Timothée Chalamet says he’s been given access to a ton of unreleased Bob Dylan music in preparation for his role in an upcoming biopic about the iconic singer-songwriter.
During an interview with Happy Sad Confused’s Josh Horowitz, the Wonka star revealed that Dylan’s longtime manager, Jeff Rosen, sent him a 12-hour playlist of unreleased songs by the legendary artist, recorded between 1959 and 1964. Rosen is serving as a producer on the forthcoming film, titled A Complete Unknown.
“This might earn the ire and wrath of a lot of Bob fans, rightfully,” Chalamet told Horowitz. “But he sent me like a 12-hour playlist of unreleased Bob stuff from like 1959 to ’64. I feel like I’m holding onto gold or something.”
The Dune actor pointed out that some of the music is already available to fans through such bootlegs as The Minnesota Tapes.
A Complete Unknown stars Chalamet as Dylan, Benedict Cumberbatch as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning in an unspecified role. Woody Guthrie will also be portrayed in the movie, though the actor cast for the role has not yet been announced.
The biopic, directed by James Mangold, is scheduled to begin production in August. The project is based on Elijah Wald’s book Dylan Goes Electric and a script from Jay Cocks.
Mangold previously confirmed that Chalamet will do his own singing in the forthcoming Searchlight Pictures film. During an interview with Collider at London’s Star Wars Celebration in early April, the director was asked whether the actor would do his own crooning in the movie, instead of dubbing in Dylan’s voice. Mangold replied, “Of course!”
“It’s such an amazing time in American culture,” Mangold said when asked what drew him to the Dylan film. “The story of a young, 19-year-old Bob Dylan coming to New York with like two dollars in his pocket and becoming a worldwide sensation within three years — first being embraced into the family of folk music in New York and then, of course, kind of outrunning them at a certain point as his star rises so beyond belief. It’s such an interesting true story and about such an interesting moment in the American scene.”
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