Why Jeremy Allen White’s Bruce Springsteen Biopic Is Focusing On Nebraska Instead Of His Bigger Albums, Like Born In the U.S.A.

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Spoilers for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere lie ahead.

The film Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere tells a portion of Bruce Springsteen’s life story. Directed and written by Scott Cooper, it stars Jeremy Allen White as “The Boss” and focuses on a particular period in his life and career. The movie primarily details the creation of Springsteen’s 1982 album, Nebraska, and Cooper has explained why he chose to focus on this album rather than one of Springsteen’s more famous works like Born in the U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen has released a lot of music, and many fans consider Born in the U.S.A. to be his most famous album. Given its success and themes, it would make a natural focus for a movie about his life. Director Cooper has even said making a film around Springsteen’s 1984 album would be fairly straightforward. However, for his biopic, he decided to delve deeper and instead center the story around the more personal 1982 album.

The albums Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A. are closely connected, representing two different ways Bruce Springsteen explores similar emotions. Nebraska feels like a personal, intimate recording – just Springsteen and his guitar expressing his sadness. Born in the U.S.A. takes those same feelings and transforms them into big, powerful songs meant for a large audience. One album is a private reflection, the other a public statement, and both are essential to understanding Springsteen’s work.

More on Deliver Me From Nowhere

Jeremy Allen White recently shared why he needed some distance from Bruce Springsteen while they were working on the film Deliver Me From Nowhere. He explained he asked Springsteen for ‘a little bit of space’ to focus on his performance.

In Deliver Me from Nowhere, Bruce Springsteen seeks refuge in a rented home in Asbury Park where he begins recording songs with engineer Mike Batlan (played by Paul Walter Hauser). He initially creates a set of acoustic tracks, then moves on to songs that sound more like his typical style. However, Springsteen finds himself drawn back to the intimacy of those earlier, softer recordings. He champions these acoustic tracks – with the help of his manager, Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) – and they ultimately form the basis of the Nebraska album. During these sessions, an early version of “Born in the U.S.A.” is also developed, along with other songs that are set aside for later use.

As Scott Cooper notes, there’s a strong link between Springsteen’s albums Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A. – some songs from the latter were actually developed while Nebraska was being made. However, Cooper chose to concentrate on the 1982 album because it allowed him to create a more personal narrative. The film reveals Springsteen’s struggles with depression and how he dealt with difficult experiences from his childhood. Cooper is also captivated by the artistic skill Springsteen brought to the album that’s the focus of the movie.

Bruce’s songwriting has always been visual, like he’s telling stories through film. His songs create strong images of places and people, reminiscent of classic American movies. This is especially true on his album Nebraska, which feels like a collection of simple, stark black-and-white photographs. Each song unfolds like a short, independent film.

Reviews of Deliver Me from Nowhere often mention its somewhat sad mood. While the film can be bleak at times, it still offers a compelling look at a legendary performer, even if it doesn’t fully focus on the album that made him a superstar. Jeremy Allen White gives a standout performance – notably, he didn’t base it on portrayals by other actors in music biopics – and fans of Bruce Springsteen will enjoy the film’s nods to the making of the Nebraska album.

Bruce Springsteen’s new film, Deliver Me from Nowhere, is now showing in theaters across the country. You can also find information about other current movies playing in cinemas by checking the 2025 movie schedule.

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2025-10-26 19:39