Demme replaces Scorcese as Marley doc. Director

across110thstreet · May 23, 2008

film due February 2010 to celebrate Marley's birth

http://web.bobmarley.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080522&contentid=95184

May 22, 2008
Demme takes on Marley film
Oscar-winning director to replace Scorcese
By Ben Apatoff / BobMarley.com

Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme has replaced Martin Scorsese as the director of the upcoming authorized documentary film on the life of Bob Marley. The as-yet-untitled film is still scheduled for worldwide release on February 6, 2010, the 65th anniversary of Marley's birth.
Demme, perhaps best known as the director of "Philadelphia" and "The Silence of the Lambs," has also previously directed acclaimed music documentaries on Talking Heads ("Stop Making Sense") and Neil Young ("Heart of Gold"), as well as music videos for Bruce Springsteen, New Order, the Pretenders and many others. He won the Best Director Oscar for "The Silence of the Lambs" in 1991, which also won Oscars for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Picture, and was named as one of the 100 greatest American films by the American Film Institute. Demme told BBC News that he was "thrilled and humbled" to be helming the project and that he hoped the film would be a "worthy vessel" for the brilliance of Marley, whom Demme referred to as "one of the greatest human beings of modern times."

Bob Marley's son Ziggy, who serves as the new documentary's executive producer, was pleased with the choice of Demme as director. "His empathy with my father's body of work and his unique understanding of the musical documentary form makes me confident that this film will be the ultimate celebration of my father's life," he told the BBC. Ziggy, also a popular reggae musician, has been attached to the project since its inception with Martin Scorsese on board.

Scheduling conflicts pulled Scorsese out of the project, as the Marley documentary clashed with his upcoming film on former Beatle George Harrison and a biopic on former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Born in 1945 in Kingston, Jamaica, Bob Marley formed The Wailers in his teenage years and became one of the most popular and influential figures in modern music. Largely credited with bringing reggae and world music in general into popularity in America, Marley recorded over 16 studio albums in his lifetime and was awarded the Peace Medal of the Third World from the United Nations for his social and political activism. On the strength of hit singles like "One Love," "I Shot the Sheriff," "Jamming" and "Three Little Birds," Marley has sold over 50 million records worldwide and been covered by artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, Lauryn Hill, Eric Clapton, Annie Lennox and the Roots. His posthumous compilation album, Legend, is the best-selling reggae album of all time.

The film is being produced by Tuff Gong Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment. The former is a subdivision of Tuff Gong International, the Jamaican studio founded by Bob Marley in 1965, and the latter previously worked on Demme's "Heart of Gold." The film's producers are currently negotiating a North American deal.
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leroy · May 23, 2008

I can't wait for this to come out. I'm a huge Marley fan and have seen nearly every documentary on him to this point. I'd love to see what Demme does with it.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Jamaica so I can go to his birthplace in 9 Mile just to spend a day there.

gifford1967 · May 23, 2008

Catch a Fire is a great biography of Marley.

leroy · May 23, 2008

Looks like Rita has one of her own and is tapping Rohan Marley (the one that played LB at Miami U) as Bob, and his wife, Lauryn Hill, as Rita. This one would be based on her documentary No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley and should come out in late 2009, just before the aforementioned documentary.

Widow to produce Bob Marley movie

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