Why a movie about Bob Dylan's 1965 Newport concert is filming ... in New Jersey?

NEWPORT – Are you the type who got upset about Bob Dylan playing an electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival?

Well, now there's a major motion picture being made about the incident, and it's filming this week — in Cape May, New Jersey.

Published reports from the Garden State say that the Jersey Shore was chosen to portray Newport because of favorable tax breaks there.

The movie, "A Complete Unknown," packs an all-star cast, including Timothée Chalamet as Dylan, Elle Fanning as love interest Sylvie Russo, Edward Norton as folk singer Pete Seeger and Monica Barbaro as folk singer Joan Baez.

It's directed by James Mangold, who also directed "Girl, Interrupted," "Ford v Ferrari" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."

Steve Feinberg, head of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, said Thursday that he pushed hard for the movie to be shot in the Ocean State, but that the story, about Dylan's early career, takes place mostly in New York, where the film also is reportedly being filmed.

The 1965 concert in Newport is only a small part of the movie, Feinberg said, and may not qualify for the Rhode Island film tax breaks, which require either that the whole movie be shot in the state or that at least $10 million be spent on filming.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bob Dylan biopic, set in Newport RI is filming in NJ. Here's why.