AFI Life Achievement Awards-Michael Douglas

I was watching the ceremony celebrating Michael Douglas work in producing (he produced 21 movies including One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) and for acting...and I was surprised when Dylan actually performed at the show. Stagg and I love his hat!

Bob Dylan won an Oscar for the wonderful movie Wonder Boys (a must see) and then I realized...hey the director of Wonder Boys is Curtis Hanson and one of his other movies...8 Mile also won an Oscar for Eminem! Lose Yourself and 8 Mile was the first soundtrack and film to win an Oscar for rap/hip hop.

Hanson had been a fan of Bob Dylan's music since childhood and a great admirer of his soundtrack for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Dylan admired Hanson's previous film, L.A. Confidential and after much convincing, screened 90 minutes of rough footage from Wonder Boys. Hanson picked Dylan because, as he said, "Who knows more about being a Wonder Boy and the trap it can be, about the expectations and the fear of repeating yourself?

In addition to Dylan, Hanson built the score around nine singer-songwriters including Leonard Cohen and Neil Young. The entire soundtrack is integrated into the film with Hanson playing some of the songs for the actors on the Pittsburgh set to convey a scene's "aural texture", as he put it.The soundtrack features several songs by Bob Dylan, including one new composition, "Things Have Changed". Hanson also created a music video for the song, filming new footage of Bob Dylan on the film's various locations and editing it with footage used in Wonder Boys as if Dylan were actually in the film. According to Hanson, "Every song reflects the movie's themes of searching for past promise, future success and a sense of purpose"



I wish Eminem had been at the Oscars to get his award.