LAURYN HILL TO RETURN TO THE BIG SCREEN? MAYBE. BOB MARLEY'S WIDOW WANTS SINGER TO PORTRAY HER IN NEW BIOPIC.

I don't know about yall, but the last time I saw Lauryn Hill graced the big screen was when she played a small role in the 1997 movie, Hav Plenty. Now reports are surfacing that the troubled-singer has been handpicked by Bob Marley's widow, Rita Marley to portray her in an all-new biopic on the life of her late husband. "Lauryn would be ideal. She sees my life as her life." Marley told Reuters of Hill, who is married to Rohan Marley (Bob Marley's son with Janet Hunt). Rita Marley is executive producing the as-yet-untitled adaptation of her 2004 autobiography No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley, a chronicle of the musician's childhood and their tumultuous 15-year marriage through his death from cancer in 1981. Producer Rudy Langlais (The Hurricane) says the film will be an "epic romance," including the Marleys' life and the assassination attempt on the couple. "It's miraculous that Rita is still here after being shot in the head," he says.

Rita says her grandson Stefan is "the spitting image" of the singer and would be perfect for the starring role. However, no casting decisions will be made until later this year, says Langlais. Filming is tentatively scheduled to begin early next year with a projected release date of late 2009 – possibly before Martin Scorsese's authorized feature documentary on the performer, set for release on what would be Marley's 65th birthday, Feb. 6, 2010.

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