Jonathan Demme replaces Scorcese for Marley biopic

When considering the Bob Marley biopic, it seems a lot more is up in the air than just the title. Now, Jonathan Demme will replace Martin Scorsese in directing the piece. Scorsese cites scheduling conflicts as the cause of his pulling out. This is significant, as the Marley family has hopes of releasing it by what would have been the legend's 65th birthday, February 6, 2010.

“I am thrilled and humbled by this extraordinary opportunity to participate in fashioning a motion picture that can serve as a worthy vessel for the spiritual and musical brilliance of Bob Marley,” Demme said in a statement to Variety.

Demme has directed a considerable number of rock docs over the span of his career. Most recently he worked on Neil Young’s Heart of Gold which was released in 2006, and is in the process of editing the Neil Young Trunk Show, a new volume of concert footage. Demme also directed both Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense and Robyn Hitchcock’s Storefront Hitchcock. Other artists that have found themselves in his lens over the years include the Pretenders and Bruce Springsteen.

The film would have been yet another Scorsese endeavor in the music realm after the Rolling Stones flick, Shine A Light. According to IMDb, Scorsese is filming Shutter Island and has The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, the long-time-coming Silence and an untitled George Harrison documentary on deck.

Another conflict against the film comes in the form of the Harvey Weinstein version that is vying for release the same year, though the Marley estate is behind the Demme version.

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.