During The Hollywood Reporter Writers Roundtable, James Mangold reveals what intrigued him the most when deciding to write for 'A Complete Unknown.' Plus, he shares Bob Dylan's reaction when he first read his writing.
00:00Well, I love Bob Dylan, but it wasn't, that isn't good enough reason to make a movie.
00:04In fact, it's a terrible one.
00:08But I loved this, the idea of framing a movie within this story, this moment.
00:17I mean, because one of the, you know, I make, I've made a lot of different kinds of movies
00:22and people in conversations like this use all sorts of kind of genre descriptions,
00:27like biopic would be one, and it's like, well, it's not really a genre, really.
00:31I mean, if you're being scientific, is a movie about Jesse James a biopic or a Western?
00:37Is a movie, if I made Serpico, is that a cop movie or a biopic?
00:42Meaning it's a kind of bullshit description that doesn't at all describe what's actually functioning in the narrative
00:47or what context or vernacular the story's being told in.
00:50It just describes in a kind of media framing way, true story based on some reality,
00:56which is frankly true for most of our fucking movies anyway.
01:00So the, what was intriguing to me was, was getting back to the world of making a movie about an artist again
01:10in a time without cell phones, which is another really wonderful thing.
01:14And, and, and, and that the music was powerful and that when I learned about this book
01:24and this project coming together, it also already came with Bob and his music.
01:31And I, and, and, and so that, one of the battles, because I've tried to do this over the years before
01:37with a, in a couple of places, and that march to kind of get all those folks together for a journey is really hard.
01:47And, and, and, and so that part was amazing.
01:50And then the fact that this story was a story, but the real palpable thing was when I, the Searchlight guys talked to me
02:00about acquiring this book and these existing materials on it when I was taking Ford Ferrari to Telluride.
02:07I was on a plane with them and I literally took what they had and I didn't even, they didn't offer it and I had no deal,
02:15but I just started writing the movie in Colorado and, and, and then I was writing the movie in Toronto.
02:22And by the time, um, and then Timmy, uh, met me in Toronto when the movie was premiering there,
02:28which is, this is a period of like, what is Toronto Telluride, 10 days apart.
02:31So the, and, um, and the thing came together just through my absolute conviction that I had to do this.
02:39And even if they didn't want me, um, and what I be, and the fact that the writing was coming so fast,
02:47mainly because I saw that, that what existed, the writing that, that existed on it while really good
02:54was avoiding most of the really juicy stuff, um, which I found out was because it was an edict
03:00from, from the Dylan camp, um, that this had to be strictly about the music, nothing else.
03:07And I didn't pay attention to that. I didn't even have a deal. I just wrote about everything else
03:11and the music shit and the, and, um, maybe this is too long of a story, but then the, the, I did make a deal.
03:19I did, but the script flew out of me and then we were going to just make it.
03:23We had a window with Timmy and this is 2019 and then COVID hit and, um, and when COVID,
03:32but we were also having a moment where, where, um, Bob's manager and others were concerned of where
03:37I had gone and, um, with the script. And when COVID hit, Bob's tour was canceled.
03:45And, uh, apparently he asked his manager, let me read this thing that you're worried about.
03:50And he liked it and that kind of in the interim changed everything. And what happened over the COVID
03:58period was I had a series of meetings with him and, um, and talked about what I was doing and where I was
04:06going. And, um, and this long story gets to the point of what I thought was, you know, when I first sat
04:12down with Bob, I mean, one of the first things he said was like, I really liked that movie Copland.
04:17And that was like freakish for me, like already. And, and, and, and, and, and he knew it, like he knew the movie, like, and you're talking about a movie that came out in 1997.
04:32And, uh, um, and, um, but then he turned to me at that moment, like we all do when we get down to the subject and he goes, so what's this movie about?
04:43And it was that question you're asking all of us. And I actually, I'd written furiously, but I hadn't ever thought about this kind of thesis question.
04:55And in the moment alone in his coffee shop with him, I said, uh, it's about a guy who's choking to death
05:04in Minnesota and has to escape and runs away and reinvents himself.
05:16He leaves behind all his family and friends, finds new ones, becomes wildly successful as he blossoms as an artist,
05:29starts choking to death and runs away from all his family and friends.
05:34And he smiled. And there was a kind, and, and the, but to me it was also a kind of breakthrough moment with him
05:44of me knowing the kind of thing you need to know as a writer, but you also need to know as a director
05:51every day when you're on set, because shit will throw you off and you have to keep reminding yourself,
05:56what's my story? And, uh, and, uh, and, and when you don't know that, that's when you really,
06:03when your DP is suggesting shooting through a Christmas ornament and you fall for that dumbass idea.
06:10The, uh, the, you, you, it's, unless, no, for rock videos, for rock videos, for German expressionist bands,
06:21it's a great idea. But the, uh, but anyway, whatever, that's, that's my little tale.
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