Emmy-nominated writer/director Jenny Ash developing a Bob Marley biopic

While you might not have ever heard of Jenny Ash, you may have seen her work on the History Channel’s 12-part series “America – The Story of Us”. Her segment, which dealt with slavery and the Civil War, was introduced by President Barack Obama and made a big enough splash to garner her an Emmy nomination.

Now, according to Deadline, Ash is parlaying that success into developing a biopic of legendary reggae musician Bob Marley, and particularly, one that focuses on the year when Marley lived in London. Here’s Deadline with more:

[1977] was a crucial year for Marley. He’d fled Jamaica after an attempt was made on his life; the year ended with him sustaining a soccer injury which eventually triggered full-blown cancer. It was the year of punk rock; in London Marley hung out with the Sex Pistols. It was also the year of his legendary Rainbow Theatre gig. Crucially, he also started an affair with Jamaican beauty queen Cindy Breakspeare, who had just been crowned Miss World. Ash tells me she sees the biopic as a love triangle between Marley, his wife Rita and Breakspeare, whom Ash has spent time with in Jamaica.

“There’s never been a fiction film about Marley,” Ash tells Deadline. “We’ve never had a sense of him as a real man, as opposed to the legend.”

But the film does have one kinda major hurdle it has to overcome before the picture can start rolling: Securing the music rights. This has been an issue that has held back other big musician biopics, such as ones for Janis Joplin and Marvin Gaye.

Guess the most obvious question now is: Who would make for a great Bob Marley?