Ray Manzarek's self-indulgent fantasy about Jim Morrison faking his death to become self-indulgent movie

By Sean O'Neal | October 10, 2011 | 5:13pm

Aux Features Film

Ever since Jim Morrison died in 1971 of an acute case of the world being too full of squares, former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek has done his best to keep Morrison’s legacy alive—by which we mean trading off The Doors name for various awful musical projects, then giving endless interviews in which he talks about how Morrison was a Dionysian wolf-shaman sailing a crystal ship across the crashing waves he created in the calm seas of societal complacency, maaaaaan. But of all the ways in which Manzarek has propped up his dead friend as a means of continuing to bask in his reflected glory, few are as exploitative as his 2002 novel The Poet In Exile, an exercise in masturbatory wish-fulfillment in which Manzarek imagines an alternate timeline where Morrison faked his own death, disappeared to the Seychelles for a few decades, then returns to rock the world again by reuniting with Manzarek—but only after apologizing profusely for how poorly he treated Manzarek, begging his forgiveness, praising the Doors albums Manzarek released without him, and thanking him for keeping the band’s legacy alive.

In short, it’s the sort of fantasy probably best kept between yourself and your therapist, but now it will get the big-screen treatment courtesy of director Tim Sullivan (best known for actual horrorshows like 2001 Maniacs) who’s developing a script with editor Gavin Hefferman and poet Liz Sullivan, who will provide pretension punch-ups. According to Variety, Manzarek is considering a cameo in the film but likely won’t play himself—smart, as that would just come off as self-indulgent and sad. On the bright side, if Morrison really did fake his death, it’s highly likely that this could end up being the thing that finally forces him to break his silence and come beat the shit out of Ray Manzarek.