Biographical feature films about famous musicians are still a trend in Hollywood. Is it any wonder that singer-songwriter legend Bob Dylan is getting his own biopic again (most recently after I’m Not There)? To make the flick as authentic as possible, director James Mangold (“Logan”) sat down with Dylan for some advice.
Mangold: “Bob Dylan personally gave his comments on the script”
James Mangold, who just delivered the fifth and final Indiana Jones film in the summer of 2023, spent a few days with Bob Dylan to get his script approved. The “Like A Rolling Stone” singer admitted to being a fan of the “Cop Land” director.
Mangold spoke to the US magazine “Indiewire” about his encounter with Dylan: “I personally had his comments on the script given to me. He loves movies,” elaborates the filmmaker. According to Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”, as the upcoming film is called, should not become a “real biopic”. It was precisely this aspect that appealed to Bob Dylan in the project.
“The reason Bob was so supportive of us is because the best true-life movies are never cradle to grave, they’re always about a very specific moment,” Mangold said. The film is much more about the beginnings of Dylan’s career and how the folk singer Peter Seeger supported him on his way.
It seems the Dylan film is in safe hands with Mangold. The director also proved how he can approach the sensitive subject with his Johnny Cash film “Walk the Line”, starring Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”). As we’ve known since the difficult production of Queen’s biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, music films are no easy feat.
A release date for “A Complete Unknown” has not yet been set. But what we do know is that the Franco-American Timothée Charlament will star and even be heard himself.