We learned a little over a year ago that Jeremy Allen White would be playing Bruce Springsteen in a biopic, and now we have the first look & listen! Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere zeroes in on when Springsteen was recording his album Nebraska, and it will hit theaters in late October. The first trailer dropped on Wednesday, and not only does it give us a taste of JAW’s take on The Boss, it’s also the first we’re learning of the title change, with “Springsteen” being added to the front. My quick hot take: I think JAW looks great but the title tweak is unnecessary! As LaineyGossip noted, it’s not like Timmy Chalamet’s movie was called Bob Dylan: A Complete Unknown. It feels like the difference between the name of a film versus the name of a documentary. That’s my two cents, here’s what Us Weekly had to say:
Jeremy Allen White channeled Bruce Springsteen in the first trailer for the highly anticipated biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.
“Never owned a new car before,” White, 34, says while channeling The Boss in the opening moments of the trailer, which was released on Wednesday, June 18.
When a car salesman refers to Springsteen as “a handsome devil rock star,” hinting at knowing the New Jersey native’s identity, the singer replies, “Well, that makes one of us.”
Along with White — who sings in the trailer — fans got their first look at Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser and Odessa Young in their respective roles.
Strong is taking on the part of Jon Landau, Springsteen’s manager and record producer, who goes head-to-head with David Krumholtz as record executive Al Teller in the teaser.
“This is not about the charts, this is about Bruce Springsteen,” Strong’s Landau says. “And these are the songs he wants to work on right now.”
Springsteen’s relationship with Mike Batlan (Hauser), who was the recording engineer during the Nebraska album sessions, is also featured as fans hear White’s singing voice for the first time.
Several New Jersey landmarks are also showcased throughout the video. The Asbury Park boardwalk and beach sets the stage for Springsteen’s love story with Faye (Young).
“When Bruce was little, he had a hole in the floor of his bedroom. The floor, it’s supposed to be solid, he’s supposed to be able to stand on it. Bruce, he didn’t have that,” Strong says in a voiceover. “Bruce is a repairman, and what he’s doing with this album is he’s repairing that hole in his floor. He’s repairing that hole in himself. And once he’s done that, he’s going to repair the entire world.”
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is set to hit theaters on October 24. The film will focus on the making of Springsteen’s 1982 album, Nebraska, and is an adaptation of Warren Zane’s book of the same name.
To clarify, the car salesman doesn’t merely “hint” at knowing who Springsteen is, he flat out says, “I know who you are,” which is what prompts JAW-as-Springsteen to respond with, “Well, that makes one of us.” It’s an important moment that essentially sets up the whole trailer, if not the whole thrust/character journey of the film itself. Anyway, I’m sold! And not just because I’m counting down to my own Asbury Park vacation this summer! I think JAW looks the part, and he sounded great at the end of the trailer when they showed him singing “Born to Run” to a packed crowd. Also, I’m loving Jeremy Strong in his “I’m playing the mentor supporting character” Era. He earned every inch of his Oscar nom for The Apprentice (fraught as it was to watch that film), and I have no doubt this will be another compelling performance. Plus this time we get to root for the good guy, truth-telling protagonist.
photos are screenshots from YouTube and credit: Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon, Gregg DeGuire/Image Press Agency/Avalon