Canadian director Matt Johnson made a biopic about Anthony Bourdain despite initially having no attachment to the public figure, but meeting actor Dominic Sessa inspired him to tell the story. The film, Tony, focuses on Bourdain's early years and his experiences as a young chef in Provincetown, Mass., using stories from his book Kitchen Confidential. Johnson says he avoided recreating Bourdain's later persona by focusing on his younger self, who was intimidated and afraid of becoming famous. Actor Dominic Sessa, 23, plays the lead role and had to keep his portrayal raw and unpolished.
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Story summary
Canadian director Matt Johnson was making a biopic about Anthony Bourdain, but initially had no attachment to the chef's reputation or persona. Johnson met with actor Dominic Sessa, who plays the lead in the film, and it inspired him to tell Bourdain's story. The movie focuses on Bourdain's early life, specifically his first summer working as a chef in Provincetown, Mass., which is recounted in his book Kitchen Confidential. Johnson wanted to keep the young Tony Bourdain authentic to how he was before he became famous, and avoided recreating the older, more established personality that many people thought they knew. This approach allowed him to explore themes and issues without being influenced by Bourdain's later reputation. The film, titled "Tony", is set to be shot soon, with Johnson already planning his next project despite being busy with other commitments.
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Tony director says making biopic was like being in 'a conspiracy with Anthony Bourdain'
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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which → say → seasons
That changed, Johnson said, after he met actor Dominic Sessa, who takes on the titular role in the movie.
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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.
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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.
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Bourdain → occur → chef
In Sessa's case, Johnson said he wanted to keep it that way.
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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.
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he → tell → Provincetown
Like, he doesn't.
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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.
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they → want → whom
"There are fans of his that view him really as a dead saint," the director said.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Tony → feel → Ferrier
