Page Six reports Jonathan Demme departs Bob Marley documentary

According to Page Six, a documentary surrounding the life of reggae groundbreaker Bob Marley entitled Marley has allegedly lost Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme.  He is the second major director to leave the project; apparently Martin Scorsese “dropped out of the project citing ‘scheduling conflicts,’ and Demme was brought on to replace him.”  The rumor, reported by Page Six, was that “Demme’s exit occurred after the movie’s producer, Steve Bing, saw the director’s first round of editing and was less than impressed…Bing counts Beowulf, The Big Bounce, and Get Carter among the flicks he’s had a hand in producing.”

Losing both of these directors is a real blow to this project.  A seminal documentary on the iconic reggae star has yet to be produced.  Both directors have solid past documentary experience –  Scorsese has made a series of iconic documentaries, including No Direction Home, a terrific biopic on Bob Dylan, as well as his film chronicling The Band’s retirement show, The Last Waltz, which set a new standard in how contemporary music documentaries are made. Demme made a beautifully shot solid concert film about Neil Young called Neil Young: Heart of Gold, as well as the thrilling Talking Heads concert pic Stop Making Sense.  Having lost two A-List directors leaves the Marley project in real turmoil.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08142009/gossip/pagesix/marley_loses_second_helmer_184540.htm

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