The Doors Page #5

RAY:

(finishes)

-- infinite". It's great, Jim.

JIM:

So where do we start? How do we start?

Where are the girls?

RAY:

Rehearsing. You're moving off the

rooftop and in with me and Dorothy.

As they walk off, the two of them along the edge of the

Pacific. A dog jumping for a frisbee. The music of MOONLIGHT

DRIVE now riffs over the real song now.

DOORS SONG:

Let's swim to the moon

Let's climb thru the tide

Penetrate the evening

That the city sleeps to hide...

DISSOLVING TO:

INT. RAY'S HOUSE - VENICE BEACH - DAY

The first heavy strains of BREAK ON THROUGH driving over the

DISSOLVE. It sounds bad technically, but it's hot. Random

raw screams and shouting. PAM is crosslegged on the floor,

clapping to the music, number one fan.

JIM & DOORS

(live)

The day destroys the night

Night divides the day

Tried to run

Tried to hide

Break on thru to the other side

JIM straining to make it work, jumping around violent, still

not in control. Yet searching. JOHN cutting out.

JOHN:

That's really square. Let's hip it

up. Jump on your cues.

RAY:

Tighten it up. Stay with the beat

Jim. You're dragging.

JIM:

Let's try it again, come on. I'm

just getting into it.

PAM:

(on floor)

I think it's hot!!

ROBBIE:

(strumming)

I still think the lyrics are weird

man.

JOHN:

(frustrated)

I still think it sounds like the

bottom of a fishbowl man.

JIM:

(to Robbie, aggravated)

Then you write one man! We need more

songs anyway. We all gotta go back

and write.

They're drained, tired, in a large rehersal/living room 30

feet high, fronted by large glass windows looking out at the

beach at Marina. The room is filled with golden, gorgeous

setting sunlight.

PAMELA goes to the kitchen with DOROTHY, Ray's Japanese

fiancee.

ROBBIE:

I been working on something goes

like this... A minor.

(chords his guitar)

"You know that it would be untrue

You know that I would be a liar

If I was to say to you

Girl, we couldn't get much higher"

F sharp... chorus

"Come on baby, light my fire

Try to set the night on fire..."

Robbie's voice is tinny but something immediate's in the

air, all the radar out.

RAY:

Okay man there's some good changes

in there.

JIM:

Got any more lyrics?

ROBBIE:

(gives Jim a page of

lyrics)

Some. I call it "Light My Fire". I

figger if I'm gonna compete with

your stuff it's gotta be about earth,

fire or snakes.

JIM:

Don't underestimate Death.

JOHN:

Yeah but it sounds like the Byrds

man, we're not folk rock man. How

'bout trying it with a Latin beat.

ROBBIE:

I thought we could do the usual verse

chorus verse chorus and

JOHN:

We don't need a bridge.

ROBBIE:

Yeah, we could maybe improvise a

couple piano and guitar solos over

it

(kicks in second verse)

"The time to hesitate is through"

(doesn't have the

second line)

Du du duh dud dada . . .

JIM:

(spontaneous)

"No time to wallow in the mire

Try now we can only lose

And our love become a funeral pyre

Come on baby light my fire"

John drumming it, different, more Latin.

JIM:

Pretty good! Pretty neat!!

RAY:

(to John)

Nice groove, John. Chaka chaka chaka,

then bula burump bula

(to Robbie)

...you're right, it could take a

coupla long solos, that's wild man,

like Butterfield did on "East-West" --

really hip.

ROBBIE:

Y'ever heard Coltrane's "Favorite

Things"?

JOHN:

(hitting the drums)

Yeah -- maybe stretch it out and put

it in 4/4 on bass, 3/4 on guitar and

snare.

RAY:

(clicking, excited)

Why not! A minor to B minor. Jazz!

That then is jazz! But it needs a

hook. Something. Give me some space.

I need some space. Leave the room

guys. Come on! Go!

The three excluded Doors head out to the beach like obedient

schoolboys while Ray fools with his organ.

EXT. VENICE BEACH - DAY

As they go out, JIM hugging ROBBIE's head to his shoulder as

they feel the excitement of a new song.

JOHN:

(irritated at Ray)

Guy's obnoxious, man always bossin'

people around! I thought we were

equals!

JIM:

Aren't we?

(to Robbie)

That was great Robbie. Whaddaya

thinking about when you play?

ROBBIE:

Don't know. Mostly the fish in my

fish tank.

JIM:

(laughs)

Hey whadya say we take some of that

Tijuana acid and see what kinda

trouble we can get into tonight?

ROBBIE:

The chicks always go for you man. I

get the dogs.

JIM:

Then we'll start a religion or plan

a murder or go to Tijuana.

JOHN:

Whatsamatter with you man, what about

Pam, you got the morals of a coyote.

JIM:

Why you wanna sleep with her John,

just to bug me?

JOHN:

Hell NO!

JIM:

...means "hell yes". She likes you

man, she really does and y'all should.

What's a rock and roll band for man,

if you can't party all night and do

bad things?

RAY:

(yelling from the

house)

I GOT IT I GOT IT... GET IN HERE.

HURRY.

JOHN:

Sieg Heil!

As they head back.

INT. RAY'S HOUSE - DAY

TIGHT on RAY like a schoolmaster cueing them.

RAY:

Okay here it is. Bach and Rock. Count

it off John

JOHN:

(clicking)

1... 2... 1 - 2 - 3

(crack)

It goes. The famous organ intro to LIGHT MY FIRE blends over

the room like magic, carrying JIM, ROBBIE, JOHN, DOROTHY,

PAMELA along over:

EXT. SUNSET STRIP (TRAVELLING) - NIGHT (1966)

A row of NIGHTCLUBS glisten off the hoods of passing traffic.

Marquees announce: THE BYRDS, RED ROOSTER, LOVE, THE HERD,

TURTLES, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART. The CLUBS are PANDORA'S BOX, THE

TRIP, CIRO'S, BIDO LITO'S, GAZZARRI'S, THE EXPERIENCE... .

Headlights and neon intercut with:

DOCUMENTARY TYPE SHOTS of TEENAGERS, HIPPIES, LONGHAIRS,

running summer rampant, banging tambourines. COPS busting

kids against cars on the street as PARENTS go by rolling up

their windows. The action was on the street. LIGHT MY FIRE

carries over the montage.

DOORS SONG:

You know that it would be untrue etc.

JIM VOICE:

(last session)

The music was new black polished

chrome and came over the summer like

liquid night.

EXT. LONDON FOG - NIGHT

"THE DOORS -- BAND FROM VENICE" on the marquee... moving

down to a motley crew of TEENAGE GIRLS, underage, trying to

get past the BOUNCER. The sounds of BREAK ON THROUGH carry

past when the doors open and close admitting a SAILOR.

GIRL GROUPIE:

(approaching, to 2nd

girl)

Is that horny motherf***er in the

black pants here tonight?

BOUNCER:

IDs! IDs! Can't get in without an

I.D..

GIRL 2

Oh please. I forgot my I.D.. I'm on

the list.

BOUNCER:

I forgot my list.

INT. LONDON FOG - NIGHT

BREAK ON THROUGH blasting out at us from a sleazehole --

half full -- BIKERS, SAILORS, HOOKERS, a baseball game on

the TV. A dance floor the size of a bed, the DOORS on a tiny

platform above the bar, London newspapers on the wall.

JIM & DOORS

(live)

We chased our pleasures here

Dug our treasures there

Can you still recall the time we

cried

BREAK on through to the other side

(3)

Some groupies have formed a small fan club at the base of

the stage, muscling past PAM, but most people ignore them,

drinking, arguing, dancing to their own fuckbeats. Possibly

this has something to do with the fact that JIM sings with

his back to all of them.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes