A new movie about singer-songwriter legend Bob Dylan is in the works, and it’s now reportedly found its lead actor. Timothee Chalamet is in discussions to play Dylan in the upcoming film, according to Deadline. The movie is called “Going Electric,” and it’s being directed by Logan and Ford v. Ferrari director James Mangold.
According to Deadline, Chalamet will play a young Dylan at the point in his life when he elected to pursue rock music ahead of folk. Dylan himself is said to be “actively” involved with Mangold and production company Fox Searchlight (which is owned by Disney) on the film.
Deadline reports that Chalamet has begun taking guitar lessons to prepare for the role, though it’s uncertain if he will sing as well.
Dylan made waves at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he played electric guitar instead of acoustic. Some people got really upset, leading to a huge controversy, while others praised his new sound. It was certainly dramatic, so it’s no surprise a movie is finally being made about it.
The film will also reportedly feature portrayals of other ’60s music icons like Joan Baez and Pete Seeger.
Mangold has a history with biopics about legends of the music world. He also directed the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
Chalamet was recently seen in Greta Gerwig’s new Little Women movie, and also starred in the Netflix movie The King. Later this year, Chalamet will appear in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, which features numerous other big-name stars. One of Chalamet’s most memorable performances was in Call Me By Your Name, for which he earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as Elio.
Going Electric won’t be the first Bob Dylan movie, as 2007’s I’m Not There featured an unusual setup where six different actors played Dylan, including Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Ben Whishaw, and Marcus Carl Franklin. The Irishman director Martin Scorsese also made a documentary about Dylan’s life called “No Direction Home.”
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