He has spoken: Bob Dylan weighed in on Timothée Chalamet playing him
Bob Dylan is having a moment. Well, to be clear, Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan is having a moment. With A Complete Unknown coming out in theaters this Christmas, many are looking to the folk music icon. And he has spoken.
To set the scene: I am a huge Bob Dylan fan. I’ve had a poster of the singer-songwriter on my wall since college. It was the first thing I bought when I got to my freshman dorm. So A Complete Unknown has been a movie I’ve been extremely interested in as not only a fan of Dylan but of the filmmaking surrounding songwriters like him. It is why I love movies like Inside Llewyn Davis.
Recently, news surrounding A Complete Unknown has picked up. At the Gotham Awards, the cast was in attendance and even Oscar Isaac, who stars opposite Chalamet in Dune and who played Llewyn Davis in the Coen Brothers’ film, was talking about how exciting it is. According to Deadline, Isaac said “I mean it’s Dylan — the Holy of Holies.”
Since, Dylan himself has talked about the film. He told people to read the book, Dylan Goes Electric by Elijah Wald, that the film is based on. But he spoke highly of Chalamet in James Mangold’s film about him and his belief in his performance.
Dylan wrote on X: “There’s a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!). Timothée Chalamet is starring in the lead role. Timmy’s a brilliant actor so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me. The film’s taken from Elijah Wald’s Dylan Goes Electric – a book that came out in 2015. It’s a fantastic retelling of events from the early ‘60s that led up to the fiasco at Newport. After you’ve seen the movie read the book.”
Chalamet then responded to Dylan’s post, sharing his gratitude.
A Dylan story is exactly what I want
The reason I have loved Inside Llewyn Davis for so many years is because there is a beautiful sadness to folk singers. It is why Dylan has always been my favorite. So to see a movie centered around the beginning of Dylan’s career fascinates me.
It will most definitely include my favorite of Dylan’s songs and I know that my all time favorite album cover is going to be included. All of these things have me well aware of the fact that this movie is going to be something I enjoy. But the more I hear about it and now with Dylan’s blessing has me beyond excited to see what Mangold and Chalamet has in store.
Dylan is such an interesting performer, one we’ve seen brought to life through other films like I’m Not There and even in the musical Girl From the North Country. But what makes A Complete Unknown special is that it is a straight forward origin story of the artist and I cannot wait to spend time with a musician who means the world to me.
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