Until the year before, I’d spent many years waiting to see Bruce Springsteen live and once it finally happened, it was even better than the hope and anticipation and, I’ve said it when people ask, it was something of a spiritual experience, and I’m an atheist in all other regards, except when it comes to the feeling of what a great song or artist can do for you, and for everyone affected. If there was something to believe in, music isn’t a bad venture in any regard.

I also arrived at The Bear a little later than some, in a modern sense, but Jeremy Allen White is an inspired choice for Bruce in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, and you can feel that in this first trailer for the upcoming 20th Century Studios film in every regard. The film is directed by Scott Cooper, who has written the script based on Warren Zanes‘ book Deliver Me from Nowhere, and it chronicles the making of the timeless 1982 album Nebraska, which was incidentally my first proper induction to The Boss – if you don’t know it, I highly recommend it as both a place to start, and a fresh education.

A raw, visceral acoustic album, it marked a vital time in Springsteen’s life, so I completely understand this focus. I also know that Bruce had a lot of input on the making of this film, as well as his long-term friend, manager and producer, Jon Landau, who passed away last year. Director Cooper, had this to say about the process:

“Making ‘Springsteen’ was deeply moving as it allowed me to step inside the soul of an artist I’ve long admired – and to witness, up close, the vulnerability and strength behind his music. The experience felt like a journey through memory, myth, and truth. And more than anything, it was a privilege to translate that raw emotional honesty to the screen, and in doing so, it changed me. I cannot thank Bruce and Jon Landau enough for allowing me to tell their story.”  

Starring Jeremy Allen White as the Boss, the film also features Jeremy Strong as Springsteen’s long-time confidant and manager, Jon Landau; Paul Walter Hauser as guitar tech Mike Batlan; Stephen Graham as Springsteen’s father, Doug; Odessa Young as Faye; Gaby Hoffman as Springsteen’s mom, Adele; Marc Maron as Chuck Plotkin; and David Krumholtz as Columbia executive, Al Teller.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere arrives only in cinemas from 24 October, it’s produced by Cooper, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Eric Robinson and Scott Stuber. Tracey Landon, Jon Vein, and Zanes executive produce