Bob Marley in 1979.Photo:Chris Walter/WireImage
Chris Walter/WireImage
Bob Marley’s new biopicBob Marley: One Loveis bringing further attention to a December 1976 assassination attempt on his life.
Bob, Rita and those injured in the attack all survived. Bob and Rita were released from the hospital in time for the musician toperform at the Smile Jamaicaconcert just two days later, on Dec. 5, 1976. As covered in the movie, Marley displayed his wounds from the assassination attempt to audience members following his performance at that concert.
One Lovedepicts one gunman from the assassination in attendance at that concert. In the film, the man later returns to Marley’s home to beg for the musician’s forgiveness. Marley is shown as accepting his apology shortly before he and his band perform at theOne Love concertonApril 22, 1978.
Kingsley Ben-Adir in Bob Marley: One Love.Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
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One Lovereceived input from Marley’s friend and colleague Neville Garrick, who worked as the musician’s art director, as a historical advisor on the movie. In production notes for the film, it is noted that Garrick, who died in November 2023, traveled with Marley from Jamaica to Nassau in the Bahamas in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt.
“When we were doing the assassination scene, I was trying to figure out what Bob was doing in that moment,” Ben-Adir, 38, said of Garrick’s assistance with the sequence. “Because it was like, ‘Okay, now, this is history.’ And I asked Neville, ‘What am I doing?’ And Neville was like, ‘I’ll tell you what Bob was doing [just before the armed raiders ran in and opened fire]. He was juggling grapefruits. He was showing off.’ Those were the kind of details you could only ever get from Neville.”
Kingsley Ben-Adir in Bob Marley: One Love and Bob Marley.Paramount Pictures; Getty
Paramount Pictures; Getty
Marley died of cancer in 1981 at age 36. The movie details his legacy amid political turmoil in Jamaica during the late 1970s. Ziggy Marley, Bob’s son, told PEOPLE recently that he believes his father would have been a fan of the new movie.
“He would laugh, but one of those proud laughs.He always wanted to make a movie," Ziggy, 55, said. “He was a creative person. He wanted to make a Western. There’s a lot of sides [to him] that people don’t really know. They will see those sides [inOne Love] and they will connect with those sides.”
Bob Marley: One Loveis in theaters now.
source: people.com
