Scorsese Taking On George Harrison Documentary

Bringing the Beatle to the bigscreen

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Thursday, September 27th 2007 at 12:34 AM

Since I am not at all a Beatle fan I may be one of the few that is upset Martin Scorsese isn't tackling some new crime drama and has instead chosen to take on an untitled documentary about the life of Beatle guitarist George Harrison.

The film will cover Harrison's Beatles career and later years that included a successful solo music career as well as a foray as a movie mogul when he backed Handmade Films and made pics such as "Monty Python's Life of Brian" and "Time Bandits." Scorsese will also focus closely on the Eastern spiritual pursuits that were central to Harrison's life.

The doc is being constructed as a theatrical release, and the Harrison family will supply materials from its extensive archive. Interviews and early production will begin later this year, and the film will take several years to complete.

Beatle fans should be excited that Harrison's bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are expected to participate, as well as the Beatles' Apple Records, which counts Olivia Harrison as a partner.

Harrison met her husband in 1974 and they were together until he died of lung cancer at age 58 in 2001. The two of them famously fought off and subdued an attacker who broke into the Harrison home and stabbed the guitarist several times in 1999.