Demme takes over Bob Marley film

Scorsese drops out for scheduling reasons

By PHIL GALLO

Jonathan Demme is taking over from Martin Scorsese as the director of an authorized Bob Marley documentary.

Docu, produced by the Marley family's Tuff Gong Pictures and Steve Bing's Shangri-La Entertainment, has a target release date of Feb. 6, 2010, the 65th anniversary of Marley's birth. Fortissimo Films is handling international sales.

Scorsese, who announced in February that the untitled pic would be the follow-up to his Rolling Stones concert pic "Shine a Light," dropped out for scheduling reasons.

Demme has a long history of music-related pics, chronicling the Talking Heads in "Stop Making Sense," Robyn Hitchcock in "Storefront Hitchcock" and Neil Young in "Heart of Gold." He is editing a concert film, "Neil Young Trunk Show."

"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.

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