,
Chalamet had five years to prepare for the role
,
This film will be released in theaters on Christmas day
,
Filming delayed due to pandemic, actors’ strike
,
Bob Dylan provided script input
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Timothée Chalamet compared his journey to playing music legend Bob Dylan to an athletic feat. It turned into a marathon that lasted longer than the actor expected.
Chalamet signed up to play the role of Dylan in 2019. Then came a global pandemic and labor strikes in Hollywood, causing filming to be delayed twice.
“A Complete Unknown,” the film about Dylan’s rapid rise to stardom in the early 1960s, will finally be released in theaters by Walt Disney’s Searchlight Pictures on Wednesday, Christmas Day.
The interruptions gave the “Dune” actor more time to work out how to portray this huge image on the big screen. Chalamet learned to play guitar and harmonica and worked with a vocal coach to develop his spontaneous “Wonka” singing to Dylan’s distinctive, nasal voice.
Chalamet compared the preparation to “climbing a steep hill”, saying in an interview, “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“A Complete Unknown” describes Dylan’s arrival in New York at the age of 19 in 1961, his rapid rise through the folk music scene with songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind”, and his divisive turn toward electric rock music in 1965. . The film’s title is taken from a line from Dylan’s hit “Like a Rolling Stone”.
Chalamet said that in the early ’60s, when it was a time of political and social turmoil in the United States, he immersed himself in whatever video of Dylan he could find.
“Especially in this period of time, there’s a limited amount of content available,” Chalamet said. “At some point you can turn every page. Needless to say I’ve done that, but I’ve come very close to it if I haven’t.”
In the summer of 2023, Chalamet said, “I felt like I hit a runner’s high in preparation”.
“I felt like my muscles were strong and I was well prepared, and every day was like slowly dismantling this big thing,” he said.
As soon as Chalamet was ready, Hollywood actors went on strike, worried that funding or casting might be hindered. Final approval to begin filming was received in March 2024.
dylan’s weight is
The real-life Dylan provided input on the script to director James Mangold, but never met or spoke to Chalamet, although he recently described the star as “a brilliant actor”.
Dylan wrote on social media platform
Chalamet’s performance has earned praise from critics and predictions that he may receive his second Oscar nomination. He and co-star Edward Norton were nominated for Golden Globes.
Other co-stars include Elle Fanning, who plays girlfriend Suze Rotolo, who appeared on the cover of the album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” but is known as Sylvie Russo in the film.
Monica Barbero plays singer Joan Baez, who had already appeared on the cover of Time magazine when her career intersected with Dylan’s. At the time, Baez was trying to figure out how to use her platform as an activist.
Barbero said, “Bob came in and was kind of a messed-up guy, but also an absolute poet and brilliant songwriter, and he was putting words to all these things he felt.” “I think on top of his charisma, she was kind of attracted to him.”
Norton plays Pete Seeger, a banjo player and lead singer of protest music who mentored Dylan.
“I think a lot of people have forgotten who these people really were and what they did and what they looked like,” Norton said. “If we can get some people back on board, maybe it will be worth the whole enterprise.”
Chalamet agreed.
“Dylan is one of those names that is iconic for my generation,” the 28-year-old said. “You know the name, but because he’s an elusive person and a recluse… a lot of people my age don’t know the music.”
“It felt like an opportunity to somehow be a bridge and bring life to this amazing period,” he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
