Plans for Bob Marley and the Wailers Movie - The Black Beatles

'The Black Beatles' is the title of a screenplay by John Dixon, an african-american obsessed with Bob Marley and The Wailers, and who was inspired to write a script on the legendary reggae group. Dixon is a an amateur screenwriter who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

While still in super preliminary stages, Dixon has launched a basic website called Black Beatles with portions of the script for public view, in order to publish and present his idea out in the open to Hollywood moguls. Dixon claims that his script has been five years in the making and that "it's not just another Bob Marley and The Wailers story". "What makes my project stronger is it is not another documentary, which I personally feel there are too many," he said. "The Black Beatles script is part fictional and dramatized to make the film more interesting."

There's been lots of industry buzz recently about Bob Marley films coming soon, specifically Warner Brothers was talking about producing a major budget bio of Marley, as well as talk of Jamie Foxx playing the leading role.

Dixon prefers to focus on all members of the original Wailers, especially Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh. "With all due respect to Bob Marley, I want the film to show that Peter and Bunny were just as talented." Getting his story of The Wailers on screen, he says, would be the ultimate tribute to one of popular music's outstanding groups.

Dixon also adds (and it makes sense to me see the pics at the top):

"Can you imagine Terrence Howard as Bob Marley, Samuel L. Jackson as Peter Tosh, Don Cheadale as Bunny Wailer and Nick Nolte as Chris Blackwell?"

If you're interested in contacting John Dixon 'bout dis movie, you can do so by emailing him at wisemanspeaks@aol.com or calling954-767-4828. For a full length interview with John Dixon about his movie plans, click here, or for a little taste of some legendary original Wailers positive vibrations Live in London 1973 , check it below.

Perry Henzell - Jamaican Director of "The Harder they Come" dies

Perry Henzell, whose low-budget urban Jamaican film "The Harder They Come" became an international blockbuster in 1972, died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.

Ironically, Henzell died one day before his film, "No Place Like Home", was to be shown at the Flashpoint Film Festival which opens today in Negril, Jamaica. It is part of a thematic trilogy of which The Harder They Come was the first. His new film is the second in the trilogy and most of the film was actually shot just under three decades ago during the 1970s. It has been about 25 years in the making as it was severely hampered by financial problems.


The Harder They Come made a superstar out of now reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, who played the lead role of Ivan. With the up and coming reggae beat during the 70's, The Harder They Come helped introduce reggae and Jamaican pop culture to an international audience, and even won Best New Cinema at the 1973 Venice Film Festival.

Even Jamaican PM Portia Simpson Miller reacted to news of Henzell's death, saying he "made a sterling contribution to the development of the arts in Jamaica. Jamaica has lost a very talented son and his death has created a void throughout the creative industries in Jamaica."

In honor of Perry Henzell, here's the trailer of his greatest contribution to reggae history. Check it.

Shottas - Raw Jamaican Gangsta Thriller

Dubbed the Jamaican 'Scarface,' or a combination of 'Scarface' and 'The Harder they Come', Shottas (meaning gangster in Jamaican) just hit the big screens all across America. The featured attraction is Ky-Mani Marley, son of Bob, who has done some reggae recording but here tries out the role of a drug kingpin named Biggs. Spragga Benz, a dancehall star, plays Biggs’s childhood friend Wayne. According to a review in the New York Times, 'This movie glorifies the drug trade and the contempt for life that it entails. Somehow these despicable thugs are surrounded by curvaceous, compliant women, who tend to be onscreen just long enough to bare their breasts, which promptly get bullet holes in them.'

“Shottas” is full of interesting performers in the smaller roles; the best known is probably Wyclef Jean, who also composed the movie’s music. In an article titled "Jamaica should sue Shottas for slander", in the New Jersey Star Ledger, the review reads 'The male performers look stoned, even when they're not supposed to be, and parade before the camera like mugs at a police lineup. The female performers look as if they've just finished two hours of table dances at Scores. The plot consists of people we can't root for killing people we can't stand. The direction consists of someone occasionally remembering to say cut.'

The movie trailer is below. Check it.

Made in Jamaica - Reggae Documentary

Made in Jamaica is a brand new reggae documentary which just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. I haven't seen this movie yet, but I definitely plan on it, as it is generating a lot of buzz in both the reggae world and the documentary circles. Hopefully it makes it to a theater in Zion (a.k.a Israel) which is where I live.

The film talks about the Jamaican Dream, which is to rise up out of the ghetto and become a music superstar. All the issues and themes are covered, including: crime and violence of the ghetto, political responsibility, slavery, colonialization, the Legend of Bob, religion and rasta, sex, women and lots of hope for a better life.

The cast includes some of the best known Roots and Dancehall artists from the 70's up, including Gerogry Isaacs, Beres Hammond, Elephant Man, Capleton, Third World, Toots, Bounty Killer, Lady Saw and many more. It should be a fun and very interesting movie to watch. Check it (trailer below).