Martin Scorsese Producing Grateful Dead Documentary

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead and there will be many projects unveiled over the 12-month period to celebrate the occasion. One such project is a new documentary directed by Amir Bar-Lev and executive produced by Martin Scorsese that has been authorized by the band.

Deadline Hollywood reports that Scorsese, whose credits include The Last Waltz and Shine a Light, will be executive producer along with Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller and Rick Yorn. There’s also word that Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux has been tabbed as the film’s music supervisor. Bar-Lev’s credits include The Tillman Story and Happy Valley.

So far, there’s no title for the new project, but Deadline Hollywood says the documentary will include “never-before-seen footage of performances and backstage stuff involving the band, as well as new interviews with surviving members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir, as well as many other characters and pranksters from the Dead universe.” Sounds great to us!

“Millions of stories have been told about the Grateful Dead over the years. With our 50th Anniversary coming up, we thought it might just be time to tell one ourselves and Amir is the perfect guy to help us do it. Needless to say, we are humbled to be collaborating with Martin Scorsese. From The Last Waltz to George Harrison: Living In The Material World, from Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones, he has made some of the greatest music documentaries ever with some of our favorite artists and we are honored to have him involved. The 50th will be another monumental milestone to celebrate with our fans and we cannot wait to share this film with them,” reads a statement from the surviving “core four” of the Grateful Dead.