Imagining Jimi Hendrix’s sci-fi script as a 21st-century movie
Fade in. Washington State. Night. A young Jimi Hendrix looks out of his bedroom window, attempting to count how many stars are in the sky. Close-up of his pupils dilating as bright lights fill his bedroom. The stars in the sky begin rearranging themselves as a slither of corridor in the night opens up, making a runway for an interdimensional spaceship. Young Hendrix puts on a purple and yellow dressing gown and runs outside the garden. The spaceship lands, and an alien walks out.
Young Hendrix: “Hello?”
The alien tries to reply but can only communicate in sound. Hendrix tries to understand, but soon, the alien returns to its spaceship and leaves. Close-up of Hendrix’s pupils returning to regular size and his fingers twitching by his side. Fade to black. Superimpose: Moondust.
Those who are fans of Hendrix won’t be surprised to hear of his adoration of sci-fi. Tracks like ‘Purple Haze’ are laced with sci-fi references, as are many of his songs. He had a knack for anything otherworldly, so it became a fundamental part of his creative efforts. However, there was one idea Hendrix felt so committed to, and that was that the confines of a song were not enough, so he decided to put together his own script and called it Moondust.
His story stemmed from when he was younger when Hendrix was convinced he had seen a UFO outside his home. It’s an occasion that he didn’t bring up much in his career, but given so much of the work that he went on to produce had sci-fi at its centre, it certainly played a part in his career.
Interestingly, Hendrix wasn’t the only musician who thought they saw aliens at a young age. So, too, did John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Lemmy, Sun Ra and Keith Richards. Is having so many rock legends say that they once saw aliens a coincidence? Probably. But in the world of film, was it coincidence if not a plot point? So, dear Hollywood, here is Far Out’s reimaging of Hendrix’s sci-fi script in what would be the musical biopic to end all musical biopics.
Stories about musicians are now shrouded in controversy, as those who were abused by corrupt aspects of the creative industry have now had that abuse reimagined by the same industry to profit from. The Amy Winehouse biopic has come under intense scrutiny, and with movies about Elton John, Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin and Queen now all done and dusted, it is time to put the overused movie format to rest. In its place will be Moondust, a fictionalised tale of rock music, Hendrix at the centre, music as the means of communication.
There are a lot of rumours that surround rock music as being the spawn of the devil, as those with a superhuman playing style are often said to have been visited by Satan and given superhuman powers. What if it was never the devil who gave people that otherworldly playing style, and instead, it was injected into people by beings from another world?
Hendrix’s movie could be an Arrival-style story in which rock legends have been given the language of aliens, and we must use music to establish a line of communication. The development of rock is the language fine-tuning itself, and once it has been mastered, aliens will come to Earth knowing that they can speak to those who inhabit it.
Hendrix’s original script was always going to be a rock opera, so having the musical backdrop is essential. He also introduced a character who was an “innocent little girl” who heard rock for the first time. She could be a fundamental part of the movie, as when she hears the genre, she can unpack it in ways that those who have already been exposed to it can’t, which leads to the true intention behind the music being uncovered.
Since Hendrix passed away, several different albums have been made from half the ideas he had in the studio, but nobody has attempted to create his movie with a modern-day twist — until now. This is the perfect time for production companies to get on board with the idea, and we owe it to Hendrix to bring his vision to life. This film, when eventually made and released, would be a Jimi Hendrix Experience like no one has had before.
