Director Martin Scorsese in early stages of Ramones movie project

[August 30, 2014]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese will be tapping into rock history with his next project, a movie on punk rockers the Ramones, his spokeswoman said on Friday.

Scorsese, 71, who won a best director Oscar in 2007 for "The Departed," is in "way way early stages" of the project, his representative Michelle Margolis said.

While Scorsese is best known for directing critically lauded films such as mob drama "Goodfellas" and most recently the acerbic comedy "The Wolf of Wall Street", he has also delved into music documentaries such as 2008's "Shine a Light", exploring the journey of The Rolling Stones.

Founded in New York in 1974, the Ramones - formed by Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone and Tommy Ramone - spearheaded the punk-rock movement with aggressive, fast-driving songs such as "Blitzkrieg Bop," "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Sheena is a Punk Rocker."

Drummer Tommy Ramone, who was the last surviving original member of the band, died aged 65 in July this year.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Ken Wills)

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