MOVIES
Elle Fanning will join Timothée Chalamet in new Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’
A number of stars have joined the cast of the upcoming biopic.
Timothée Chalamet is preparing to put his singing skills to the test in the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’, and is now confirmed to be joined by a cast of A-list stars.
Joining Chalamet in the upcoming movie are Elle Fanning, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Monica Barbaro.
Filming for the biopic is set to begin in August in New York.
What is ‘A Complete Unknown’ about?
‘A Complete Unknown’ follows the events of Bob Dylan’s performance at the Newport Music Festival in 1965, which solidified his legendary status by introducing the electric guitar to folk music.
Fanning will play Sylvie Russo, a university student, artist, and Dylan’s love interest throughout the 60s. Dylan famously dated artist Suze Rotolo in the 60s, who may be the inspiration for Fanning’s character.
Meanwhile, Cumberbatch will portray Pete Seeger, a legendary folk singer who was the man responsible for getting Dylan invited to perform at the Newport Music Festival. He also managed to have John Hammond produce Dylan’s first album, ‘Bob Dylan’.
Barbaro will play folk singer Joan Baez, who also performed at the Newport Music Festival, singing her song ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’.
Who is working on ‘A Complete Unknown’?
James Mangold, who directed ‘Girl, Interrupted’ and ‘Walk the Line’, is directing the biopic, with ‘Gangs of New York’ writer Jay Cocks covering the script, which is based on Elijah Wald’s book ‘Dylan Goes Electric’, published in 2015.
Automatik’s Fred Berger, Veritas’ Peter Jaysen, Alan Gasmer and Bob Bookman are all producing the biopic. They are joined by The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman and Jeff Rosen.
Dylan himself will join as executive producer, along with Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Andrew Rona.
Searchlight’s senior vice president Taylor Friedman and vice president Richard Ruiz are overseeing the production, reporting to Katie-Goodson Thomas and DanTram Nguyen.
The biopic is expected to be released sometime between mid-2024 and early 2025.