February 4, 2011

Acclaimed film director Kevin MacDonald has been hired to direct a documentary film about reggae giant Bob Marley.

MacDonald's impressive film resume includes The Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void, as well as an Academy Award win with political documentary, One Day in September.

The Hollywood Reporter says that MacDonald was picked by the movie’s executive producers, one of whom is Marley's son Ziggy.

Ziggy Marley said in a statement: “We went to Kevin initially as an acclaimed documentarian but what has been most important to the family is his obvious passion for and interest in my father's life as a musician and person.”

With Ziggy backing MacDonald, the director will have full cooperation from the Marley family. MacDonald said. “What made Bob tick is probably unanswerable but viewers will certainly feel that they know him a little better after seeing our documentary. I am grateful to the Marley family for entrusting me with their heritage."

The movie, to be shot on location in Jamaica, Ghana, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., will open during 2011, the 30th anniversary year of Marley's death in 1981.

PBS had an excellent documentary about Bob Marley called "Bob Marley:Rebel Music" on its American Masters series. People should definitely check this out if they haven't seen it.

purplethunder3121 said:

PBS had an excellent documentary about Bob Marley called "Bob Marley:Rebel Music" on its American Masters series. People should definitely check this out if they haven't seen it.

Yeah, that was really good. The best one on his life that I've seen.

ooooohh..........................can't wait ......Bob Marley is such a great artist .....his work will live forever...

I liked Kevin McDonald´s "The Last King of Scotland" and I´m looking forward to watching this film but I don´t quite get what a "documentary film" is supposed to be. Is this the same as a biography film, i.e. with an actor playing Bob Marley, and hence the different locations, or is this a "documentary", shot in different locations, with lots of old footage and new interviews with Marley´s family and bandmembers and other people who knew him?

I´d guess it´s the former, since Kevin Mc Donald is a film director and not necessarily a documentary director, right?

And if so...who is going to play Bob Marley? Some of his sons ( Ziggy and Damian ) have a similar sounding voice but I´m not too sure whether they can act the part.