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Please stay on topic–in this case tonight’s film, BOB DYLAN REVEALED, Dylan’s fascinating career and life which should keep up plenty busy!

If you want to jump in about Japan, Fukushima, nuclear disasters, Libya, politicians, or anything else not about tonight’s topics please find a post elsewhere on FDL to do so. Thank you.

Please be respectful of our guests and of each other. And yeah, I tpye badly…

Hello Joel and welcome to Firedoglake Movie Night. And thank you all for being here tonight!

Hi Joel! What a look at Dylan. How did you get all those folks to talk with you..Mickey Jones’s footage of the electric tour was AMAZING!

So God said to Abraham kill me a son…….

Thanks, I’m happy to be here.

I’m glad you enjoyed the footage from the 1966 tour. There is alot of exclusive and never-before-seen footage throughout the film from Dylan’s entire career. Most musicians like Mickey Jones were eager to talk about their experiences with Bob Dylan, I think you’ll see that everywhere in the film.

Joel, were you a Dylan fan to begin with?

Dylan must be incredibly wealthy. Does he not retain ownership of all his songs?

Address any way you may like.

Good evening Joel and welcome to FDL

Hi Lisa!

Joel I have to admit, I thought I was knowledgeable about Dylan in general and a lot of music but had no idea (or if I had known, I had forgotten) about Mickey Jones as the drummer for “The Band”

My question – how did you go about getting the folks you interviewed to speak with you? Did you ask any of the other surviving members of The Band to appear?

(Note: My one time getting a chance to see Dylan live was at the NY State Fairgrounds in ’92 or ’93 for an outdoor show, presumably part of the “Never Ending Tour” though I did have some friends that made it to Memphis in ’74 during the Reunion/Comeback tour)

I believe Dylan did retain and in some cases regain all this publishing rights from his former manager, Albert Grossman. As far as I know, Dylan has always been a very savvy investor in real estate.

Almost everyone I approached for an interview agreed to speak with me. For all of them, performing with Bob Dylan was the highlight of their career. The hardest ones to get to agree to an interview were Bob Dylan’s Bible class teacher, Bill Dwyer, and the boxer Rubin Hurricane Carter. But they eventually both agreed, and told wonderful stories.

He has a house in Malibu Colony that had something blowin’ in the wind..a nasty smell from his security guards’ porta-potty…

Did Bob Dylan become a Christian? And is he still one?

I heard John Lennon’s “Serve Yourself” and had to laugh. Did you get to interview John about that? Sorry, prolly not,huh?

I so appreciated Hurrican Carter’s interviews. To learn Dylan had brought Rolling Thunder to his prison–and the anecdote about there being no bars, and how Dylan sooo wanted a photo of them on either side of bars…awesome. Great insight into Dylan’s character.

Please tell me Dylan is not a Zionist.

I am certain that Dylan became a follower of Jesus, in a very serious and profound way that included a Biblical born-again experience. in 1979, Dylan became a follower of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church, which was not exactly what we think of as organized Christianity. They emphasized a personal relationship with Jesus for all of their members, as well as Bible class study which would then allow God to work in their life. I have been assured by many of the people in the Vineyard church that once someone has a born-again experience, it absolutely never leaves you. If anyone was to look at Dylan’s set lists for the past 30 years, it’s easy to conclude that he is still a believer in a higher power.

Rubin Carter actually attended a performance of my band the night before the interview, at BB Kings blues club in New York City. Of course, I invited him onto the stage and we serenaded him with “Hurricane”. He paid me a big complement, he said, “Joel, I never understood the words to that song until I heard you guys sing it last night.” The relationship between Rubin Carter and Bob Dylan was one of mutual use, and benefit. Bob Dylan needed a song about a cause to reinvigorate his audience, and his relevance. If you look at Dylan’s albums up to that time, he had gone a far distance from whatever crucible had inspired his early writing about civil rights, and revolution. In the film, Joel Selvin points out that his writing reached a low with the song “If Dog’s Run Free” on the self-portrait album. Meanwhile, Rubin Carter needed celebrities to help advance his cause in seeking a new trial. You can tell from the film that Rubin Carter is so charismatic, he was essentially able to talk his way out of prison – and Dylan helped him do that by echoing his version of the events at the Lafayette bar and Grill in Paterson New Jersey where four people were murdered.

Do these Vineyard folks believe in miracles? Is being born again considered a miracle?

I couldn’t tell you that. I know he gave money to the JDL (Rabbi Kahane) in the early ’70s and of course there is the song “Neighborhood Bully” from Infidels…

The Vineyard believes in Jesus, who performed miracles. I don’t think Jesus’ appearance as a physical manifestation during a born-again experience is considered to be a miracle. Most of the Vineyards folks had been visited by Jesus.

Hi Joel, and welcome to FDL. Excellent movie. At some point in either the 60s or 70s, a guy named Bobby Zimmerman lived in the house behind my cousin in Phoenix. Saw the guy once, but I was a kid and didn’t really get it. My cousin (now dead unfortunately) swears it was in fact Bob Dylan during his reclusive years. Did you get much info regarding his time in Phoenix way back then?

Hurricane was a big hit in, what, 1975? I remember sitting in a bathtub in London and hearing it come on the radio. Can’t wait to see the film.

I never heard of Dylan living in Phoenix. I would imagine he was only passing through or staying over after a gig.

The Jefferson Bible takes out all the miracles (which are really dubious insertions meant to wow the gullible.) If there was a Jesus, I tend to think he didn’t perform miracles and didn’t claim the miraculous conception, etc.

Did you contact any of Dylan’s children in making Revealed, and if so how did that go?

It is interesting that he came back to Judiasm through Chabad which is a messianic form of Judiasm.

I have met several of Dylan’s children, but never sought to interview them as I thought it would not be appropriate. In addition, they’re certainly not great sources compared to Ramblin Jack Elliott, Jerry Wexler, Scarlet Rivera, Mickey Jones, Rubin Carter, Spooner Oldham, and so on.

Scarlet Rivera had some good stories about the tour…Joel, would uyou care ot share/

Dylan felt like he was being used by the Christians, so he went back to his roots in Judaism. If you listen to some of the lyrics in infidels, like “sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace”. However, he was not referring to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church folks. They were not Jimmy Swaggart types just trying to make a buck. There were other Christians that Dylan became involved with that were not as ethical, and this helped him to turn away from Christianity and back to his roots.

This is too much of a set up question, so my response is:

Buy the film DVD at http://www.bobdylanrevealed.com

It will also be on Video on Demand throughout the United States and Canada on all cable and satellite systems starting May 1st.

I tried… ;)

How long did it take to make the film?

Hmm. Neighborhood Bully (1983) is telling. The bully/victim conundrum is the intractable trouble with Israel.

Re Kahane, “He was shot to death by the terrorist El Sayyid Nosair, an Egyptian-born American citizen who was initially charged and acquitted of the murder. Nosair was later convicted of the murder in United States court incident to the trial for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and also later made a confession to federal agents.”

I did not know that. Bizarre.

This questions is like Ed Bradley asking Bob Dylan on 60 Minutes, “What’s it like to be Bob Dylan.”

Does anyone care to dig deeper?

There are so many stories floating around about his children and his love relationships and I’d be curious about how Dylan explains his wives and his children from a spiritual perspective — given the ‘spiritual’ transformations that are revealed in the film.

What’s it like to be Bob Dylan’s most current biographer…? Actually I ask that because we have fledgingly documentarians who read these and I like for them to a get an idea of what’s involved.

Tha aside, the chess theme you use as chapter breaks: I noticed in one shot Dylan is playing chess himself. Is the game apssion for him and/or why did yu use that motif?

Dylan was first introduced to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church by his girlfriend at the time, Helena Springs, who was a member of the church. She was also a background singer who toured with Dylan in 1978. As far as his other personal relationships, and transformations, it is generally known that Suzy Rutolo who recently passed away had a profound influence on him.

Did you get to talk to Joan B.?

Was Helena the gf Rob Stone refers to in his interview, the one that he was fired over…?

I used the Chess theme because I love that photo of Bob Dylan on the airplane playing chess. You can tell that he’s thinking hard in both an intellectual and scheming way. So I thought it would be inappropriate theme to use throughout the film. The photo was taken by Dylan photographer Barry Feinstein, who produced the greatest photos of Bob Dylan over the years, including the Times Are A-Changin album cover, the 1966 world tour, the Bangladesh concert, and in 1974 world tour. Barry Feinstein’s photos are all portraits, and his candid shots of Bob Dylan are especially timeless.

Beans. Lima beans. Baked beans. Pork and beans.

He was in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid with … who played Pat Garrett? The guy who shot Ronald Reagan’s character in the movies. James Coburn. That was 1973, so before Hurricane and Jesus and Kahane.

I have met Joan Baez, but did not interview her for the film.

Thanks, can’t wait to see your work.

The best Bob Dylan movie is Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There.

As I recall, Dylan became agitated with the anti-war pigeon hole and rejected it saying he was just a “song and dance man.” But Neil Young had no trouble doing a strong antiwar record protesting the Iraq war, as did the Stones. What’s Dylan’s problem?

Or…as is likely the case, what am I missing?

I would say the film was awful because you didn’t learn anything about Bob Dylan that you didn’t already know from general knowledge. I think everyone who saw I’m Not There wanted to learn something new about Bob Dylan, and left disappointed. The only thing I remember from that film was that Cate Blanchett could look like a dude.

Bob Dylan’s relationship with the press can simply be characterized by them not knowing what questions to ask. And it was like that from the very beginning, and continues to this day. Essentially, if you ask a dumb question, you’ll get a dumb answer. Everyone probably recalls Ed Bradley on 60 min asking Bob Dylan, “what’s it like to be Bob Dylan?” I thought Dylan would answer “what’s it like to have a gig on 60 Minutes and not prepare for your interview?” In my film, Bob Dylan Revealed, I know what questions to ask, and that bears itself out as you watch the film.

What indights did YOu gain, Joel, from doing this film? were there surprises?

The motorcycle accident was used to cover up a rehab thing? Was it just, “Truth was that I wanted to get out of the rat race.” or is there something you reveal in the film that we don’t know?

Has Dylan seen your film?

When you see the film, you’ll understand it was not about escaping the rat race, Dylan was eager to continue touring, they had a ground-breaking tour of Russia planned.

Huh, Russia in 1966 – height of the Cold War. That would have been something. Did he really like Fidel Castro and his beard?

The Live at Budokan promoter section was for me fascinating. i remember all the Live at Budokan LPs that came out–Cheap Trick sticks out especially–and Dylan’s way around it, to mes with the arrangements and “Neil Diamond-ize” his stuff was especially playful. How much of that d you think was Jerry Weintraub’s influence vs Dylan being Dylan?

I saw him back in the early 60′s sing a couple of songs at a Joan Baez concert in Forest Hills. Is there any footage of that concert in the film?

I’m not aware of any of the footage existing, but there is audio that I’ve heard. What do you remember about that concert?

Furthur (Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s current band) have been performing “Hurricane” at a few of their shows.

There is an CBS-TV interview featuring the Grateful Dead from the summer of love in the Haight. I could swear that I hear Andy Rooney’s whiny ass doing narration. Check out the youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zHmi9y-KLo

I think Dylan liked doing ground-breaking things, and still does. For example, he is going to Mainland China soon for the first time.

I think his image/persona have changed a lot over the years. Does the film convey if he is a likeable (for lack of a better word) person? Jews would say Mensch, maybe.

That will be mindblowing.

Joel, did you want to interview Dylan for this, or did you prefer to have the external viewpoints?

Partway through the concert, Joan wanted to bring him onstage for a couple of songs and the promoters of the concert didn’t want her to. IIRC, she said she wouldn’t keep performing if he didn’t come on. So they let her bring him on. He sang a song or two himself and they sang one together. I had never heard him or heard of him at that point.

I think when you see the film, you would conclude that Dylan is “admirable” and “complex”. As much as those characteristics make someone likeable is up to the viewer…

What did you think?

thanx for coming! thanx for making your movie!
it’s hard to talk about a movie I haven’t seen and Dylan’s life has had so many chapters, despite the mystery that lingers around his name, it’s understandable I would think that he would generally eschew any press. Generally. I bet he thinks his life is as plain as he can make it.
Fame on that scale always seems such a funny house of mirrors that’s not often very funny.

I think Dylan is a likeable person, but he is complex, so he has to be understood to be appreciated.

There is no question that Dylan suffered a great deal both personally and artistically over the years of his fame, he struggled with finding relevance and keeping his career going again and again as most artists do. He’s been to the tops of the highest mountains and down to the pits of the deepest oceans…

The period I felt I learned most about the man was the mid ’70′s. I thihnk of the story of him showing up at some bar in Greenwich Village in the mid ’70′s and asking to use the stage and him playing “Abandoned Love” to an audience of maybe a few dozen. I’ve heard tapes of those occurences and lyric variations can show some of the turmoil one would think of that time period. But with Bob (I always say) Who knows?
hahaha

Thanks for your answer….did not mean to be a pill. Of course, I think he is interesting, and your comments are helpful.

Joel thank you for being here tonight. BOB DYLAN REVEALED will be out on DVD DVD and be on Video on Demand throughout the United States and Canada on all cable and satellite systems starting May 1st.

Next we have Roger Sherman and The Restaurateur

Thanks firepups and firebaggers. And Joel, thank you again!

Thanks for having me!

Thank you also, Lisa…..You really bring interesting folks. Great job.

Yeah, thanks for the teaser. Will check it out, fer sure.

I’ve also really come to appreciate the releases of the last 15 years or so. From World Gone Wrong on or the one before that. Time Out of Mind kicked me sideways it seemed so pertinent to where I was at in my life. Knocked me stoopid silly. The last studio record showed I think he’s still standing by the door trying to have a good time at making a good time. All the Tell Tale Signs stuff looks kinda like that I think and I love all that. ah just a tad late. ah well.

Thanks Lisa and Joel!

A wonderful film.

Really looking forward to seeing this, thanks Lisa!