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Why Martin Scorsese Is The Right Guy For A Grateful Dead Doc

The Oscar-winning director is set to produce a documentary about the Grateful Dead with the band's involvement.
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When you think Grateful Dead, you probably don't think Martin Scorsese.

But here's the deal. The Oscar-winning director of movies like "The Departed," "Gangs of New York" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" will produce a documentary about the Grateful Dead commemorating the band's 50th anniversary next year. And he's actually perfect for the job. 

Variety explains Scorsese has been involved in music documentaries since serving as an assistant director on "Woodstock" in 1970.

In 2011, he produced the critically acclaimed "George Harrison: Living in the Material World." Grateful Dead says they're "humbled" by Scorsese's involvement.

Though they may be even more excited to work with director Amir Bar-Lev, who the group called the "perfect" guy to tell their story. Bar-Lev is the man behind acclaimed documentaries like "The Tillman Story" and "Happy Valley," and he's been trying to make a movie about the Grateful Dead for 10 years. 

The band members say they're looking forward to being involved in telling their own story for a change. Surviving members include Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir. Lead singer Jerry Garcia died in 1995. (Video via Arista Records / Grateful Dead)

The documentary will include never-before-seen footage of the group and interviews with those surviving members. It will cover the band's entire history. 

This video includes images from Getty Images and Chris Stone / CC BY SA 2.0.