After King Richard – Beyond the Game For the film, for which he worked closely with Venus and Serena Williams to provide a portrait of their father, director Reinaldo Marcus Green worked closely with the Marley family to answer the question: “Who was Bob Marley?”
Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36 and is now a global icon. Portraits of the singer can be seen everywhere, his dreadlocks rubbing against his shoulders and joints, all against the backdrop of the Rastafarian flag – green, yellow and red – to which he belongs. Generally, the black of the Jamaican flag is added.
But rather than opting for a linear exploration of a life of music and social and political commitments, director and co-writer Reinaldo Marcus Green focused only on what he believes are two pivotal years in the reggae master's life. from his exile in London in 1976 after being the victim of an assassination attempt, marked by the creation of the album Exodus, to his return to his home island in 1978.
Kingsley Ben-Adir and Reinaldo Marcus Green during the filming of “Bob Marley: One Love.” Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
“After checking that we had the rights to the music and that the family was involved, I made sure I could revise the first script, which was very good but needed to be refocused. “That’s why I called Zach Baylin, my collaborator on King Richard – Beyond the Game,” Reinaldo Marcus Green told QMI Agency during an interview a week before the release of Bob Marley: One Love.
Beyond the Marley legend
“We worked on the script for a year, during which time I also worked on the casting. And that's how we came across Kingsley Ben-Adir.” The Brit, who was chosen for the role of Bob Marley, worked hard for “several months.” His preparation included several facets, including learning to play the guitar and dance on stage. However, his greatest challenge was mastering Jamaican Creole, and to achieve this he spent a lot of time with the Marley family.
“We also spent a lot of time working on the psychology of Bob Marley and distinguishing the public persona from the private man. Most of our work was humanizing Bob Marley.”
Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
“Behind every great man is a great woman,” he says. From this evidence he drew the portrait of Rita Marley, who was also an icon in her own right. Today, at the age of 77, the great lady, who is also the author of “No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley,” is the producer of “Bob Marley: One Love.”
On the screen she takes on the traits of the British Lashana Lynch, Marvel's Maria Rambeau or Nomi, the first woman with the number 007, from Cary Joji Fukunaga in “No Time to Die”.
And here too Reinaldo Marcus Green draws the parallel to King Richard – Beyond the Game and the mother of the Williams sisters. “What we learned from Rita Marley made us want to include her more in the film and we wanted to capture her journey and her actions. She has a unique perspective on Bob Marley, not only as the matriarch of the Marley family, but also as a member of the Wailers. She saw both sides of Bob because she was there as a wife, as a mother, and as a friend. Their unique relationship, from courtship to marriage, quickly became the backbone of the film.
Lashana Lynch and Kingsley Ben-Adir in Bob Marley: One Love. Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
As we explore Reinaldo Marcus Green's filmography, we find that the 42-year-old director, born in the Bronx, New York, has a double favorite theme: faith and love.
“Faith and love connect us. The message of peace, unity and love… that's who I am as a person and that's what I try to convey in my films. The essence of life? It's a community, it's about bringing each other together. And this film is for the next generation, the kids who don't know Bob Marley, who don't know that he looks like all kids, whether they're in the favelas of Rio or the Bronx.
Bob Marley: One Love has been thrilling moviegoers since February 14th.