Timothée Chalamet to play Bob Dylan in movie biopic
It charts Dylan's rise from folk to rock star
Last updated 7th Jan 2020
Timothée Chalamet is being lined up to play Bob Dylan in a new biopic chronicling the music legend’s transition from folk singer to rock star.
According to Deadline, acclaimed director James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari, The Greatest Showman) will helm the Searchlight Pictures movie which is reportedly going by the title of Going Electric.
24-year-old Call Me By Your Name, Little Women and Lady Bird star Timothée Chalamet is in negotiations to play Dylan and it’s expected he’ll commence work on the film once his appearance in 4,000 Miles at London’s Old Vic Theatre wraps up in May.
Based on the book Dylan Goes Electric by Elijah Wald, the movie follows Dylan’s rise from Greenwich Village folk singer to rock icon, which was seen as controversial among some members of the folk community.
Dylan’s March 1965 album ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ was his first to feature electric instruments and in July of that year Dylan was booed by hardliner folk fans when he performed electric at Newport Folk Festival.
The controversy unexpectedly came to a head on 17th May 1966 when Dylan played Manchester Free Trade Hall – aka the ‘Judas’ show.
Irate at Dylan’s shift in musical style, one member of the audience shouted “Judas!” following ‘Ballad of a Thin Man’ during the electric part of the set. Dubbing the man “a liar” in response, Dylan urged his band The Hawks to “play it loud” for set closer ‘Like a Rolling Stone’.
The controversy was covered in Martin Scorsese’s 2005 Dylan documentary film No Direction Home.
Bob Dylan himself is executive producer on the Going Electric film and his seminal music will feature throughout.
Additionally, the movie will be produced by Dylan’s longtime manager Jeff Rosen, Veritas Entertainment Group’s Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer and Peter Jaysen, Automatik’s Fred Berger, The Picture Company’s Alex Heineman and James Mangold.