subject: Let's See A Bob Dylan Movie! [print this page] Richie Valens, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Darin, Ray Charles and Johnny Cash are just some of the famous musicians that have gotten major Hollywood biopics made about them over the years. While there are many more musicians that deserve their own movie, none of them deserve it more than Bob Dylan. I've been a Dylan fan for a few years now and although his music is something you just have "to get", his persona and legend is undeniable.
And yes, I know last year, I'm Not There came out and many people consider that a Dylan biopic. But it wasn't. It was a good, artsy film that alluded to certain parts of Dylan, but it wasn't a biopic in the traditional sense. I want to see a Bob Dylan picture in the vein of Walk the Line or Ray. A lot of his life is still a mystery and it'd be great to see it play out on the silver screen.
The biggest question is how long do you make this film? If you cover every phase of his 40-plus year career, you're going to be making a long film. Normally, I would suggest a two-part film, but I question whether the audience exists to sell one movie, let alone two movies. I think you have to loosely focus on the music and spend most of the time on the personal Bob Dylan; the loves, the drugs, the friends, etc.
In some ways, you can make the argument that the only way to do Bob Dylan any justice is to make a film like I'm Not There. Dylan was ever evolving and always searching to discover who he was/is. Perhaps a non-traditional film is the way to go. But even with that in mind, I'd like to see a regular biopic. Get Martin Scorsese involved and make the movie right. Everyone in Hollywood loves Dylan, so getting a great cast together should be no problem.
Of course, to really make this work, it needs to be made with Dylan's cooperation. Now would be a good time to point out that he's not getting any younger and the guy still chain smokes and tours constantly. If Dylan got involved with the film, he could fill in some of the blanks in his life that need to be told. I think now is the time for him to get the right team together and make a picture like this. He's always been fascinated with movies and this would be a nice way to cap off the most incredible music career of all time.
