What if Jim Morrison didn’t really die 40 years ago? What if his death were a hoax, and he escaped to paradise, lying low for decades in anticipation of a magical reunion with Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek, the Apollo to his Dionysus? That is the plot of Manzarek’s 2002 novel, The Poet in Exile , which Variety has just reported will be adapted for the big screen. A collaboration between the musician/author and writer/director/producer Tim Sullivan (of such comedy-horror masterpieces as 2001 Maniacs and 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams), the film will be produced by Sullivan’s Clubhouse Entertainment and feature a score by (who else?) Manzarek. Thankfully, the former Door won’t be playing himself; he “might do a cameo,” though. And in case you’re wondering whether there’s really all that much demand for a film version of Manzarek’s book-length cash-in, well, he claims, “The No. 1 question I get asked is, ‘Do you think Jim Morrison’s really dead?'” We wonder if he’s considered the distinct possibility that this says more about Doors fans circa 2011 than it does about the likelihood that Morrison is still alive. [via AV Club]