Bob Dylan acted out his entire role in ‘A Complete Unknown’ before approving biopic’s script
Committing an artist’s film to film is fraught with difficulties. How can one accurately portray somebody like Bob Dylan without relying too heavily on myths and legends? In the case of the new Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, the production team had the songwriter himself on hand to provide guidance and notes on the script, ensuring the film fit with his recollection of events.
Unlike certain other biopics, which receive little to no input from their subject matter, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown has always been keen to work closely with Dylan. For instance, leading actor Timothée Chalamet was reportedly given a plethora of unreleased material from Dylan, going back to the mid-1960s when the film is centred. Seemingly, though, the folk singer’s influence over the film goes much deeper.
Producer Peter Jaysen, who was essential in securing the rights to Dylan’s music and story for the film, recently appeared on The Town podcast. During that interview, the producer shared an insight into Dylan’s role in the production, “He met with Jim Mangold multiple times. At one point, they sat there, and they read the entire script out loud, with Jim Mangold reading every part and stage direction, and Bob Dylan only reading lines of dialogue for himself.”
Not only did Dylan essentially act out the entire film, he also made extensive notes on the script, with Jaysen recalling, “Through that process, [Dylan] sat there writing notes on the script. At the end of the last session with Jim Mangold, he signed the script and said, ‘Go with God.’”
Chalamet himself has confirmed this elsewhere, saying, “Jim has an annotated Bob script lying around somewhere,” he said. “I’ll beg him to get my hands on it. He’ll never give it to me.” It would appear, therefore, that A Complete Unknown has the Bob Dylan seal of approval, with the songwriter a key aspect of the film’s production.
That kind of luxury is not afforded to many biopics, as the subject matter is often deceased or unable to contribute. Dylan’s contributions to A Complete Unknown seem to suggest that the film will be different from a simple run-of-the-mill music biopic, instead getting to the heart of one of America’s defining songwriters.
In the podcast interview, Jaysen also revealed that his company has been in early talks about producing more music biopic films, namely about Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett and the Mamas and the Papas vocalist Cass Elliot.
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