At this point I would give up on ever seeing Factory Girl, a film about the life of Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick. First, the film was rumored to have been wrested from director George Hickenlooper’s control by Harvey Weinstein, who has been re-editing and forcing reshoots (I’ve read rumors of up to 40 pages of new material, including steamier sex scenes). The film wasn’t finished in time to show to New York critics before awards season, and it’s supposedly getting rushed like a motherfucker to make a quick run in Los Angeles that will qualify it for an Oscar – supposedly Harvey’s really hot on getting Sienna Miller, who plays Edie, a Best Actress nomination.
If that wasn’t bad enough news, Bob Dylan has stepped into the picture with some legal threats. The legendary genius singer/songwriter/Vincent Price imitator is concerned that Factory Girl depicts him as the cause of Edie Sedgwick’s suicide. His lawyers have demanded that film not be released or screened until he can see it and decide if he’s being defamed.
The argument against Bob is that the character in the movie, called Danny Quinn, isn’t really him but rather an amalgamation of him, Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. There’s some credence to the “It Ain’t Bob, Babe” argument since Danny is played by Hayden Christensen, who is like the ultimate anti-Bob, physically. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only person less Bob. However, reports indicate that he’s very, very Bob-like, including “wearing Dylan’s trademark harmonica brace and cap as he performs,” according to the New York Post.
Says Dylan’s lawyer to producers Bob Yari and Holly Wiersma: "You appear to be laboring under the misunderstanding that merely changing the name of a character or making him a purported fictional composite will immunize you from suit. That is not so. Even though Mr. Dylan’s name is not used, the portrayal remains both defamatory and a violation of Mr. Dylan’s right of publicity…
"Until we are given an opportunity to view the film, we hereby demand that all distribution and screenings . . . immediately be ceased."
Harvey Weinstein could not be reached for comment as he was rending an innocent intern limb from limb after hearing the news.