It’s been some time since nonpareil celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain passed away. And one movie production company is finally readying a bio-pic about Bourdain’s life and career. We wonder how they’ll deal dramatically with his premature exit…
Dominic Sessa (left) will portray Anthony Bourdain (right) in the upcoming bio-pic Tony…
Truly unique
Bourdain was known universally as a unique, quirky, no-BS sort of guy. But he was had a sensitive soul. That side came out in his intimate descriptions of foods he discovered on his many trips around the world. Not to mention his paens to, and praises for the people he met and the cultures he experienced…
As controversial as he was
The film, titled simply Tony, is turning out to be as controversial as its eponymous subject. It’s still in the early stages of development. But it’s already churned up some family sensitivities.
Right off the top, Bourdain’s widow, Ottavia, is still reportedly fuming over the use of AI to recreate Tony’s voice for snippets of voice-over dialogue in the documentary Roadrunner, directed by Morgan Neville. He claimed she had agreed to the move. She wrote on X: “I certainly was NOT the one who said Tony would have been cool with that.”
One wonders if the issue will rear its head again in Tony?
Sensitive material
There are more than one sensitive aspects of Bourdain’s life which will make for interesting cinema. All true Bourdain fans know by now that he committed suicide, in the middle of a filming foray in France – days after learning that his wife – the mother of their child – had a new love. The Bourdains had, in fact been separated for more than 2 years before his death, but had never officially divorced.
Many – yours truly included – were initially shocked by the realization that big, tough Bourdain could be hurt so deeply by anything.
Early days
The production company behind Tony has announced it will feature Hollywood up-and-comer Dominic Sessa as Bourdain. Sessa is already known for his role in 2023’s The Holdovers. Variety has named him one of its ’10 Actors To Watch’ this year. The problem is, he’s just 21 years old. Whether they’ll pile on the prosthetics to ‘age’ him in the role or employ one of more older actors to portray Tony in various later stages of his life remains to be seen.
My take
I’m anxious to see this bio-pic. Authorized or not. Sometimes, the unauthorized versions of a life story are more revealing than the ‘official’ ones…
~ Maggie J.