Cinematical

Based on Variety's massive list of the releases that are planned to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Doors, I'm apparently the only person on earth who had no idea the blessed event was (nearly) upon us. In addition to the CD reissues and boxed sets, there are also two movies in the works that will celebrate the band. The first, an untitled, feature-length documentary that is being co-produced by TV king Dick Wolf and the three surviving Doors, "will include unreleased footage and interviews with the parents and sister of...Jim Morrison." So, basically, it's a straightforward, retrospective look at the band. The second project, however, sounds potentially more interesting.

Skater-turned-director Stacy Peralta (best known in the movie world for directing Dogtown and Z-Boys, and writing Lords of Dogtown) is putting together his own doc about the band. Entitled Six Nights, Six Records, Six Years, Peralta's film is described as "a social history overview as seen through the Doors' lives and music." It's not just us history majors who will dig this, is it? It sounds potentially fascinating to me, and incorporating a broader look at the country during the heyday of the band will hopefully set the movie apart from both Wolf's project and the worshipful docs that dominate the genre.