EXCLUSIVE:James Mangoldis sitting comfortably in a posh London hotel sipping tea.
Yes, daddy, Ill have tea, he jokes.
The real Bob Dylan read the script and offered Mangold minimal feedback.
Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, with Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo in ‘A Complete Unknown’; James MangoldMacall Polay /Courtesy Searchlight Picture/Baz Bamigboye
How aware was the legendary troubadour of Timothee Chalamet, or Timmy as Mangold calls him?
I think he was aware of who he was, Mangold says.
It was super simple.
Bob Dylan in January 1964Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
He goes, Do you think he can do it?
And I said, Yeah.
That was kind of the extent of it.
Bob was super direct.
He wasnt like he doubted him.
It was just like, What do you think, coach?
Is it going to work or not?'
Timmys going to sing this himself.
And they were like, How could you possibly conceive of that?!
I go, Well, I actually did it on another movie already.'
He offers encouragement to the young whippersnapper from Duluth.
Its like, Whats wrong?
Are we nearing a tunnel?
Why is this happening?
And you need the undertow of subtext and desire and counter energies.
The films song credits quite rightly proudly state: All Bob Dylan vocals performed by Timothee Chalamet.
I was struck by how each song informs the narrative.
Mangold smiles and remarks on a conversation he once had with Cash.
I wasnt a minimalist, I just couldnt play anything else.
He didnt even have an intention in his mind to be a folk singer.
Mangold is quick to add, All my experiences with [Dylan] were nothing like that.
However, he was mindful of documentary footage in which Dylan appears to have all this attitude and arrogance.
But the young Dylan is in the center of a hurricane, Mangold points out.
And I think it produced some really beautiful things in the movie.
Timmy almost flinches and it burns, and he was just asking her what shes doing tomorrow.
Mangold and Chalamet explore that empty feeling later on when audiences are cheering for The Times They Are a-Changin.
I wanted to find our way to the moment where everyones cheering for The Times They Are a-Changin.
What does one do with this?'
I point out to Mangold that Ive seen such withdrawal behavior in actors too.
For example, in Kate Winslet afterTitanic.
What she had to endure still astounds me.
Well, lets see.
I also think he had pressure on himself that he wanted to turn the corner on some roles.
And, as Dylan himselfposted on X, Im sure hes going to be completely believable as me.
Or a younger me.
Or some other me.
During the shoot, he says, Sometimes the call would be seven minutes.
They had a sort of shorthand with each other that Mangold calls a really beautiful thing.
I mean, he was focused, he says vehemently.
Some of it is just plain ignorance to be honest.
Its just then that every extra [background artist] looks… its just [for] sheer efficiency.
I want him thinking about delivering the goods.
And thatsallhe was thinking about.
And he was also inhabiting that Bob thing.
So that sense of social anxiety and that sense of being, he was actually living in that space.
Acting is such a fragile act of mind and heart.
And how do you get your mind back into it?
And its not like you could just throw it off.
And in a way, you must be very protective of yourself.
Mangold understood early on the importance of giving actors the space to perform.
And hes enjoyed a fruitful association with Hugh Jackman onThe WolverineandLogan.
Mangolds first feature, 1995sHeavy, featured the legendary Shelley Winters.
The two-time Academy Award winner was 75, but still a formidable force.
Oh, she was a pip, he recalls.
She was a real character.
And we had no money.
I was unplugging her toilet between shots.
But she was hilarious.
But she was also just filled with stories, he marvels.
And Marilyn, of course.
Would she have known Bob Dylan?
Possibly, he suggests.
I think he got to a level of exposure that he was kind of everywhere at a certain point.
But yeah, I dont know.
Thats a curious question.
He tells a story about when Joaquin Phoenix met Johnny Cash for the first time at a party.
This was before he played him, and he was too shy to go up and introduce himself.
And Joaquin did that.
He recited this line fromGladiator, this heinous line.
And he just said this to Joaquin out of the blue.
He knew the line, and it was Joaquins line fromGladiatoras the villain.
And then Johnnys like, I like that movie.
Anyway, its a beautiful thing to think about all these people, the cross-pollination that occurs.
Had Dylan referenced either Bette Davis orNow, Voyagerduring their conversations aboutA Complete Unknown?
Mangold shakes his head.
I used it as a equipment, but he knew all the references.
I mean, its part of his vernacular.
And writing him, I felt there were things I understood.
He was very interested in deep thought, but not interested in judgment.
I actually think he resists all categorization.
My own way of projecting what that was, is just that he was such a sponge.
Youre a folk musician.
You should be doing this or listening to this.
He was really kind of fascinated by everything, Mangold says.
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, I Shall be Released and Blowin in the Wind, for starters.
And the film captures that essence; that struggle for the right word and the right chord.
I now understand why, without warning, my eyes watered as I watched the film.
Mangold interrupts, Me too!
And I dont mean plot, I mean just that you fall in.
Its what Im always looking for in a scene.
My partner and I have been writing it.
We also chat a little aboutIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destinywith Harrison Ford.
Mangolds proud of the movie and loves the cast, but he was hurt by how it was received.
You have a wonderful, brilliant actor whos in his eighties.
And I am like, Im good with it.
We made the movie.
When will he work with Chalamet again?
God knows, he chuckles.
Hes gotDune 3going, thats starting.
