Martin Scorsese to direct Harrison film

Martin Scorsese is going to direct an untitled documentary about the life of George Harrison.

According to Variety.com, Scorsese will produce with Harrison's widow Olivia and Nigel Sinclair in a co-production between Scorsese's Sikelia Prods, Harrison's Grove Street Prods., and Sinclair's Spitfire Pictures.

The documentary is being constructed as a theatrical release, and the Harrison family will supply materials from its extensive archive. Interviews and early production will begin later this year, and the film will take several years to complete.

Pic will cover Harrison's Beatles career and later years that included a successful solo music career as well as a foray as a movie mogul when he backed Handmade Films and made pictures such as "Monty Python's Life of Brian" and "Time Bandits." Scorsese, who explored themes of faith in "Kundun" and "The Last Temptation of Christ," will also focus closely on the Eastern spiritual pursuits that were central to Harrison's life.

The documentary will be edited by David Tedeschi, who served the same role on the Scorsese-directed Rolling Stones film "Shine A Light." Tedeschi was also editor on the Scorsese-directed "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan."

Spitfire's Sinclair was a producer on the Dylan film with Scorsese, and he just teamed with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend as a producer on "Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who," which will be released on DVD by Universal on Nov. 5.

Sikelia's Margaret Bodde will be executive producer of the Harrison film.

"George Harrison's music and his search for spiritual meaning is a story that still resonates today and I'm looking forward to delving deeper," Scorsese said.

It is expected that Harrison's surviving Beatles band.