The documentary, which is being produced by the Marley Family's Tuff Gong Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment, is up against a competing, unauthorized biopic being produced by the Weinstein Company. As reported in The Hollywood Reporter in March, the Weinstein's film, despite having Marley's widow Rita as an executive producer and source memoirist, has not been able to license any of Marley's songs for use in the movie, a problem the Demme project doesn't have. According to HR, the family members involved in the Scorsese/Demme documentary claim they were unaware that the Weinstein project would be unveiled as early as it's been planned and believe that its projected late-2009 release date would interfere with their documentary's February 2010 release, which is timed to open on what would have been the singer's 65th birthday. Apparently the Marley family communicates even less than mine. (Kidding, Mom!)

Says Demme, "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." Snipped out of the statement by Demme's PR rep: "And I got the music, Weinsteins! FACE!"