Monday, March 3, 2008

Widow to produce Bob Marley movie


By Gregg Goldstein
1 hour, 46 minutes ago


NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -
Rita Marley is executive
producing the first-ever biopic of her late husband Bob Marley,
and if she has it her way, the reggae icon's daughter-in-law
R&B singer Lauryn Hill will portray her onscreen.

The Weinstein Co. will produce and distribute a big-screen
version of her 2004 autobiography "No Woman No Cry: My Life
With Bob Marley
," a chronicle of the musician's childhood and
their tumultuous 15-year marriage through his death from cancer
in 1981.

"Lauryn would be ideal (to play me)," said Marley. "She
sees my life as her life."

Her husband's son with Janet Hunt, Rohan, is married to the
troubled former Fugees singer, who largely disappeared from the
music scene after her Grammy-winning 1998 debut solo album,
"The Miseducation of Lauren Hill."

Hill will vet the adaptation currently being written by
Lizzie Borden ("Working Girls"), who is down in Jamaica
completing the script.

The untitled project from producer Rudy Langlais ("The
Hurricane") is tentatively set to begin filming early next year
with a projected late 2009 release date. Langlais said the film
will be an "epic romance," including the Marleys' life and the
assassination attempt on the couple. "It's miraculous that Rita
is still here after being shot in the head," he says.

The singer had 13 children, including several from
extramarital affairs.

At least some of the project will be filmed in Jamaica,
though other locations will be used to take advantage of tax
rebates. The feature could arrive before Martin Scorsese's
authorized feature documentary on the performer, set for
release on what would be Marley's 65th birthday, February 6,
2010.

The musician will be played by two actors, one portraying
him at age 15 and another as an adult, with the option of the
original songs, covers sung by an actor or a "Ray"-style blend
of the two all possible for the soundtrack.

Marley says her grandson Stefan is "the spitting image" of
the singer and would be perfect for the role. Langlais adds
that while the project will not necessarily be star-driven, all
casting decisions will be made late in the year.

Marley plans to be on the set every day. "Every inch of me
is in there," she says, "and I don't want a fairy tale or
Cinderella story."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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