Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips recently revealed that Aaron Sorkin had wanted to write a musical based on their seminal 2002 album, ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’, with the story focusing on the events of 9/11.
Coyne and Sorkin had a brief meeting in 2007, but Sorkin ultimately left the project due to creative differences.
Explaining the situation to Yahoo!, Coyne said: “We were only allowed to meet for probably 20 minutes or something… And here’s my little record, and they’re talking about what it could be! We were only allowed to meet for probably 20 minutes or something.”
Coyne further recalled Sorkin’s vision for the adaptation, saying: “He saw the ‘Pink Robots’ as being the evil George Bush empire. And I really don’t know why I was so opinionated, but I just said, ‘Oh, I don’t really like that idea.’ Not that I had a better idea, but I just didn’t see this music as being connected to politics and stuff, you know?”
The ‘Yoshimi’ musical finally premiered in San Diego in 2012, with Tony-winning director Des McAnuff at the helm. The Flaming Lips recently announced that they will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’ with a run of UK tour dates in 2023, where they will perform the album in full.
