The Dylan casting, It Is A-Changin'
Naked grab for an onscreen record
Jul. 28, 2006. 06:26 AM


Bob Dylan fans may feel inclined to take their motorbikes way down on Highway 61 tomorrow.

It's a cosmic 40th anniversary for him. On July 29, 1966, the people's poet skidded his Triumph motorbike on a road near his home in Woodstock, N.Y. He injured himself badly and retreated from the spotlight for most of the next eight years, as he reinvented his art and reoriented his compass.

Before the crash, he was hailed worldwide as a musical prophet and social revolutionary. Afterwards, he emerged as a quiet family man with no obvious agenda. He slept through Sgt. Pepper, Woodstock (and Altamont), the Manson Family murders, the Kent State shootings and Exile on Main Street. Dylan was a greater enigma than ever, and remains so to this day.

Which makes the Todd Haynes Dylan project I'm Not There sound all the more appropriate.

Shooting of the film begins Monday (July 31, 2006) in Montreal, after more than three years of planning, and firm details are finally beginning to emerge about the biopic that isn't really a biopic.

The plan is to have various actors play Dylan at various stages of his life, from his early days up to his 50s. (He recently turned 65.) A complete cast list was finally announced this week, just in time for the start of lensing, and they include well-knowns and unknowns. The six Dylan players are Heath Ledger (replacing Colin Farrell, who dropped out), Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Ben Wishaw (who played Keith Richards in Stoned) and Marcus Carl Franklin (TV's Law & Order).

Blanchett is female and Franklin is black. This really will be an unusual movie.

The supporting cast includes Heath Ledger's partner Michelle Williams (who will play the love interest to Blanchett's Dylan), Julianne Moore, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Canada's own Bruce Greenwood.

"Bob Dylan was somebody who has rejected all of the various personas that he has embodied over the years," director Haynes (Far From Heaven) told the press at Cannes in May.

"He continues to move forward by discarding himself, so my idea is to put together a film of multiple characters and tell their stories simultaneously. It's going to be weird, not a traditional narrative by any means."

Shooting is scheduled to run until Oct. 10, which allows plenty of time for the always touring Dylan to drop in, should he feel so inclined.

Dylan himself doesn't appear in the movie, but original recordings of his songs will be on the soundtrack. There will also be artists covering Dylan tunes. Confirmed participants include Woodstock soulman Richie Havens, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and the alt-country band Calexico. There is talk of possible contributions from Michael Stipe, Jack White and P.J. Harvey.

"Dylan has given us pretty much his collection of music," said publicist Jeff Hill.

"He's just enamoured by Todd's films and he's really into this one. It's such a different way of telling his life. It's so Dylan."


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