Yes, Timothée Chalamet pre-recorded his vocals to play Bob Dylan in James Mangold‘s “A Complete Unknown,” but he also sang live.
Mangold decided he was going to go with the live performance after being blown away by the actor’s performance.
In “A Complete Unknown,” Chalamet portrays a young Dylan who arrives in New York in 1961 and rapidly ascends through the folk scene.
It’s not a typical biopic, as Mangold puts it, because the story isn’t anchored in Dylan’s birth and life story.
Audiences can hear those tracks on the forthcoming soundtrack because “we didn’t use them during the movie,” Mangold revealed.
Yes, Timothée Chalamet sang live in addition to pre-recording his vocals for the role of Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown.”. Mangold was so impressed with the actor’s performance that he made the decision to attend the live performance.
Live vocals are nothing new to Mangold’s actors. Joaquin Phoenix, who played Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line,” did it. Chalamet plays a young Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” who moves to New York in 1961 and quickly rises through the folk scene. The movie is set between 1961 and 1965, when Dylan switches to electricity.
Mangold describes it as not being a typical biopic because the plot isn’t centered on Dylan’s birth and life story. The movie instead concentrates on Dylan and the folk scene in New York at the time. At a post-screening in Beverly Hills on Friday night, Mangold told a crowd at the WGA, “The other benefit was that he wrote all the songs heard in this movie between 1961 and 1965 — and the guy was not even 24 where this movie ends.”. Only a tenth of the songs he wrote during that time are included in that. “.”.
To be safe and to have a backup plan, all of the songs were pre-recorded. Mangold disclosed that “we didn’t use those tracks during the movie,” which is why audiences can hear them on the upcoming soundtrack.
COVID and labor union strikes caused the film to stall for five years, but Mangold benefited from this delay. He claimed that the actors, especially Chalamet, dedicated time to developing their skills, rehearsing their vocals, and familiarizing themselves with their instruments.
That was appreciated by Mangold, who said, “Playback has all these drawbacks. “.”.
Mangold wasn’t certain if he would use live recordings throughout the entire process, and filming finally started in early 2024. He filmed the scene with Dylan and Scoot McNairy’s character, Woody Guthrie, as one of his first shots. “That was shot within the first five or six days,” Mangold stated. “I want to try it live,” Timmy said during a whole backstage incident. “”.
“Some of the sound and music direction people were like, ‘It’s not a good idea,'” Mangold acknowledged. However, Mangold did not want to hinder anyone, especially Chalamet. So they took action. And he was amazing. In addition, he demonstrated the method’s elegance. Mangold went on to say, “At one point, after finishing that song, he just holds a note and repeatedly hits the low string on the guitar while his eyes are kind of staring into Woody’s, and he’s just holding this note, and it gave him chills.”. How did Mangold react when he heard that? “I recall thinking, ‘Holy shit,’ while I was sitting eight feet away from him while he did it.”. If he had an earwig in his ear, that would not have been possible. “.”.
Mangold made no promises because he was juggling his roles as producer and director and wasn’t sure if they could continue doing the live performances for the duration of the shoot. But as they went on, he stated, “We simply kept doubling down until we got through the entire film.”. “.”.
And how did they manage it? The sound crew positioned a variety of microphones in strategic locations to record the performance. Chalamet needed to be mic’d by sound mixer Tod Maitland, especially for the film’s acoustic portions. Dylan was unable to be wired in the conventional manner, and he held his guitar high. “The only way that we’re going to be able to do this is if I can wire you and your hair,” Maitland stated in an interview with Variety. “The microphone would then come off of his forehead and go right down past his mouth, right to the guitar.”. “.”.
At other times, the sound crew employed 40 different period-appropriate, useful microphones. The goal, according to Maitland, was to use vintage, functional microphones to create slightly different sounds in each location. That contributed to the lovely sound tapestry. However, Timmy went all out. It was truly astounding. “.”.
Chalamet’s voice and capturing the various ways he gave those performances were the most difficult parts. “It was pulling that out because Timmy gave his best mutter and Bob is a mutterer,” Maitland clarified. From there, his voice would become rough and twangy, capable of making your eardrums ring. However, there were, like, four distinct voices inside Timmy; bringing them all to life and giving them personality added a whole new level. “”.
Although the movie doesn’t feature entire performances or song moments, Ted Caplan, the supervising music editor, pointed out that every single one was captured “from top to tail.” This included the film’s pivotal Newport Folk Festival 1965, where Dylan played his electric guitar in front of an audience, much to the dismay of the crowd. Rather than performing take after take of each song, Caplan explained, “That was recorded as a full concert; from the Hammer song to ‘Baby Blue,’ it was one run.”. “I believe it added a unique, genuine magic to it.”. He continued, “You can see that Timmy is really into it and has the right mindset. “.”.
