C’mon Hollywood #206

… give Dylan a biopic!
by Sturdy

I’m sick of talking and hearing about WOLVERINE, so I wanted to get in touch with my musical side this week. And what better time to bring up the subject of a Bob Dylan movie than a week after his latest album hit shelves? I’ve been a Dylan fan for a few years now, but I didn’t even realize that he’s had 33 albums so far. Most artists are lucky to have 2 or 3 and he’s had 33. But even though he’s still pushing out great music, now’s a good time to make a biopic on one of the most iconic musicians to ever live.

There are plenty of obstacles, however. Dylan is notoriously secretive and goes to great lengths to keep his private life private. Heck, he even took out a lawsuit before FACTORY GIRL came out because he disputed the claims the film made about him. Even though they had several sworn statements from people saying the events were basically true. So if he’s going to dispute such a minor event in his life, getting a whole film about him would seem near impossible, at least without his involvement (another obstacle). But for the purpose of this article, let’s just assume he would sign off on a biopic. Whether or not he ever would could be debated forever.

Parts were great, parts were meh.

In 2007, I’M NOT THERE was released and some Dylan fans have said that’s as close as you’re going to get to a Dylan biopic, at least while he’s still alive. I liked I’M NOT THERE, if for no other reason than it opened me up to some Dylan songs I wasn’t familiar with. But it was also a good film, even if it was a little all over the place. But it didn’t satisfy my desire to see a Dylan biopic ala WALK THE LINE or RAY. But in some sense, maybe an artsy, eclectic movie like I’M NOT THERE is the only biopic that could do Dylan justice.

He could have done worse.

So I guess the big question is who would play Dylan on the big screen. Hayden Christiansen played him, I mean “Billy Quinn” in FACTORY GIRL and…don’t laugh…I thought he did pretty well. He captured his mannerisms, at least in the footage we’ve seen in DON’T LOOK BACK and NO DIRECTION HOME. But I think the obvious answer is that it would have to be an unknown. I think Dylan would be an extremely tough role for any actor today, especially since it would have to span at least 40 years.

Good music documentary

I love music biopics and it’s rare that we see a bad one. There are a lot of musicians I’d like to see portrayed on the big screen (still want to see that Beatles movie). But for his fans, Bob Dylan is more than just a musician. It’s hard to explain, but if you’re not familiar with his music, then go buy ‘Blood on the Tracks’ and thank me later.