Bob Dylan’s rich legacy of more than 50 albums is a counterpoint to “narcissistic” modern music focused on “me, me, me”, the director of the recently released biopic about the singer told AFP.
James Mangold, in Paris ahead of the release of “A Complete Unknown” in French cinemas, said that delving into Dylan’s early career in the 1960s involved immersing himself in a different, simpler world.
“It was really clear making the movie, that not just Bob’s music, but that time in music was different,” the director of “Indiana Jones 5” and “Le Mans ’66” said.
“And I feel like most music now is so narcissistically about me, me, me.
“‘You hurt me’. ‘I feel blah, blah, blah’. ‘You betrayed me’. ‘That’s not nice what you did to me’,” he said, reeling off the familiar modern themes of pop music from Taylor Swift to Beyonce.
“Music was about more than just me, me, me (in Dylan’s era). It was about the world. It was about the mysteries of the world. And I miss that.”
– ‘Loneliness of genius’ –
“A Complete Unknown”, starring Timothee Chalamet, has been well received by critics and received eight Oscar nominations on Thursday, including for best picture and best director.
Mangold said it was intended as a study in “the loneliness of genius” and the difficulties of celebrity for Dylan. “A great artist, but maybe not great at being famous”, he suggested.
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