Miller denies Dylan 'defamation'

Actress Sienna Miller has rejected claims that new film Factory Girl blames singer Bob Dylan for the death of Andy Warhol's muse, Edie Sedgwick.
Dylan reportedly tried to halt the release of the film, starring Miller as Sedgwick, claiming it defamed him.

Character Billy Quinn, who has a doomed affair with Sedgwick in the film, bears a physical likeness to Dylan.

But Miller told The Observer she was "mortified" to learn of Dylan's anger. "It blames Warhol more than anyone."

"I'm Bob Dylan's biggest fan. I'm mortified that he's pissed off," Miller, 25, told the Sunday newspaper.

"She [Sedgwick] needed help and no one helped her. It's not that Dylan drove her to heroin addiction."

Factory Girl follows the life of Sixties fashion icon Sedgwick, who committed suicide at the age of 28.

It was released in the US on Friday, just in time to allow it to qualify for this year's Academy Awards.

Producer Harvey Weinstein is keen to secure a nomination for Miller, who stars opposite Guy Pearce as Warhol.

Billy Quinn - "a hybrid of Dylan, Jim Morrison, Donovan" according to director George Hickenlooper - is played by Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen.

"Even though Mr Dylan's name is not used, the portrayal remains... defamatory," Dylan's lawyer Orin Snyder wrote in a letter to the film's producers, quoted in The Observer.

"It very obviously looks and sounds like Dylan," said Miller. "But I think a lot of actors base performances on real life."

Sedgwick is believed to have inspired some of Dylan's best-loved tracks, but the singer has never spoken publicly about their alleged relationship.