And there we go. All the Dylan’s in Todd Haynes’ upcoming Zimmy biopic, “I’m Not There” have been revealed.
Photos have been leaking like a Dutch dam of late. Earlier this week it was shots of Heath Ledger and Charlotte Gainsbourg and over the weekend it was the first look at Christian Bale.
Now shots of Marcus Carl Franklin and Ben Whishaw have finally been released. New shots of Julianne Moore as Alice (presumably a Dylan paramour) and another black and white Cate Blanchett pic of her on guitar have also been uncovered.
Who plays Bob and when: the recap we’ve kinda already written, but here goes again (and often cribbing ourselves from things we just wrote days ago).
Cate Blanchett (Jude): Plays Bob during his recalcitrant, “Dont Look Back” rebellious phase where Dylan would fuck with fans and the media alike. Going electric was almost a purposeful fuck-you to those that wanted to pigeonhole him as a political protest singer. Much of her time is likely spent in England with hanger-on buddy Bobby Neuwirth.
Christian Bale (Jack/John): Portrays Dylan twice: Once in his protest-music period, characterized by songs like “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” and the singer’s religious phase, exploring gospel music (typified by the 1980 album Saved).
Ben Whishaw (Arthur): Bob fused with the 19th-century poet Arthur Rimbaud.
Richard Gere (Pat): Dylan in what Todd Haynes calls a “hippie Western” vignette. His Dylan composite is named Pat – as his character is vaguely modelled from Dylan’s appearance in Sam Peckinpah’s western, “Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid” (Dylan wrote music for and co-starred in the film).
Marcus Carl Franklin (Woody): The young Franklin plays Dylan as a boy named Woody. Likely modelled from Guthrie at a young age or some similar composite.
Heath Ledger (Bob): Aside from various photos, Ledger’s Dylan seems the most opaque so far. He represents Dylan in the extremely vague “Dylan-esque” phase according to most reports and apparently cheats on his hen-wife Sara (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg). Photos have him in an early ’60s, harmonica and acoustic guitar phase and a later, a ginger, bearded ’70s era. Our guess this is a Blood on The Tracks – Desire era (though he does look a little New Morning).
We kind of forgot about our “unofficial” “I’m Not There” preview piece that fills in the holes on what some of the characters are up to in the film.