Bob Dylan Biopic ‘A Complete Unknown,’ Starring Timothée Chalamet, Sets Christmas Release Date
“A Complete Unknown,” the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet as the famed musician, will land in theaters on Christmas Day. It’s scheduled to hit the big screen on Dec. 25.
On its current release date, “A Compete Unknown” will premiere on the same day as Robert Eggers’ remake of “Nosferatu” and a week after Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
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“Walk the Line” filmmaker James Mangold directed “A Complete Unknown,” which chronicles the early life and times of Dylan. Set in New York in the early 1960s, the film begins as the enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives in Greenwich Village and ignites an “upheaval in the folk community” when, in 1965, he straps on an electric guitar. The first trailer, which debuted in July, gives a glimpse at Chalamet (who does his own singing) performing a rousing rendition of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and stopping by Dylan’s favorite haunts like Cafe Wha? and Hotel Chelsea.
Mangold and Jay Cocks adapted the screenplay from Elijah Wald’s 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric,” while the title borrows a phrase from Dylan’s folk rock anthem “Like a Rolling Stone.” Though the real-life Dylan, now 83, isn’t involved in the movie, he gave notes on the script and took multiple meetings with Mangold.
“I’ve spent several, wonderfully charming, days in his company, just one-on-one, talking to him,” Mangold said earlier this summer. “I have a script that’s personally annotated by him and treasured by me.”
“A Complete Unknown” features the sprawling cast of Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, Dan Fogler as Albert Grossman and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie.
Searchlight Pictures is backing the film. Chalamet and Mangold served as producers along with Fred Berger, Alex Heineman, Peter Jaysen, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer and Jeff Rosen.
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