Todd Haynes’ strange and wonderful Bob Dylan essay film I’m Not There earned critical accolades and an Oscar nomination for Cate Blanchett. The film hits stores this week on a two disc DVD full of deleted scenes, alternate takes, audition tapes, commentaries and a tribute to star Heath Ledger. Click above to check out the clip of Haynes’ interpretation of the infamous incident at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan went electric, and hit the jump to find out how you can win a copy of the I’m Not There DVD.

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The little movie (and soundtrack) that could just kept on doing at last night’s Academy Awards ceremony, as Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s “Falling Slowly” from the film Once took home the prize for Best Original Song. “Falling Slowly” beat out three tunes from Enchanted and one from August Rush – plus non-nominated songs from Eddie Vedder’s Into The Wild soundtrack – to win the Oscar, adding another trophy to sit beside the Grammy Hansard and Irglova won earlier this month in the same category. Also on Rock Daily’s radar was Cate Blanchett’s Best Supporting Actress bid for portraying a faux Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. Despite being an assumed favorite, Blanchett lost out to dark horse Tilda Swinton for her role in Michael Clayton. In case you missed the Academy Awards because you were too busy watching The Wire or Rock of Love 2, or if you just want to relive the action, Peter Travers has you covered with his Oscars Live Blog.

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While promoting I’m Not There in September at the Venice Film Festival, late actor Heath Ledger said at one point in his life he had wished to pursue another rock biopic: the story of Nick Drake, the singer-songwriter who overdosed on anti-depressants in 1974 at the age of twenty-six. According to MTV News, Ledger told a news conference, “I was obsessed with his story and his music and I pursued it for a while and still have hopes to kind of tell his story one day.” Evidently, Ledger’s “obsession with an artist by the name of Nick Drake” led him to make a video for Drake’s “Black Eyed Dog” that has only been screened twice (once at Bumbershoot and once at a Drake event in L.A.) and has yet to leak to the Internet. The black-and-white clip reportedly consists mainly of footage of Ledger, and concludes with the actor drowning himself in a bathtub. (more…)

The Oscar nominations are in… and Rock Daily favorites Eddie Vedder and Jonny Greenwood have both been shut out. The good news lies in the Best Supporting Actress category, where Cate Blanchett is nominated for her role of Bob Dylan alter-ego Jude Quinn in Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There (Blanchett also picked up a Best Actress nod for playing the title role in Elizabeth: The Golden Age; this is the second time she’s been nominated for playing that character). Rolling Stone cover boy Johnny Depp also snagged a nomination, getting a Best Actor nod for his starring role in Sweeney Todd.

On the music front, Jonny Greenwood’s score for There Will Be Blood was disqualified from the competition despite already picking up a Critic’s Choice Award and getting nominated for a British Academy Award. Eddie Vedder’s omission is confusing, as his “Guaranteed” from Into the Wild seemed to be a shoe-in for Oscar love after winning a Golden Globe. The Best Song category is dominated by fairy tale film Enchanted, which took three of the five nominations. “Falling Slowly,” co-written by the Frames’ Glen Hansard for the film Once, also received a nomination for Best Song. Barring Writers Strike-induced delays, the Oscars ceremony is scheduled to take place February 24th.

For Peter Travers’ take on the Oscar nominations and the events at the Sundance Film Festival, be sure to check out his blog here.

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• Critic’s Choice Awards: Radiohead Guitarist Wins Critics Choice Best Score, Vedder Leaves Empty-Handed (But Probably Got a Good Swag Bag)
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• Eddie Vedder, Flaming Lips, Roger Waters Lead Long Short List of Oscar Hopefuls

Evidently, the Golden Globes “award ceremony” occurred last night in the form a half-hour press conference. We were too distracted by Rock of Love 2 to watch, but we did see the list of winners this morning and we can now report accordingly. On the music front, the Hollywood Foreign Press loves them some Pearl Jam and Bob Dylan, as Eddie Vedder’s “Guaranteed” from Into the Wild won Best Original Song, filling the void on Vedder’s mantle that was meant for the Critics’ Choice Award he didn’t win. Cate Blanchett took home Best Supporting Actress for her role as Jude Quinn, one of the many Bob Dylan alter egos in Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There. In a press release/”Thank You” speech, Blanchett wrote/said “None of this would be possible without the great man himself, Bob Dylan, wherever you are, whoever you are, I thank you deeply.”

Johnny Depp, star of Sweeney Todd and the current issue of Rolling Stone, followed up his win at the Peoples’ Choice Awards with the Best Performance By an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy trophy, while Sweeney Todd itself won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Best Score went to Dario Marianelli and Atonement, which didn’t have to face off against the Critics’ pick Jonny Greenwood and his There Will Be Blood score because it wasn’t nominated. In one last music note, Queen Latifah won the Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television award for the HBO film Life Support.

[Photo: Getty]

The latest issue of Rolling Stone features Greil Marcus’s in-depth Q&A with Todd Haynes, director of I’m Not There — the new film in which six different actors portray Bob Dylan. The interview was originally conducted before an audience at the Telluride Film Festival, the day after I’m Not There premiered. Below, check out audio excerpts from the interview:

• Haynes talks about the concept of identity in his films — including Dylan’s status as identity-changer, and how the Sixties may have marked been the beginning of a national “identity crisis.”
  

• Haynes talks about the idea of “queerness” in his films, touching on both Andy Warhol and Pentecostal fundamentalist Christianity.
  

• Marcus and Haynes answer an audience question about the role of Dylan’s music in the film.

The biggest music film of the fall is Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There, in which six different actors play Bob Dylan. Check out what Peter Travers has to say about it in this video review.

Plus: Read Travers’ review of I’m Not There here.

>> Watch every episode of our weekly Peter Travers video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click “Launch application”). Every Friday, a new episode will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don’t have iTunes, download it here.]

• KISS has announced Kissology Vol. 3 — nearly ten hours of the band’s live performances from 1992-2000 on four DVDs (some sets include a bonus fifth), including their MTV Unplugged in 1995 and a show at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium in 1998. The set, due in stores December 18th, also features the 1973 Queens, New York gig that marked KISS’ first concert filmed in makeup.

• Foxy Brown has pleaded not guilty to assault charges stemming from an August BlackBerry-throwing incident. Brown is currently serving a year in jail due to probation violation. Last Friday the MC refused to travel to the hearing on a prison bus, leading prosecutors to threaten to place her on a bus in handcuffs for the rescheduled date.

• CBGB and MVD Entertainment have partnered to release a series of CDs commemorating legendary performances at the defunct NYC venue. The first set will include shows by Mooney Suzuki and the Queers, with another disc expected before the end of the year.

• Elliott Smith’s girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba, will no longer receive payments from Smith’s estate because she “acted as an unlicensed talent agent” when serving as Smith’s manager. If Chiba appeals, the case could be reviewed by California’s Supreme Court.

• My Morning Jacket, the Roots, J Mascis and more will play a show together on November 7th for “I’m Not There: In Concert a Celebration of Todd Haynes’ Film” at New York’s Beacon Theatre. The lineup also includes Calexico and Cat Power.

An astonishing number of days have passed since we last posted anything about Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan-inspired film I’m Not There, but fear not, today we came across this video about the movie. I’m Not There was awarded the Special Jury Prize (alongside La Graine et le Mulet, a French film by Abdellatif Kechiche) at this year’s Venice Film Festival earlier this month, and this report, which features interviews with director Haynes and one of the film’s six Dylans (Heath Ledger), provides welcome insight into Haynes’ vision. Check it out, then enjoy a tour through our past coverage of the film including our I’m Not There photo gallery, on-set report, and sneak-peak preview of the film.

First things first: click above to watch the trailer for the film Rock Daily is clearly fascinated with, Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan-inspired I’m Not There.

Plus, in an interview in today’s New York Times, indie-film bigwig Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Company will distrbute I’m Not There, explains how fans will be able to get to see the movie — slowly, over time. On November 21st, it will open on four screens in New York and Los Angeles (Film Forum and Lincoln Plaza in New York; Westside Pavilion and ArcLight Cinemas in LA) before eventually hitting one hundred American cities. “With a movie like this you have to build it,” said Weinstein. “I like the movie; I think it’s adventurous. The audience is going to have to work — work in a good way.”

And Weinstein thinks one of the film’s Dylans should be preparing an Oscar acceptance speech: “I may be jumping the gun,” Weinstein said, “But if Cate Blanchett doesn’t get nominated, I’ll shoot myself.” As Rock Daily can attest, Blanchett delivers a pretty extraordinary performance.

We’ve been following the evolution of Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan-inspired film I’m Not There since the first images of Cate Blanchett as Dylan emerged. Since then we’ve visited the set and posted everything from our impressions after seeing the film to photos of the film’s actors in various stages of Dylan channeling. Today, as images of all the major characters in the film have leaked online via the Playlist blog, we’ve updated our I’m Not There photo gallery. Check out new images of Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and the Dylans you haven’t seen before right here.

If it’s not already apparent from the collection of I’m Not There-related posts already on our site, Rolling Stone is very intrigued by the forthcoming Todd Haynes-directed, Bob Dylan-inspired film. We’ve shown you images from the shoot as they’ve emerged online, but now we’ve compiled all the coolest shots into one handy photo gallery. Check it out here.

Craigslist is a great place to find a used bookshelf or someone with a foot fetish, but who would have guessed Bob Dylan’s camp would use it to cast his new music video? According to this posting on the New York list, they’re looking for Bob Dylan fans in their twenties to forties who “embody the style of the 1960s, 70s or 80s.” Seems like they’re casting a rather wide net there. The video directors are also looking for “Bob Dylan look-a-likes at any stage of his life between 5′7″ - 5′9″ in height.” There’s no indication of what the video is for, but presumably it’s related to the soundtrack to the Todd Haynes biopic I’m Not There. E-mail BobDylanVideo@gmail.com if you want to be in the clip (or have any of the “vintage” props they’re seeking). The shoot is somewhere in New York next Tuesday.

Photo: Micelotta / Getty

As you may have noticed, Rock Daily is following the progress of Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There pretty closely. Last summer our collective minds were blown by eerily spot-on photos of Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan. We visited the film’s Montreal set, then checked out the first clip to leak from the film, which features Blanchett’s Dylan conversing with Allen Ginsberg, played by David Cross. Most recently, we were treated to a special screening of I’m Not There, where we learned about performances by My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and Sonic Youth. And now we’ve stumbled upon two more photos from the set, of Heath Ledger and Richard Gere in character as Dylan.

Sometimes, life is good: Last night Rolling Stone got an exclusive screening of the new Todd Haynes film I’m Not There in which six actors portray Bob Dylan. We’re pretty much sworn to secrecy, but can’t resist giving you a few highlights:

• Cate Blanchett as Dylan, meeting Brian Jones at a party and calling the Rolling Stones a “groovy covers band,” then screaming “play your old stuff” at a statue of Jesus Christ alongside David Cross as Allen Ginsberg.

• Christian Bale as the late-’70s born-again Dylan, sermonizing about Christ and delivering the hidden Dylan gospel classic “Pressing On,” from Saved, sung by John Doe.

• My Morning Jacket’s Jim James’ heartbreaking rendition of the basement tapes chestnut “Goin’ to Acapulco” in full Rolling Thunder Review white face.

• Sonic Youth’s brilliant version of the unreleased Dylan classic “I’m Not There” from the basement tapes session that plays during the closing credits.

Photo: Persson/Redferns/Retna