Bob Dylan Movie, Filmed Locally, Now in Theaters Nationwide

By Barbara A. Preston | Posted December 26, 2024

Hollow Road in Skillman was closed in the final days of May for the filming of a scene from “A Complete Unknown.” The movie is now complete, and premiered on Christmas Day in theaters nationwide.

The plot follows Bob Dylan’s involvement in the 1960s music scene. The A-list cast includes Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Benedict Cumberbatch as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, to name a few. The title comes from Dylan’s 1965 hit “Like a Rolling Stone.” Shop local by viewing it at Montgomery Cinemas in the Montgomery Shopping Center on Route 206.

Look for scenes filmed at the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) Mt. Zion AME Church, located on Hollow Road in Montgomery Township. Photos courtesy of SSAAM.

SSAAM's former executive director Donnetta Johnson told The Montgomery News that the historic AME Church was used to depict a traditional Southern Black church that Dylan had visited in Georgia in the 1960s.

The inclusion of a scene in the AME church speaks to the African American influence on American music, including that of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Dylan, she said. It is widely acknowledged that the roots of jazz and rock-and-roll came from the African American community — from the songs the slaves sang in the fields and from spirituals.

The movie is based on the 2015 book “Dylan Goes Electric!” by Elijah Wald. Filming stretched across several New Jersey counties, and included the towns of Cape May and Montgomery Township. Locations were transformed into 1960s music scenes.

The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum was founded in 2016. It is located at the church and the adjacent True Farmstead, two historically African American-owned properties in Skillman. ■