George Harrison film a labour of love: Scorsese
By IANSTuesday, May 18, 2010
CANNES - Oscar-award winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese describes his much-awaited documentary on late Beatles legend George Harrison as “labour of love”.
“His (Harrison) music is very important to me. So I was interested in the journey that he took as an artist. The film is an exploration. We don’t know. We’re just feeling our way through,” said the filmmaker, who is attending the ongoing 63rd Cannes International Film Festival.
Titled “Living in the Material World: George Harrison”, the documentary will show Harrison’s life before, during and after his time in the world’s most popular and successful band.
Scorsese has been developing the project with Harrison’s widow, Olivia, for the past three years and they are finally nearing the end of a long and winding road.
Hollywoodreporter.com reports that the documentary will have plenty of yet unseen footage and unheard songs.
“‘Shutter Island’ took a great deal out of me. This (the documentary) was a form of interest and a really good sense of ignorance — not knowing what you’re getting into,” said Scorsese.
“I know the level is deep and I know at some point there’s going to be conflicts between the projects. But this is a labour of love. It’s not something that has that kind of a deadline.”
Scorsese spent weekends looking at footage and cuts of the Harrison work and researching as the film will have plenty of rare footage since Harrison saved everything and left tonnes of material.
The filmmaker said all of that personal music led the way to the nonchronological exploration they wanted to take.
“Ultimately, we’re trying to have the development of his own music tell the story, if we can. And the images that he shot, that (Olivia) shot, a lot of this is telling the story. There are some famous bits and some very interesting new material,” he said.
Scorsese has met Harrison in person several times, first when he, Jack Nicholson and Robbie Robertson knocked on his door in a frantic moment during the filming of “The Last Waltz” in the late 1970s, and then again in the early 1990s.
Harrison died of cancer in 2001.
The documentary is being produced by Nigel Sinclair of Exclusive Media Group.
Scorsese had earlier directed singer Bob Dylan’s documentary “No Direction Home”.
