Dylan Wins Oscar for 'Wonder Boys'

The Associated Press

Three years ago, Bob Dylan conquered the Grammys. Now he's done the same at the Academy Awards.

Dylan won the best song Oscar Sunday for the rollicking "Things Have Changed," the tune he wrote for the quirky campus drama "Wonder Boys."

"Oh good God, this is amazing," he 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," Dylan added. "It's a song that doesn't pussyfoot around or turn a blind eye to human nature."

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 Lennons' "Watching the Wheels," Van Morrison's "The Philosopher's Stone" and Dylan's "Not Dark Yet" reflected the sensibilities of the main character, a befuddled novelist played by Michael Douglas.

Dylan wrote "Things Have Changed" after viewing rough footage of the film, lacing the lyrics with thematic references to action in the film.

The song 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."

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