The notion that we are different people throughout the different stages of our lives is one that filmmaker Todd Haynes takes to a literal extreme in his Bob Dylan biopic, I’m Not There.

The Velvet Goldmine director cast six actors to play the iconic musician, including marquee players like Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger as well as relative unknowns like Ben Whislaw and Marcus Carl Franklin.

It’s a ballsy move on Haynes’ part, but so is casting Tobias Fünke for the role of Allen Ginsberg.

“It’s partly a desire to figure him out and partly a desire to protect something that will always be enigmatic,” Haynes told USA Today. “We want to know where the source of his creative energies comes from, but we don’t want to destroy it.”

It could be a complete misfire, although this clip of Cate Blanchett taking on Dylan circa 1965/66 — complete with the oversized sunglasses and Jewfro — is pretty promising.

The film debuts next month in Italy and sees a limited release in the states on November 21 through The Weinstein Company (which is also peddling the Ian Curtis/Joy Division biopic, Control.)

Meanwhile, the film’s producers are planning a two-disc soundtrack where the likes of Willie Nelson, Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder, Stephen Malkmus, Mason Jennings and Jack Johnson cover Mr. Zimmerman. USA Today reports the soundtrack’s backing band, The Million Dollar Bashers, was assembled by Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo and includes guitarist Tom Verlaine (Television), guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco), keyboardist John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood), Tony Garnier (Dylan’s bass player), drummer Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) and guitarist Smokey Hormel.

In Dylan news, Columbia records will be releasing the three-disc retrospective, Dylan, on October 1. As for song selection, the set’s site says it’s still being determined but will be greatly influenced by the online lobbying of fans. Supposedly, there will be a deluxe edition as well as a pared-down single-disc version.