‘A Complete Unknown’ creators share insights on Bob Dylan biopic ahead of Oscars

With the Oscars just days away, the creative team behind A Complete Unknown, a film chronicling Bob Dylan’s early years, reflected on their work and the challenges of bringing the legendary artist’s story to life.

The film has earned several nominations, including recognition for its costume design and musical achievements. Speaking from the Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch, Oscar nominated costume designer Arianne Phillips, music producer Nicholai Baxter and music supervisor Steven Gizicki shared their experiences working on the project.

Costuming Dylan’s Evolution

For Phillips, capturing Dylan’s iconic style as he evolved through the 1960s was both a challenge and a reward.

"It was a fantastic opportunity, very daunting at first, when Jim Mangold, our director, reached out to me," Phillips said. "I’m a huge Bob Dylan fan personally, and it was really wonderful to have the opportunity to really understand his origin story and learn about those early years and his journey in becoming the artist we know today."

Asked if she had a favorite design from the film, Phillips pointed to one standout piece.

"Oh, it’s hard to say. I mean, I do. I do have a particular favorite," she said. "I love the polka dot shirt that we see towards the end of the film, which is something that I think really is indicative of Bob’s style."

When designing Dylan’s first appearance on screen, Phillips said she wanted to convey the influence of folk icon Woody Guthrie.

"He’s a 19-year-old kid when we meet him," Phillips said. "He’s showed up in New York with nothing in his pocket in search of his hero, Woody Guthrie, and he’s fashioned himself like a lot of 19-year-olds based on that look — the Woody Guthrie, working man, everyman, proletariat look, and that was his idol.

"So, we see him, and it’s just, it’s our first time we meet him, and the kind of beginning of over this four-year period where he wrote some of the most — such a prolific period — and music that’s endured to this day. And we see that evolution, not only through the music but through the clothes that he wears and his evolution as an artist as he continues to express himself and figure out who he is."

Building the Soundtrack’s Arc

Baxter, who worked closely with Gizicki, said shaping the film’s musical arc was a rewarding process.

"I think what comes to mind first is just the sort of the arc we were able to put together for the film," Baxter said. "It starts very tied to the screen and smaller, and it just sort of grows and bubbles up throughout — little bits of electric coming up, and then it explodes in the third act.

"So, you know, required some restraint at the beginning, and then we’re able to go big at the end. And to see that actually come to life is really rewarding."

Honoring the Music While Adding a Creative Spin

Gizicki said the team worked to strike a balance between faithful recreations and creative interpretations of Dylan’s music.

"There were moments that we had to faithfully reproduce, like Newport ‘65, and other moments that we know existed and we have reference materials, so we sort of tried to mimic that as close as we possibly could," Gizicki said.

"But we were fortunate that there were moments that were sort of made up. They were in essence, of things that we think maybe happened, and we were given some latitude to kind of put our own spin on it — like, you know, Bob and Joan waking up in the morning, and maybe they start playing "Blowin’ in the Wind," and what does that sound like, and how do we construct that, and how do we time it, and how does the guitar start?

"And so there was a bit of creativity involved as well for interpreting these songs. And it was incredibly intimidating, to be quite honest, as music people to sort of dip into Bob’s repertoire and, you know, we had such a responsibility to do an honor to it."

Chalamet’s Musical Preparation

Baxter also praised Timothée Chalamet’s dedication to mastering Dylan’s distinctive sound.

"Absolutely. I mean, he got a jump on it, because they were first trying to shoot this film in 2020 and it got shut down because of COVID," Baxter said. "So he did have a three-year head start, which definitely showed when he came in the studio, and he had the technical singing chops from that work and from doing Wonka.

"So a lot of it was just, you know, studying this voice, especially the early years, when it was a little bit of a moving target, because Dylan’s voice was evolving and changing, and he was tapping into different characters during this time.

"So it was, you know, listening to as much — we were given all kinds of archival recordings, which was incredible to dig through. So, you know, a lot of the work early on was just finding the voice, and a lot of, in a lot of ways, forgetting how to sing technically perfect and tap into more character touchstones for the voice. It was, it was a blast."

Oscar Hopes and Tulsa Ties

A Complete Unknown is competing for multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture.

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The film’s connection to Tulsa is especially notable, given the presence of the Bob Dylan Archive at the Bob Dylan Center and the Woody Guthrie Center in downtown Tulsa.

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