Cindy Adams Explains I'm Not There

By S.T. VanAirsdale

In case you didn't know already, the joke was on you if you planned to rely on one of those authorized Weinstein Co. cheat sheets during last week's opening of I'm Not There. Reeler legend and second-string Weinstein gossip conduit Cindy Adams asked the hard questions we film writers overlooked for the last three months, spilling one distilled secret after another -- straight from Todd Haynes himself! -- in today's Post:

We know director Todd Haynes makes big-time movies. He's supersuccessful. So what's with this shtick of casting a Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere all as Dylan? Said Todd:

"Bob Dylan exhausted one creative phase then rejected it to do something new. His way to create freshness. Being Dylan was a suffocating mantle. He needed fresh air.

"I picked Richard Gere because he's somebody who changed the history of American film. It's there in the lines of his face. He's incredibly glamorous yet changed. He depicts Dylan disappearing into himself to regroup.

"I picked Heath Ledger because in Brokeback Mountain I was floored by his sensitivity and sexuality. Despite questionable moods and attitudes towards women, he clearly shared their sympathies.

"Cate Blanchett, because the core of Dylan's electric period is his physical transformation. Tailored British-style Carnaby Street suits. Bizarre punk rock image yet androgynous quality. Like a woman. Cate went beyond the character and got inside his skin. With her, you're inside."

OK. If you say so.

"If you say so"? Snap! Aunt Cindy clearly begs to differ, as she did so memorably last year with Lawrence Levi and David Kamp's estimation of Tom Cruise films. Why withhold now? The Reeler laments the spirit of critical enthusiasm that once so enamored us but has since slackened in the aromatic penthouse fog of bat shit and Yorkie piss. This is Oscar season, Cindy -- no time for complacency and certainly no time to let Haynes' gender politics and Richard Gere-fanboy proclivities off the hook. " 'Sympathies?' Hmph. Has a kennel ever caked your dog in blood, Todd?" Seriously! Let the fucker have it!

Posted at November 26, 2007 8:32 AM