TULSA, Okla. — The Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” has only been in theaters a week and already Tulsa’s Bob Dylan Center is seeing an uptick in visitors.
The film depicts the early 1960s folk years of Dylan, his move to New York’s Greenwich Village and the subsequent rise to fame.
In 2016, Dylan sold his archive to the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Tulsa. In 2022, the Bob Dylan Center opened in downtown Tulsa.
The film’s Prop Master, Diana Burton, spent a week with the archive team for research. BDC Director Steve Jenkins was impressed with her attention to detail.
“The paper he was writing on, the notebooks he carried around, the pens and pencils he used,” explained Jenkins. “Really to be as period specific as possible and the film has done a wonderful job of that.”
The film is garnering attention for that detail, as well as Timothee Chalumet’s portrayal of the music legend.
“Many visitors are telling us they had just seen the film,” said Jenkins. “Also, we’ve heard people coming into the center planning to see the film later in the day, so a primer of sorts for them.”
The center displays many artifacts from events talked about in the film, like letters from Johnny Cash to Dylan, saved flyers, photos and the leather jacket worn at the iconic Newport Folk Festival in 1965.
“I think viewers of ‘A Complete Unknown’ will really get a kick out of seeing the real thing,” said Jenkins.
2 News spoke with museum visitor Marshall Tinnermeier, who moved to Tulsa a year ago for the music scene.
“My folks are passing through town and doing stuff for the day and we wanted to visit here,” he said.
Next door, fans can see more photos and artifacts at the Woodie Guthrie Center. The neighboring museum has also seen more guests in the last week because of the film. Guthrie is depicted in the movie as Dylan’s inspiration during the final years of Guthrie’s life.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
