FILM FESTIVALS REVEALED: If the AFI Dallas International Film Festival looks a bit different when it debuts on Thursday, it’s not the only one going through changes. Really, not too much is different over at AFI – NorthPark Center has taken over presenting sponosor duties, the run is a few days shorter. But change is par for the course in festival land these days. A half dozen or so prominent film festivals have changed leadership in the last year (Sundance and Tribeca among them); meanwhile, the economy has taken its toll, with at least five fests around the country shutting down. The L.A. Times caught up with a number of festival heads to take the temperature of the indie film world; you can read all about it here.

OUT IN L.A.: Continuing this morning’s West Coast trend, The Amon Carter Museum blog alerts us to an a story about Paul Outerbridge, who broke new ground in the field of color photography during his lifetime. Outerbridge has a pair of Southern California shows currently on display. So why should we care? Well, if you’ve ever spent much time at the Amon Carter, you will likely recognize his work. The museum has eight of his photos in its collection.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO: First, we get word earlier this month that Phil Collins is a huge Alamo buff. And now it sounds like Bob Dylan has got the Texas Revolution on his mind, too. What in the name of Stephen F. Austin is going on here? The singer has been fielding questions from veteran rock journalist Bill Flannigan on his Web site, and somehow the conversation turned to Texas history. Here’s a snippet, which starts with Flannigan asking about a song on Dylan’s upcoming album, Togehter Through Life:

FLANNIGAN: The guy in “If You Ever Go to Houston” mentions he was in Houston during the Mexican War. A lot of people think the Anglos treated the Spanish badly in Texas, but miss the fact that the Spanish had claimed Texas for Mexico without ever populating it. They just drew a big line on the map and said, “All this is ours.” The people who actually lived there were either Anglo settlers or Indians, and none of them wanted anything to do with Spain or its Mexican colony. Do you think Sam Houston has gotten a bum rap?
DYLAN: I don’t know. I never heard that he had gotten a bum rap. Are we talking about Sam Houston the statesman, soldier and politician? Sam Houston was the governor of two states, both Texas and Tennessee. Who else has ever done that! What was he supposed to have gotten a bum rap for?
FLANNIGAN: Well, he chopped off Texas from Mexico.
DYLAN: No he didn’t. He chopped it off from Spain. Just like somebody else chopped off Florida from Spain. Where does the bum rap come in?
FLANNIGAN: Somebody insulted him in the movie Giant, which got Rock Hudson all worked up. And I think Steve Earle might have taken a shot at him – or maybe it was Colonel Travis.
DYLAN: Giant‘s all about money. That’s where Jimmy Dean says to Rock Hudson, “I’ll have more money than you and all the rest of you stinkin’ sons of Benedict.” I thought it was that which got Rock so worked up. Steve Earle, he may know something I don’t know. As for Travis, he was a lawyer and died at the Alamo. It could have been something personal.