Beyond the Music: Jim Morrison’s Untold Dream to Bring The Lords and The New Creatures to the Big Screen

Jim Morrison is best remembered as the charismatic, unpredictable lead singer of The Doors — a rock icon whose deep voice, provocative lyrics, and on-stage mystique made him a symbol of rebellion in the 1960s. However, behind the smoky haze of concerts and counterculture fame lay a quieter, more introspective dream: Jim Morrison didn’t just want to sing his poetry — he wanted to *film* it.

Few fans realize that Morrison had serious ambitions to become a filmmaker, and at the heart of this forgotten dream were two of his lesser-known works: *The Lords* and *The New Creatures*. These poetry collections, published privately and circulated among close friends and fans, reveal Morrison’s deep fascination with visual storytelling. To Morrison, they were not simply poems; they were cinematic visions waiting to be translated to the screen.

Morrison’s concept wasn’t to adapt his books in a traditional narrative form, but rather to use them as blueprints for an avant-garde, experimental film. Drawing inspiration from surrealist artists and French New Wave directors like Jean Cocteau, Federico Fellini, and Jean-Luc Godard, Morrison envisioned a movie experience that defied convention. He wanted to move away from linear storytelling and instead create something atmospheric, symbolic, and deeply philosophical — a visual poem that would challenge the viewer’s perceptions of reality and art.

In interviews and letters, Morrison expressed dissatisfaction with being seen merely as a rock star. He felt imprisoned by the image the media had created of him — the “Lizard King,” the wild frontman. Deep down, he saw himself primarily as a poet and artist. Film, for him, represented a purer, more enduring form of expression — one that could combine his love for words, imagery, and meaning.

Though he had studied film at UCLA and even directed short projects before forming The Doors, Morrison’s success in music overshadowed his cinematic pursuits. Still, he never abandoned the idea entirely. He often carried a camera and notebook, jotting down ideas, capturing footage, and thinking in scenes rather than songs. There are reports that he began storyboarding scenes and writing treatments for the film version of *The Lords and The New Creatures* shortly before his death in Paris in 1971.

Sadly, Morrison’s life ended at just 27 years old — leaving his cinematic dreams unrealized. But through his poetry and fragments of notes, we catch a glimpse of what could have been: a film that wasn’t just meant to entertain, but to awaken.

In the end, Jim Morrison wasn’t just chasing stardom — he was chasing vision. And though *The Lords and The New Creatures* never lit up the silver screen, they remain a testament to an artist who always saw beyond the music.

Jim Morrison