Bob Dylan is trying to halt the release of a new film because he fears it falsely implies he was responsible for Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick's suicide.

Dylan's lawyers have written to the producers and scriptwriter of the film Factory Girl, which stars Sienna Miller, demanding that all distribution and screenings are stopped until they have seen it.

Sedgwick, played by Miller, 24, was Warhol's brightest protegee until she died of an overdose of barbiturates in 1971.

She became acquainted with Dylan while living at Manhattan's Chelsea Hotel.

Dylan's lawyer wrote that the film's original screenplay depicted an alleged relationship between the two and suggested he dumped Sedgwick, leading to her "tragic decline into heroin addiction and eventual suicide".

In the film the character is called Billy Quinn, played by Hayden Christensen, and is said to be a composite of Dylan, the late Doors star Jim Morrison and Sir Mick Jagger.

Lawyer Orin Snyder says critics who have seen screenings say it is unmistakably Dylan, according to the New York Post.

He wants the film to be shelved until legal teams have seen it to determine if they think Dylan, who has "deep concerns," has been defamed.

Mr Snyder wrote: "You appear to be labouring under the misunderstanding that merely changing the name of a character or making him a purported fictional composite will immunise you from suit.

"That is not so. Even though Mr Dylan's name is not used, the portrayal remains both defamatory and a violation of Mr Dylan's right of publicity."

He added: "Until we are given an opportunity to view the film, we hereby demand that all distribution and screenings ... immediately be ceased."

The Weinstein Company, which is releasing the film in America on 29 December, confirmed the letter's existence but had no comment.

Fellow musician Lou Reed, who is portrayed under his own name in the movie, has already hit out at those involved in the film, calling them a "bunch of whores".

"I read that script and it's one of the most disgusting, foul things I've seen," he said.