Well, actually, there is this movie I haven’t seen one time. Dutch director Jos De Putter has made a film called How Many Roads, which will debut in Amsterdam on Saturday, 11/26/2005. It looks at 11 different people - all Americans, and of various ages - who are fans of Bob Dylan. And yours truly RWB happens to be one of them. Yes, the cinematic debut of RWB, and doubtless the beginning of a long and glamorous career on the silver screen.

Seriously, the movie-maker contacted me out-of-the-blue (having seen this web site) and thought that my angle fit well with his film. I don’t consider myself to be a very good talker, and I’m certainly the opposite of photogenic, but I was immediately faced with the question of whether I wanted to miss a chance to wave the flag for conservative-minded Dylan fans, in what will be, in some way, a kind of historical artefact of Dylanism. Jos came across as genuine and well-meaning, and his history is of making highly-regarded documentaries, and not attack pieces. (I’ve seen a couple of his other films at this point, and they were very good indeed. ) There were one or two other, um, omens influencing me to participate … but I’m inclined to wait until I see the film before getting into any of that. I hope to see a video copy of it sometime soon. Its American debut is expected, I believe, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in late April/early May of 2006.

It’s no lie to say that I’m looking forward to seeing it far more for the other characters who are in it, a few of whose stories I’ve heard something about. Dylan’s songs have affected many people in some poignant and positive ways, and if the film captures that, it should be very worthwhile. My own part is just going to be me yapping in front of my computer screen (the filming was in June) … and I have no doubt that however humble my writing is, it’s far more lucid than my yapping.

I wish Jos and his colleagues very well with the debut.

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