"Someone showed me a picture and I just laughed. Dignity never been photographed."

Los Angeles, March 25, 2001.
Dylan wins Oscar for "Things Have Changed,'' the tune he wrote for the quirky campus drama Wonder Boys !

Dylan wrote the song after viewing rough footage of Wonder Boys, lacing the lyrics with thematic references to action in the film.

"Things Have Changed" features Dylan's sardonic refrain:

People are crazy and times are strange,
I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range,
I used to care, but things have changed.

In introducing his performance, Jennifer Lopez said, "in a sense, the song mirrors the ongoing career of Bob Dylan.''

It was the first original song Dylan wrote for a movie since "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," from the 1973 western Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

In 1998, Dylan won three Grammys, including best album for Time Out of Mind. Before that, Dylan had won or shared in only four minor Grammys for his entire career.

Wonder Boys director Curtis Hanson carefully weaved previously released tunes by 1960s and 1970s music icons throughout the film, including three other Dylan tracks.

Hanson said songs such as Neil Young's "Old Man," John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels," Van Morrison's "The Philosopher's Stone" and Bob Dylan's "Not Dark Yet" reflected the sensibilities of the main character, a befuddled novelist played by Michael Douglas.

"Oh good God, this is amazing," Dylan said after performing the song live by satellite on the Oscar telecast from Sydney, Australia, and winning the award.

"I'd like to thank the members of the Academy who were bold enough to give me this award for this song," he added. "It's a song that doesn't pussyfoot around or turn a blind eye to human nature."

franc'O'brain & Transputer Qasar. 2001-2003.
Email: francobrain@angelfire.com.