According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bob Dylan turned down the opportunity to present an award and perform during Sunday’s (3.02) Academy Awards.
Invited to appear at Hollywood’s biggest night concurrent with his biopic, A Complete Unknown that was up for eight awards, including Best Picture, the reclusive musician declined the opportunity.
In his place, fellow music icon Mick Jagger presented the Best Original Song prize and admitted that Dylan was the first choice, stating:
“I’m greatly honored to be invited to give this award for the Best Original Song tonight, and much as I love doing it, I wasn’t the first choice to give this award out.” “The producers wanted Bob Dylan to do it. Bob didn’t want to do it because he’s had the best songs this year, well, obviously, in the movie A Complete Unknown. Bob said, ‘You should find somebody younger.’ I said, ‘OK, I’m younger.’ So here I am.”
Now 83-years old, Dylan was also the subject of a joke by Oscars host Conan O’Brien during his opening monologue, who said:
“To play Bob Dylan, Timothée Chalamet learned how to sing. In fact, the singing was so good he almost lost the part.” “Dylan wanted to be here tonight, but not that badly.”
Though Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Dylan in A Complete Unknown, the young actor lost out to Adrien Brody for The Brutalist.
Directed by James Mangold, A Complete Unknown left the show empty-handed despite eight nominations.
Keep up with the latest trending music news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Xavier Badosa