As musician biopics, ranging from The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, look to outpace superhero movies in the next few years in terms of quantity and possibly popularity, A Complete Unknown looks to lead the charge.
Starring Timothée Chalamet and directed by James Mangold, A Complete Unknown follows folk music icon Bob Dylan from the years 1961 to 1965, as he makes an unprecedented leap into creating music with electrically-amplified instruments, dividing fans of his previous work as an acoustic-based outcast in a time of great change in America (get it? kind of like the famous song?). Previously, the Bob Dylan biopic was titled Going Electric during pre-production and casting.
Filming for A Complete Unknown recently began in March 2024, with Chalamet, looking perfectly the part in sunglasses and Dylan’s signature curls, shot a scene with fellow musician and a former flame of Dylan’s at the time, Joan Baez, played by actress Monica Barbaro.
While other musician biopics, such as the recent film Bob Marley: One Love, tend to work alongside their subjects (or their estates, if they are deceased), this is not the case for A Complete Unknown. Dylan is arguably almost as famous for his reclusiveness and aura of mystery as he is for his music, rarely partaking in interviews or appearing in public.
Without its subject at the helm, A Complete Unknown runs a serious risk of disproval or even upset from Dylan, as the film looks to portray one of the most controversial aspects of his career, as well as his personal relationships with Baez, and his former mentor and later critic of his stylistic transition, folk musician Pete Seeger.
Dylan’s relationship to the film has remained as mysterious as the man himself, so has the Pulitzer-winning songwriter given Chalamet any guidance for what could be his biggest role yet, or is the young actor heading into a complete unknown of his own?
Has Bob Dylan approved of Timothée Chalamet portraying him?
So far, as of April 2024, Dylan has given no public statement on his thoughts regarding A Complete Unknown. This is no surprise from the man who successfully hid a wife and child from the press for decades, so Mangold, Chalamet, and co. probably aren’t expecting one. However, one piece of “gold” that Chalamet has discussed in interviews surrounding the upcoming biopic may hint at some approval from the voice of a generation.
The 28-year-old actor has revealed that he has access to hours of unreleased music by Bob Dylan, as given to him by Dylan’s manager, Jeff Rosen, who famously never discusses his client in public. Although some songs are available via bootleg, the collection of recordings ranging from 1959 to 1964, are mostly unavailable to the public.
“This might earn the ire and wrath of a lot of Bob fans, rightfully, but [Rosen] sent me like a 12-hour playlist of unreleased Bob stuff from like 1959 to ’64. I feel like I’m holding onto gold or something,” Chalamet told celebrity interviewer Josh Horowitz.
While this isn’t a certified stamp of approval from the man himself, the Oscar-nominated actor has some friendliness with Dylan’s camp while he prepared for the role in the hotly-anticipated flick. Jeff Rosen is also acting as a producer on the upcoming film, which is a very good sign for getting on the right side of Dylan. Rosen will most likely act as a liaison between the two camps, and who knows Dylan better than Rosen?
Some outlets, particularly early on in the production, have stated that Bob Dylan is an executive producer for A Complete Unknown. Early Deadline reports have stated this, and Dylan is listed as such on IMDb (as of April 2024), but later industry reports have seemingly dropped him from the title, as he hasn’t been listed as an EP recently.
However, in a recent interview with Mangold for Happy Sad Confused, director James Mangold said he has spent “several wonderfully charming days” in the company of the music legend. He also added that Dylan personally annotated a script for the film, which would possibly make him some sort of script doctor or consultant, although this could easily go uncredited. That being said, Mangold did not state that he was a producer for the film.
It seems that Chalamet can rest easy — or perhaps feel more pressure — knowing that the icon he is portraying is keeping a close eye on his portrayal, whether Dylan is serving as Executive Producer or not.
What did Bob Dylan think of his previous biopic, I’m Not There?
Back in 2007, the biggest Bob Dylan biopic to be released thus far, I’m Not There, hit theaters. An experimental film by director Todd Haynes, six actors — Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw — portrayed six different personas of the music icon. The film received particular praise for its unorthodox casting, with Blanchett, a woman, and Franklin, a child of African-American descent, portraying Dylan.
When asked about the film by Rolling Stone in 2012, Dylan responded that “he thought it was all right,” which is arguably high praise for a man of few (spoken) words. He went on to add some compliments, however. “I thought it looked good, and those actors were incredible.”
Director Todd Haynes was applauded by the musician for his creative authenticity, with the songwriter adding “Do you think that [Haynes] was worried that people would understand it or not? I don’t think he cared one bit. I just think he wanted to make a good movie.”
