Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
77/100
CBC News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Tony director says making biopic was like being in 'a conspiracy with Anthony Bourdain'
asserted
making → say → Bourdain
Matt Johnson says meeting with actor Dominic Sessa inspired him to make film
Despite being only four days out from his wedding and just eight days before starting to shoot his next movie, Canadian director Matt Johnson looked decidedly relaxed last week.
asserted
Johnson → say → movie
He rolled up to Toronto's Revue Cinema in a T-shirt and sweatpants to talk to CBC News about Tony, the buzzed-about biopic focused on the early years of world-renowned chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain's life.
asserted
He → roll → life
And although Bourdain was a beloved public figure, lionized after his tragic death in 2018, Johnson seemed at ease about telling his story.
"I had basically no attachment to the persona or the reputation of this guy," Johnson said.
asserted
Johnson → lionize → guy
In fact, he said he never intended to make a film about Bourdain, the line cook-turned-executive chef who became a bestselling author and travel documentarian behind the series Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, which ran for 12 seasons.
asserted
which → say → seasons
That changed, Johnson said, after he met actor Dominic Sessa, who takes on the titular role in the movie.
asserted
who → change → movie
"[Sessa] had the same perspective on issues … specifically around role models and pretending to be an adult and lying … just like almost simple, basic things," Johnson said.
asserted
Johnson → have → things
"And it occurred to me that this was a great opportunity for he and I to explore these things together."
Film mines stories from Kitchen Confidential
Sessa, 23, was cast as the lead, and Johnson began working on the script, which takes stories from Bourdain's young life — outlined in his book Kitchen Confidential — and condenses them into the story of one summer in Provincetown, Mass., the first summer Bourdain ever worked as a chef.
asserted
Bourdain → occur → chef
In Sessa's case, Johnson said he wanted to keep it that way.
asserted
he → say → it
"Like, I told Dom to not even prepare, because Bourdain himself shows up in Provincetown not thinking he's going to become a world-famous chef.
asserted
he → tell → Provincetown
Like, he doesn't.
asserted
he → do → ?
And so I wanted to keep Dom as close to that as I possibly could."
Focusing on the young Tony helped Johnson avoid some of the pressure to recreate the older, more established Anthony Bourdain whom so many people feel they knew.
uncertain
they → want → whom
"There are fans of his that view him really as a dead saint," the director said.
asserted
director → be → saint
"Right away that tells you, OK, be really careful because it means certain people's expectations of this terrestrial man are going to be well beyond what an actual person can be on camera.
asserted
person → tell → camera
So instead, Kitchen Confidential offered plot points in a narrative about the summer Bourdain learned to cook, and it was filled with the issues young men of that age grapple with.
asserted
men → offer → age
"Complicated parts of his childhood, his relationship with his mom, his relationship with his peers and how he viewed himself entering the adult world," Johnson said.
asserted
Johnson → view → world
It took the focus off Bourdain's life and legacy, he said, and made his story more useful to the people who idolize him.
asserted
who → take → him
"Dom and I really … felt as though we almost had a conspiracy with Anthony Bourdain, the three of us."
Tony is screening in theatres across Canada on Friday, Aug. 14.
With files from Emily Ferrier
asserted
Tony → feel → Ferrier
The Aporia
