James Mangold has made a career out of versatility in tackling the kinds of movies he wants to do as a filmmaker. In fact. I compared him to Howard Hawks who seemingly could do it all.
That versatility ranges from indie breakouts like his first success Heavy to character-driven action like Cop Land and Knight & Day; romantic comedy like Kate & Leopold; dramas like Girl, Interrupted that won Angelina Jolie an Oscar; suspense thrillers like Identity; Westerns like his remake of 3:10 to Yuma; sci-fi like Wolverine and Logan, the latter of which won Marvel’s only Oscar nomination ever for a screenplay; auto racing dramas like the Oscar-winning Ford & Ferrari, for which he won a Best Picture Oscar nomination; big adventure like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny; and musical drama biopics like Walk the Line for which Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar and Joaquin Phoenix a Best Actor nomination. Now comes his latest in A Complete Unknown, about Bob Dylan as he started his legendary career. It has already won high critical praise ahead of its Christmas Day opening.
Mangold joins me for this week’s edition of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens where we talk about all of the above and more including how he got started, landing a Disney development deal at age 22 just out of college, and what makes him excited about taking on such wildly different stories to tell. We also learn everything that went into the making of A Complete Unknown including his conversations with Dylan himself, and collaboration with star Timothée Chalamet who delivers a truly astonishing performance.
A Complete Unknown has already been nominated for Best Picture awards at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, plus several other nominations as well as being named one of the AFI Movies off the Year.
To watch our conversation and to go “behind the lens” with James Mangold, watch the video above.
Join me every Monday during Oscar season for a new episode of Behind the Lens.