A new documentary focusing on the poetry, prose and artistry of late Doors frontman Jim Morrison is being developed as part of a partnership between JAM Inc. — the managers of Morrison’s estate — and the Gunpowder & Sky production company.
The film will incorporate the singer’s recently unearthed personal diaries, as well as rare home-movie footage. News of the documentary comes on the heels of the recent publication of The Collected Works of Jim Morrison: Poetry, Journals, Transcripts and Lyrics. The book that features most of Morrison’s previously published work, as well as a bounty of unpublished writing, including the aforementioned diaries.
“Jim was a poet and a writer and a filmmaker long before he ever thought about music,” JAM Inc. CEO Jeff Jampol tells Billboard. “All these decades everybody talked about Jim Morrison the rock star, which he certainly was. But we really felt it was time to even the playing field and talk about these other aspects of Jim, which were either not as known or celebrated or discussed.”
Jampol also notes that the producers are searching for a director “who understands the import and the depth and the gravity” of Morrison.
“You need a director who is empathetic to the human and the artist and the art, [who] understands the history and context,” Jampol maintains. He adds that he’s hoping the as-yet-untitled film will be ready for release by late 2022 or early 2023.
July 3 marked the 50th anniversary of Morrison’s death at age 27 in Paris.
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