Monica Barbaro May Be Joining Timothée Chalamet in New Film A Complete Unknown
Monica Barbaro, who embodied the role of Phoenix in Top Gun: Maverick, is in final negotiations to star alongside Timothée Chalamet in the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown.
James Mangold is directing the project for Searchlight Pictures with a script penned by Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York). The drama film is described as a “transformative moment for Dylan, the legendary singer-songwriter who made his mark during the civil rights and counter-culture upheaval of the 1960s.”
The film will be set during the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. The music festival featured a star-studded lineup that included Dylan, Donovan, Peter, Paul & Mary, Gordon Lightfoot, Maybelle Carter, Pete Seeger, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon, Oscar Brand, Richard and Mimi Fariña, Reverend Gary Davis, Son House, and others.
The movie will follow a young Bob Dylan (Chalamet), who decides to shake up the folk scene by going electric. This decision would go on to divide fans of Dylan and the folk music scene. Nevertheless, Dylan left a huge impact on the music of that time. The biographical drama is set to begin production in August with an estimated release date of mid-2024 and early 2025.
Barbaro is in final talks to embody the role of Joan Baez. The activist and singer famously performed “Blowin’ in the Wind” at the music festival.
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan performed several duets over the years. The musicians began a relationship that faced a sad ending, but Baez reflected in several songs of hers, most notably “Diamonds and Rust.” Dylan, who affectionately called her ‘Joaney,’ states, “I love that song ‘Diamonds and Rust’, to be included in something that Joaney had written, I mean to this day it still impresses me.”
Despite their breakup, Dylan expressed his love and admiration for Baez in his MusiCares Speech in 2015. He revealed, “Joan Baez was the queen of folk music then and now. She took a liking to my songs and brought me with her to play concerts where she had crowds of thousands of people enthralled with her beauty and voice.” He told an anecdote about people asking her, What are you doing with that ragtag scrubby-looking welk?” She would reply, “You be quiet and listen to his songs.”
He ended his speech by stating, “Joan Baez is as tough-minded as they come. A truly independent spirit, nobody can tell her what to do if she doesn’t want to do it. I learnt a lot of things from her. For her kind of love and devotion, I could never repay that back.”
This exchange between Bob Dylan and Joan Baez in Scorsese’s Rolling Thunder Revue is pretty much perfect in every way. The definition of love transcending love to become something more. pic.twitter.com/a9rPVa3hf2
— Brian Coney (@brianconey) June 18, 2019
James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown will undoubtedly be an incredible film. Monica Barbaro and Timothée Chalamet will make a great duo as folk icons, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.
Writer | Tweet me @court__giles
