The New York Post has a story on the plans to make a film called “Factory Girl,” which purports to be the story of Edie Sedgwick, a young woman who was closely associated with Andy Warhol and died young of a drug overdose. Some months ago it was first reported that agents of Bob Dylan had threatened to sue the film makers, based on a script that purportedly portrayed a romantic relationship between Dylan and Sedgwick. The Post today says:

Bob Dylan reportedly threatened a lawsuit after reading the script.

In an early version obtained by the Post, Dylan, who, like Edie, lived at the Chelsea Hotel, serenades Edie from a fire escape with a bouquet of flowers in his mouth.

In one heated scene, they make love while “pleasure spasms take hold.” Dylan writes the song “Just Like a Woman” for her, and then drops her and marries aspiring model Sara Lowndes.

Sedgwick was said to have inspired much of Dylan’s work at that time - including the album title “Blonde on Blonde” and the song “Lay Lady Lay.”

But Dylan balked at the script’s version of events and sent screenwriter Captain Mauzner (”Wonderland”) back to his keyboard.

Trying to avert controversy, the filmmakers reshaped the love interest as a hybrid of different musicians Edie was linked to, including Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. The part was given to Hayden Christensen.

Hmm. A hybrid of Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. That should be interesting.

Some members of Sedgwick’s family apparently continue to oppose what they feel is purely an exploitative film. It sure sounds like a big waste of time to yours truly. And, in another sense, I always find it boring when people talk about a particular Dylan song being about this or that “real” person. (I mean, other than when it’s clearly true, e.g., Joey is obviously about Joey Gallo. Though, on the other hand, is it, really? Well, that’s for some other time …) The idea of dragging down Just Like A Woman to being about any one particular woman in Dylan’s life just seems silly to me, and completely misses the poetry of the song.

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