The 2025 Oscars ceremony should prove to be an exciting event for fans of Bob Dylan and Elton John. The nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, January, and the new Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, will compete for eight honors, while the title song to the 2024 documentary Elton John: Never Too Late received a nod for the best original song prize.
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A Complete Unknown was one of 10 movies nominated for Best Picture, while the actors who portrayed Dylan, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger were recognized as well.
[RELATED: Bob Dylan Tested the Script for A Complete Unknown as Himself Ahead of Film Approval]
The film’s star, Timothée Chalamet, is in the running for Actor in a Leading Role. Monica Barbaro, who played Baez, will compete for the Actress in a Supporting Role trophy. Ed Norton, who appeared as Seeger, will vie for the Actor in a Supporting Role honor.
A Complete Unknown also received nominations for Directing, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Sound, and Costume Design.
As previously reported, A Complete Unknown is set in the New York City folk music scene of the early 1960s, and follows a young Dylan’s “meteoric rise” to fame. The film culminates in Dylan’s historic performance at the Newport Folk Festival, where he caused a stir when he performed for the first time with an electric band.
Chalamet reportedly spent years preparing for his role, and learned to sing and play about 40 different Dylan songs for the film.
About Elton John’s Oscar Nomination
Elton was nominated for the Music (Original Song) award for co-writing “Never Too Late,” along with Brandi Carlile, producer/musician Andrew Watt, and John’s longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin.
The song is a duet between John and Carlile. The tune’s lyrics reflect one of the main themes of the Never Too Late documentary, which focuses on the downs and ups of Elton’s life and hugely successful career, including his journey to becoming a contented family man late in life.
Elton took to his social media pages to post a message expressing his excitement about the nomination.
“It’s an incredible honour to receive this Oscar nomination for ‘Never Too Late,’ alongside my collaborators Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt,” he wrote. “Thank you to the Academy for this nomination and to everyone who helped bring this beautiful song to the world.”
More About the 2025 Academy Awards
Among the other nominees for the best original song Oscar is Diane Warren, marking the 16th time she has been nominated in the category. To date, the hit-making songwriter has never won an Academy Award.
Warren was recognized this year for “The Journey,” a song from the Tyler Perry Netflix movie The Six Triple Eight, which was performed by H.E.R.
The 97th Academy Awards will take place on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Conan O’Brien will host the event, which will air live on ABC and stream live on Hulu.
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