be produced by Sasha Harari, Bill Graham and A. Kitman Ho. The executive producers are Mario T. Kassar, Nicolas Clainos and Brian Grazer. The rights to the music were granted by The Doors Music Co., with the cooperation of Elektra Records. THE DOORS are represented by their long-term associate, Danny Sugerman.
“After all these years we are happy that a film is being made and believe that Oliver Stone is the right man for the job,” said Danny Sugerman, spokesman for THE DOORS.
“THE DOORS” will star Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison and Meg Ryan as Pamela Morrison. Kyle McLachlan will portray Ray Manzarek, Kevin Dillon will play John Densmore and Frank Whaley portrays Robby Krieger.
Billy Idol and Kathleen Quinlan also star as close friends of Morrison’s. Mimi Rodgers will make a cameo appearance.
Certificate: tbc Running Time: tbc
It had been Manzarek's quest a few years before to have a Morrison/Doors film made." The idea had been in serious consideration since 1982 when Sasha Harari bought the rights to NOHGOA for $50,000.
A 1990 LA Times explained the discontent regarding NOHGOA: "Trash city," is how Mrs. Courson described "No One Here Gets Out Alive. Are you aware that for years, they tried to bypass the estate to get a movie made of that book?" After the publication of "No One Here Gets Out Alive," Manzarek and Sugerman met with interested film makers-sometimes without the blessing, or even the knowledge, of Densmore and Krieger. Today, both Manzarek and Sugerman insist that what they were trying to do was drum up interest in a Morrison project. "The book was just a jumping off point," explained Manzarek.'
Released in 1980, No One Here Gets Out Alive was a tell-all book, leaning heavily on the myths. Sold as a biography, there was little humor within the pages and looking back over the course of the past 30 years since the book went to print there have been a lot of critics that claim the stories within have been extremely exaggerated to the point where members of the Doors camp split. As we all know, sex and sensationalism sells and in this department this publication exceeded expectations.
John Densmore: "It was kind of like a People magazine listing of binges. But all the binges were true. But there were things missing. Where was the guy who wrote, `Before I slip into unconsciousness/I'd like to have another kiss/another flashing chance at bliss' (the opening lines to `The Crystal Ship')? That guy didn't make it
into the book."
Sasha Harari had talked with producer Allan Carr and director William Friedkin at Warners. In addition other filmmakers made inquires about a Morrison/Doors movie that included Jonathan Taplin, Jerry Weintraub, Aaron Russo, Irving Azoff, Michael Mann, Francis Coppola and Martin Scorsese.
Danny Sugerman: "I begged Sasha not to bring Allan Carr in. I just didn't think that the man who had produced 'Grease' and 'Can't Stop the Music' could be sensitive to the story of the Doors." Sugerman did not think Travolta would make a good Morrison. Sugerman did however introduce him to The Doors and he and Manzarek squired Travolta around town, taking him places where the group hung out but Travolta’s involvement failed to materialized into any concrete plans.
Robby Krieger: “John was a nice guy and all that. But he was too nice. He didn't have Jim's dangerous edge.”
In lieu of Travoltas’ inability to secure the role as Morrison, Brian DePalma fashioned an idea of directing Travolta in a fictional project similar to “The Rose.”
In addition to the efforts of Manzarek & Sugerman’s interest in getting a Morrison/Doors movie made there were other voices who were in the stages of launching their own productions. Most notably was Jim Morrison’s sister, Anne and her then husband Alan Graham who had the idea of producing a rock opera, ‘in which seven actors would play various aspects of the Morrison persona. The rock opera actually happened at Gazzarri’s on the Sunset Strip, where the Doors had played 16 years earlier. Robby Krieger still laughs about the night that the two Morrisons’ showed up at a club where he was playing and got into a fight with each other.’ They also planned a ’90-minute TV documentary.
The Grahams have since divorced and with exception of the one stage production at Gazzarri’s, the TV documentary at this point in time was never fully realized.
As for Harari’s involvement in a Morrison/Doors project he eventually dropped the option on “NOHGOA” but he did not loose interest and in 1985 he succeed in acquiring the rights of the three Doors.
Tony Krantz and Tony Ludwig of Creative Artists Agency contacted rock promoter Bill Graham to come on board to become the negotiator to the Morrison and Courson families. During the negotiations, one condition was adamant, the Morrison and the Courson families requested that the movie ‘would not be an adaptation of “No One Here Gets Out Alive. The condition was satisfied and in 1985, Bill Graham was successful, securing all of the necessary dramatic rights from the Estate.
Noteworthy is the fact that following the security of the Estates rights the filmmakers bought NOHGOA’s research materials from Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman. In addition, ‘Danny Sugerman came on board the film, as a consultant.
At this point in time, Harari called Oliver Stones’ agent and inquired if Stone would be interested in scripting? A meeting was set up between Harari and Stone but Stone got the green light to make Platoon and headed for the Philippines.
Considering Harari’s unhappiness with previously written scripts, Oliver Stone became Harari’s first choice as the man for developing a new screenplay. Since Oliver Stone had not been heard from due to a conflicting schedule in the filming of Platoon, there were two drafted scripts submitted for the project for consideration, one by Ralph Thomas and one by J. Randall Johnson.
In September of 1987 Imagine officially acquired The Doors project from Columbia. Imagine Chairman Brian Grazer and Ron Howard began seeking prospective directors including Oliver Stone. Recalled Stone: "But they passed me up. I think it was because I liked a draft of the screenplay that the Doors hated."
Imagine Productions set up a $2 million dollar development package for the project with assistance from Bill Graham who shared production credit on the film.
When the development costs of the Doors project began to exceed $2 million, Imagine consulted with Mario Kassar & Andrew Vajna of Carolco Pictures who raised an additional $3.8 million. Vajna had a director in mind to take over the project. Oliver Stone agreed to come on board the Doors project at the completion of his next film, “Evita.” Meryl Streep was cast in the role of Eva Person but dropped out when the production could not meet her salary requirements. Stone immediately moved to the Doors project and completed the first draft on a script in the summer of 1989.
Stones resume during this period of time included “Born On The Fourth Of July” and Platoon”. These two films had garnered a lot of media attention as well as praise in the awards show venues along with box office profits. All in all Stone at that time had a penchant for making hit movies which was a deciding factor as well.
Oliver Stone: “The script was written more as a tone poem. The concept was that the movie was all in Jim’s lyrics. I picked the songs I wanted and wrote each piece of the movie as a mood to fit that song … I tried not to put my rationalizations about motivations between us and the songs.”
Oliver Stone had been interested in the music of The Doors since April 1967 when he was in Vietnam. When he returned to the States he wrote his “first” screenplay. Titled, “Break” it was inspired by The Doors surreal imagery in their music. Stone sent a copy of the screenplay to Jim Morrison, hoping he would star in the film. Whether or not Morrison received the screenplay is unknown as there is no recorded evidence.
In drafting The Doors screenplay, Stone referenced three previous drafts. One by Randall Johnson (Dudes), another by Ralph Thomas (Ticket To Heaven) and the final draft by Bob Dolman (Willow). In addition, Stone relied on stacks of transcripts. The budget at for the film swelled to approximately $20 million at this stage.
Previously, Stone had written screenplays for several hit movies including, Midnight Express,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Scarface,” “Wall Street,” and of course “Platoon” and “Born On The Fourth Of July.”
The last draft of the script is credited with Stone co-writing with J. Randall Johnson.
Executive producer Brian Grazer “"Oliver was my first choice as the director. He does what nobody else does--he takes dark, difficult subjects and turns them into hits." Grazer said, “the film is less linear and narrative than "a film made from a real rock-music point of view. Oliver has made a movie that shows the world as dangerous and erotic. It has a real feel for the period."
The project was given a green light and commenced shooting April of 1990.
On a side note, Oliver Stone became interested in another project involving Morrison. Based on the autobiographical novel “Wonderland Avenue: Tales of Glamour and Excess”, by Danny Sugerman which was published in 1988. Sugerman wrote the first draft of the script when Stone came on board showing interest in producing the film. Although a script was re-written and many articles of the time suggested the project was moving along from the development stage into production the film stalled out and never materialized.
The task of finding a male lead to fill Morrison’s shoes for The Doors project had begun. As mentioned John Travolta was approached for the role and sources have it that Timothy Hutton, Charlie Sheen, Jason Patric, Bono, Kevin Costner, and Michael Hutchenece were all rumored to be associated with a Doors project over the years.
Of course the lead role was given to Val Kilmer who went to considerable personal expense by making a MTV style video of himself in the Morrison role.
The final say on Kilmer’s acceptance would come from the Doors themselves. Stone invited all three down to Ditigal Magnetics Studio in Los Angeles to join Paul Rothchild who played Kilmer’s recording of “The Wasp.” When one of the band members asked, “Are we listening to Val or Jim?” Kilmer got the part.
A few weeks later, Rothchild invited Krieger and Densmroe to an L.A. post production studio called, “The Bunker.” After a screening of “The End” Krieger told Rothchild, “I’m really glad we finally got “The End.” We never got a recording of that live with Jim. Now we’ve got it.”
Val Kilmer: ''I told Oliver, 'If your intention is to glorify his lifestyle, I've got no interest.' Which was pretty pretentious for me to say. But Morrison was an alcoholic, and that's no way to live.'' (1989)
One article suggested that Stone had toned down the production from his previous idea by scrapping the lurid sex scenes showing the Morrison character with different groupies. There have also been claims that Stone was ‘trying to keep a balance-between man and myth, '60s freedom and '90s caution.
Oliver Stone: "This won't be easy. After all, we're sailing in the wind of the Just Say No era, which is pretty simplistic. And there's the matter of Jim. Everybody will disagree on what he was."
Friends and confidant’s of Morrison’s surrounded the production. In being on set their presence was that of a dual role one of reassurance because of their insight that they offered and intimidating because of their personal judgments. Some withheld cooperation most notably, Ray Manzarek who for years had tried unsuccessfully to make his own Doors movie.
Val Kilmer (speaking of Ray Manarek): “We never met. I tried to reach him, but it was just something that wasn’t meant to be.”
Ray Manzarek: ''Let me just say this about the film. There are two Doors that had absolutely nothing to do with the Doors film: Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek. I'm basically going to ignore the thing.
Val Kilmer: “One of the band members got in a fight with Oliver. Ray (Manzarek) had his version of the story and it didn’t match what Oliver had been researching and fell out of support for the project.”
Ray: It didn’t matter. I’d be there saying “yes, no, yes, no” to the best of my abilities with a director who might then at one point say, “Get out of here. Get off the set. Don’t tell me how to direct.” That’s what Oliver Stone said to me. He said, “Don’t tell me how to direct.”
Ray: Yeah. I said “I’m not telling you how to direct. I’m telling you how to do the story.” He said, “I’ve got three Academy Awards.” I said, “I’ve got eight gold records. Who cares man? I know how The Doors movie should go and you don’t know how The Doors movie should go. You’re going to mess it up. The script of yours is ridiculous.” Then the movie came out to be ridiculous which is exactly what I told him would happen. He played such mental games. I said, “Listen, I’ve taken LSD, you don’t want to play mind games with me. I took LSD and I’ve broken through to the other side. I can see right through mind games. Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s have some fun.” Except for him it was absolutely serious. One male is going to dominate the psyche of another male. That’s what goes on in Hollywood. I thought we were artists.
'Ray Manzarek speaks of "the magical symbiosis" and "synchronicity"
of the Doors, and would like to see a movie that focuses on the group, as
opposed to their lead singer. Stone, however, clearly sees this as a
Morrison movie-in which the other three Doors are supporting players. Thus,
there have been difficulties between the two men. Or as Manzarek put it,
they aren't on speaking terms, they're on "shouting terms."
Shrugged Manzarek, "Oliver's passionate and I'm passionate. He has a
vision, and I have a vision."
’Ray Manzarek: "He (Oliver Stone) over-sensationalized. I don't think he knew what psychedelia was all about. LSD opens the doors of perception, and once you step through, you never want to go back, because you realize you've been in a closed state of mind. What a joyous state! We made music from that perception. Stone missed that entirely."
Manzarek: “I see the picture as a joyous celebration of youth and
life. It's got a great upward arc and then, boom, the lead singer dies in
Paris. And it becomes an American tragedy-showing not just what happened to
the Doors, but what happened to America. I want the movie to be spiritual, transcendental, psychological, psychedelic and kick-ass rock 'n' roll. That's all I ask for.”
Robby Krieger, "I think Ray always believed that he could keep control over
it, enough to make it his idea of the movie. And that's why he wanted to do
it so bad. I always tried to tell him, `Hey, you know, once it gets too big
in Hollywood and everything, we're going to lose control.'
Val Kilmer: ''Ultimately,the movie isn't about the '60s. It isn't about the Doors. It isn't even about Jim Morrison. It's about fame. That's the line that Oliver chose to hang it on. In my feeble way, I've been trying not to suffer those pains.''
Val Kilmer: "I wanted to sing the songs live because the band was kind of the first punk band in a way. They had real legitimate ideas about the theater and entertainment — a sort of classical definition of entertainment that could be cathartic — and grand ideas that he had gotten out of ideas and books and life that was going on at the time. He believed these things could happen in the theater that were great and life-changing.
"He obviously had that, because I met — I remember specifically — eight girls who had written biographies, and three of them only knew him for a couple of days. So he was doing something really well just going into people's heads in such a vital way."
"But the guitarist, Robby (Krieger), was there every single day, I remember him. And that was great."
Oliver Stone did cram years worth of events into a two hour space and he morf’d certain characters into one not mention the out and out fabrication of events that the screen play touts. Considering Stone wasn’t here in the States during the Doors rein where did he get the stories that made up his screenplay?
In retrospect you have Oliver Stone and the script that he co-wrote based almost entirely on NOHGOA as the primary resource and then you have Ray Manzarek who for years tried to get his own Doors movie made based on the book NOHGOA. The two men have two different interpretations of the same book. Stone shows a downward spiral of a rock star who abused his body and has been wrung out by the trappings of a lifestyle that flipped out of control. Manzarek has a different prospective which includes a fun loving, humorous, spiritual acid trip, hippy dippy psychedelic experience for the screen.
Taking into consideration Manzarek’s description of his vision of a film, as described in his interviews or the independent films he has written and produced leaves the reader/viewer of his unrealized Doors project somewhat puzzled. It has been referenced over the years by certain people who knew Danny Sugerman, that Manzarek had ghost writer status over the final draft of NOHGOA. The book over the years has been criticized heavily in the press for magnifying the Morrison/Doors myth.
A counterpoint would be that Oliver Stones’ movie reconstituted that magnification of the myth. If both the movie and the NOHGOA book are accused of the same charge what is the difference between the book and the movie?
I suppose a line from John Ford’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” is in order at this point, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
In the last twenty years since “The Doors” movie was released we have witnessed Ray Manzarek’s criticism of this film in the press and the inclusion of continued reprimand sandwiched into his solo performances. It is safe to say, Doors fans have been privy to the outline of Manzarek’s “Doors” movie for years.
Most recently, following the release of The Doors documentary, “When Your Strange” Manzarek says he has plans for another Doors movie to be released in five years that will be the definitive “true” Doors story.
In conclusion it may be worthy of Ray Manzarek at this point in time to contact James Cameron. As we know, James Cameron is a self admitted Doors fan and in addition was given an oscar nomination this past year for his 3-D film, “Avatar.” Taking into consideration Manzareks’ continuing advocacy of the use of the mind altering drug, LSD which is illegal, perhaps a happy medium could be incurred in a union of Manzarek’s “true Doors story” script and the 3-D technical abilities of a Cameron film production.
Sources/Reference: The Distracted Globe Film Reviews & Commentary Jun 29 2008, The Doors 1991 Star Pulse/WENN, Ray Manzarek Claims Oliver Stone Missed The Mark On 1991 Doors Movie Mar 16 2007, Ray Manzarek "Snake Moon Interview" Sep 9 2006, FILM COMMENT (LA Times) - 'The Doors' and the '60s--A Fantasy Mar 10 1991, Val Kilmer revisits 'The Doors' Shreveport Times News Jun 12 2008, Jim Morrison: Back to the Sixties, Darkly (LA Times) Jan 7 1990, RIDER ON THE STORM - With 'The Doors,' Director Oliver Stone Exhumes the '60s in All Their Lurid Excess (LA Times Magazine) Feb 24 1991, & Becoming Jim Morrison -- Behind the scenes of Oliver Stone's ''The Doors'' (Entertainment Weekly Cover Story) Mar 1 1991.
END.
'THE DOORS" (FILM) Press Release
Los Angeles, California…January 4 1990
Academy Award Winner Oliver Stone and the members of the rock group, THE DOORS, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore, announced today that a movie entitled “THE DOORS”, story of the late Jim Morrison, poet, lyricist and singer for THE DOORS will begin filming this spring for Carolco Pictures.
“THE DOORS” will be directed by Oliver Stone from his original screenplay. The film will be produced by Sasha Harari, Bill Graham and A. Kitman Ho. The executive producers are Mario T. Kassar, Nicolas Clainos and Brian Grazer. The rights to the music were granted by The Doors Music Co., with the cooperation of Elektra Records. THE DOORS are represented by their long-term associate, Danny Sugerman.
“After all these years we are happy that a film is being made and believe that Oliver Stone is the right man for the job,” said Danny Sugerman, spokesman for THE DOORS.
“THE DOORS” will star Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison and Meg Ryan as Pamela Morrison. Kyle McLachlan will portray Ray Manzarek, Kevin Dillon will play John Densmore and Frank Whaley portrays Robby Krieger.
Billy Idol and Kathleen Quinlan also star as close friends of Morrison’s. Mimi Rodgers will make a cameo appearance.
Certificate: tbc Running Time: tbc
have a happy hol...see you in 3 weeks...