This weekend, the first images of A Complete Unknown, a biopic about Bob Dylan, have been released. In case you didn’t know, yes there is a biopic about Bob Dylan currently being made. Don’t worry, we’re going over it all today. The film has been passed around in conversation for a few years, but we finally have made headway into actually filming the movie. According to reports, the movie will be shooting in New York City and New Jersey. But who is playing Bob Dylan? None other than Dune and Wonka actor Timothee Chalamet. Born and raised in New York, Timothee is an ambitious man who sowed his oats into the acting world at a young age. As his name suggests, he is also French and comes from a family of prominent privilege. However, considering he is technically a nepotism baby, he does not let that translate into how hard he has worked to make it into the entertainment industry and how humble he is. From a career starting in the Disney Channel to now scoring scripts to major blockbuster films, he is one of Hollywood’s best young actors of his generation. At only 28, he has taken the world by storm.
According to Timothee himself, he has stated that he considers playing the folk legend as an honor that he takes very seriously. While he was on the press junkets this February promoting his new movie Dune Part 2, he candidly spoke about his work ethic while approaching this movie. It is no surprise that music biopics are heavily scrutinized. Quite a lot of them don’t do justice to the actual musician they are portraying, and not every detail of the script is accurate to what happened in history. There are only a few that I think got it right: Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix who played Johnny Cash, Ray starring Jamie Fox as Ray Charles, Nowhere Boy starring Aaron Taylor Johnson who played a young John Lennon (while the story isn’t 100% accurate, the acting from Aaron was great and it’s one of the better biopics about John Lennon), Rocketman starring Taron Egerton as Elton John, Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, and Elvis starring Austin Butler as Elvis Presley. These actors were able to capture lightning in a bottle and transformed totally into the character, giving a performance that makes you believe you’re actually seeing the real man on the screen.
Circling back about to when Timothee was doing press for Dune Part 2, actor Austin Butler is his costar in the sci-fi sequel, and he gave Timothee some words of wisdom in playing Bob Dylan. It is rare that you get to actually pick the brain of somebody that can share a very unique experience to you. And in fact, Timothee mentioned that watching Austin on the big screen in Baz Lurhmann’s Elvis was what made him the most inspired. He knew he had to step up as an actor when he saw the immense work ethic that Austin brought to the table in playing The King of Rock and Roll. Timothee hired the same movement coach and dialect coach that Austin brought on to help him train for Elvis. Not only that, but Timothee spoke extensively to Bob Dylan’s family, visited his High School, listened to all of his albums and even has access to some unreleased audio recordings never before heard by the public, and took guitar lessons to take on Bob Dylan’s essence. Not only that, but Timothee will be singing in the movie as well with his own voice, not lip synching. That’s impressive!
According to IMDB, the byline for the movie is, “A young Bob Dylan shakes up the folk music scene when he plugs in his electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965”. Not a lot has been said about the movie, however we do have a small ensemble cast alongside Timothee Chalamet. It wouldn’t be a Bob Dylan movie without Joan Baez, and actress Monica Barbaro is playing Joan. Elle Fanning is also in this movie and she plays Bob’s girlfriend Sylvie Russo, who was on the cover of the famous album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” alongside Bob.
Searchlight pictures in association with The Pictures Company, Automatik Entertainment, and the Veritas Entertainment Group are making this movie. James Mangold will be directing the film, and he also directed Walk The Line. So we are in good hands with A Complete Unknown. I couldn’t find any information on how long production is supposed to run for, but we can expect this film to be released probably around 2025 or 2026 at most if all goes according to plan. The movie was originally supposed to have shot in August of last year, but the writers strike prohibited that from happening. Before it was named A Complete Unknown it also was originally titled Going Electric. I think I prefer the nod to the “Like a Rolling Stone” lyric better.
Rolling Stone magazine reported that Bob Dylan is personally overseeing the film and he approved of the script, with his own annotations and all. In speaking with Josh Horowitz of the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, James Mangold stated, “I’ve spent several, wonderfully charming days in his company, just one-on-one, talking to [Dylan]. I have a script that’s personally annotated by him and treasured by me. He loves movies. The reason Bob has been so supportive of us making it, is … as in all cases I think of the best true-life movies are never cradle to grave but they’re about a very specific moment.”
On The Mix Podcast 