S23 - Ep 10 - A Complete Unknown

How do you turn New Jersey into 1960s Greenwich Village — while navigating strikes, rewrites, and a lead performance that hinges on live music? That was the challenge behind A Complete Unknown, the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold.

This week, Skid is joined by three key crew members behind the film: Set Decorator Regina Graves, Property Master Michael Jortner, and Second Assistant Director Brad Robinson. Together, they share how they navigated shifting scripts, location changes, and the challenge of historical fidelity — all in service of a film that manages to feel both intimate and iconic.

Topics include:

• Rebuilding momentum after the actor’s strike forced a full crew reset
• The challenges of transforming Hoboken and Jersey City into Greenwich Village
• Training extras to behave like real 1960s folk fans — from posture to props
• Creating immersive environments for actors to perform (and improvise) in
• Balancing accuracy and atmosphere when representing real figures and events
• Behind-the-scenes dynamics with director James Mangold and star Timothée Chalamet
• Filming the concert finale, the Viking Hotel sequence, and the Columbia studio set
• How a film’s invisible craft can be both its triumph and its obstacle come award season

The conversation also touches on the tensions between Dylan’s legacy and the demands of dramatization — and how the crew stayed grounded despite outside opinions and mid-production curveballs.

🎧 Press play and go Below the Line on A Complete Unknown. For more, visit belowtheline.biz.