Like a Rolling Stone

The man behind ''Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story'' and ''Velvet Goldmine'' is gearing up for his most ambitious music film yet. Writer-director Todd Haynes -- currently bathing in acclaim and Oscar buzz for his ''Far From Heaven'' -- is planning a movie based on the life of Bob Dylan. ''I don't have a script yet, but when all this [awards hype] settles down, I'm going to get to work,'' he says. ''I have some notes and some very rough things fleshed out, but I'm looking forward to going back into the cave.''

The plot is itself rather Dylanesque. ''It will be a fictional drama that will draw from his life, but it will refract who he is into a cluster of characters played by different actors who will be him, but none of them him,'' says Haynes. ''It's probably the most honest way to tell anybody's story, because we look back on our lives and, hopefully, we occupy different selves that have changed and grown and [been] discarded. He's a great example of that. It's the only way to tackle his multiplicity.''

Haynes hasn't spoken to Dylan but says the singer-songwriter has, through his manager, given his go-ahead and permission to use his music. Sounds pretty close to heaven to us.

(Reporting by Jeff Jensen)

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