An hour of magic with Jim Morrison’s friend Frank Lisciandro A very special interview / Part Two
Jim Morrison © Photo by Frank Lisciandro
© 2002 A Ship Of Fools (Frank Lisciandro, Louis Boisclair, Tony Romanazzi, Paolo Facen) This article and the accompanying photographs may not be distributed in any other context or media without the written permission of the copyright owners.
Question # 4
The Doors told us at the Anniversary in Paris 2001, that they are working on a DVD project for HWY and FEAST OF FRIENDS, but at the same time they admit to not be able to release anything without the consent of the Coursons as copyrights owner of Jim's art. We know you may are in the position to find an agreement with Pamela's parents, if there is a way to release this material, can you imagine this as a common collaboration with the Doors camp, or do you think you would do this release on a private basis in collaboration with the Coursons?
Screenshots di HWY
Answer # 4
Mr. & Mrs. Courson want to release the works that Jim created outside of the Doors the way they believe Jim would have released them, i.e. under his own name without reference to the Doors. Jim did this when he was alive, publishing 3 books of poetry and many individual poems under his own name, and recording his poems in a studio. With the help of three friends he created the film HWY and did not want the involvement of the Doors in the project. He was very determined on this point.
Uno dei primi libri di poesie di James Douglas Morrison
The Doors own no rights to the works Jim created on his own, this is indisputable. They own no right to HWY. When they posted the notice on their web site announcing the release of a DVD containing HWY & FEAST OF FRIENDS they were deceiving the fans and the public. Why would The Doors do this? They know the copyright laws and they know that the Courson‚s control Jim's artistic creations. Yet, they never spoke to the Coursons about a DVD release of HWY.
I'm working with the Coursons towards a release of HWY that will include lots of bonus material on a DVD. We hope it will be available within a year, and possibly even sooner. The Coursons do not have any intention of involving the Doors in this project. And who can fault them?
I expect that the release of HWY will be the first in a series of Jim Morrison projects that can be offered in the coming years.
Question # 5
Can you tell us if there are many video out-takes, interviews and rarities, you will be able to add to a future release of FEAST OF FRIENDS and HWY on DVD? In Ray's book "Light My Fire" he states that over 1,000 ft of footage ware shot for FEAST OF FRIENDS. We imagine this was greatly exaggerated, but what happened to the footage not used till now? We know for the near future there are plans to release HWY and FEAST OF FRIENDS on DVD. Will you include all these outtakes if they are worth the release?
Una immagine da un video ufficiale, un outtake di FEAST OF FRIENDS
I don't know exactly how many hours of footage were shot for FEAST OF FRIENDS, but there were many. This footage belongs to the remaining Doors and the Coursons in partnership. I imagine that the Coursons could use this footage in a project if they wanted. But the current plans do not call for using this footage in the HWY DVD. Again I want to stress that the Coursons want to release what Jim created as an artist in his own right, not as the dynamic leader of The Doors.
I don't know where the outtakes from FEAST OF FRIENDS are but I imagine The Doors have it all safely stored away. I do know that they used lots of the footage that was shot for FEAST OF FRIENDS in their home videos.
By the way, 1000 feet of 16mm footage is only about 30 minutes of film, so that figure quoted in the question can not be correct. There were thousands of feet of 16mm film shot for FEAST OF FRIENDS.ù
Question # 6
Frank, there are rumours about video footage from the Doors shows they performed 1969 in Mexico City. Years ago you met a woman in Paris with a friend in Mexico; she claimed her husband did film The Doors in Mexico, June 1969. Was you in contact with this cameraman since then, or did you got any confirmation about the existence of such a video footage?
Jim Morrison in Mexico, 1969
Answer # 6
Yes, I remember meeting this woman in Paris. Yes, I think I do remember talking with her husband. I don't remember the outcome of our conversation; and I honestly do not remember anyone filming the Doors performances in Mexico City, although it is possible. And even if there was someone filming the Doors during those performances, there is no reason to imagine that the footage continues to exist. If there was good footage shot during these shows, I think it would have come to light by this time. Anyone who owns such valuable footage would have wanted to sell it by now. Let's not get our hopes up too high about this or any other lost film or video of Jim in performance.
But... if there is anyone reading this who knows this Mexican cameraman or who knows how to contact him, please contact Louis on this web site and he will pass the information on to me.
Jim Morrison in Mexico, 1969 © Photo by Jerry Hopkins
END OF PART TWO