Bob Marley Documentary: Martin Scorsese Out, Jonathan Demme In

Some interesting news in the Bob Marley documentary story - director Martin Scorsese has backed out of the upcoming project (which is slated for February of '10), and Jonathan Demme is stepping in to take the reins. Now, I didn't mind Scorsese as a directorial choice. I really liked The Blues (Compare Prices), a PBS miniseries that he produced, so I was on board, but not everyone was so sure - my blog-buddy Patricia thought that he was a mediocre choice, and there were murmurs elsewhere in the world music community as well. My heart's not broken that Demme is at the helm, though. I enjoyed Heart of Gold, his documentary about Neil Young. There's no official word on why Scorsese backed out.

There is, however, some additional gossip on the whole situation. Apparently, Harvey Weinstein and co. will be releasing a Bob Marley biopic. That one is going to be based on widow Rita Marley's 2004 book, No Woman, No Cry, and Mrs. Marley herself is going to be one of the producers. Weinstein, as the rumor goes, intentionally set the biopic to be released just a couple of months before the documentary. And, of course, insider rumors still abound (despite lots of denials) that Jamie Foxx will be portraying Bob Marley in a movie.

So my head is officially swirling - the one thing that I can tell you for sure is that there will soon be a glut of Bob Marley movies in our lives. Some will be dramatized, some will be documentary-style, all will most surely be controversial in one way or another. So, to keep our lives interesting while we wait, let's all play casting director - if you got to pick an actor to play Bob Marley, who would it be? My vote: his son, Ky-Mani. He looks and sounds like his pops, and he's already got plenty of acting cred under his belt. Who's your pick? Leave a comment and let us know!