Anthony Bourdain biopic gets “official first look” featurette from A24
A behind-the-scenes look at Tony, which traces the late chef's roots to the summer he “stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen”
A24 has released an “official first look” featurette for Tony, a drama based on the early life of the late chef, author and television host Anthony Bourdain.
The video offers a behind-the-scenes look ahead of the film's release, featuring interview snippets with Dominic Sessa, who plays Bourdain, and director Matt Johnson.
“The movie captures the moment he discovers that he has a passion for food and makes a decision that it’s going to be a part of his life,” Sessa explains.
Rather than tracing Bourdain's entire career, the film focuses on a single summer.
Set in 1975, it follows a young Bourdain taking a kitchen job in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he “stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life,” according to the film’s official description.
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Johnson explains the angle behind the story: “Bourdain looks at his young life, and he thinks, ‘I was a prick and really needed to get my ass kicked.’ So this movie is trying to be that ass-kicking.”
The trailer (which came out in May) captures the grittier side of the industry, with scenes of oyster shucking, lobster prep and late-night gatherings, drawing directly from the world Bourdain documented in Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.
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Anticipation for the film has been building for some time.
A24 fan account @a24_movies_art_gallery recently shared a carousel of artwork on Instagram by graphic designer John Carrington, who explained that the pieces draw on Anthony’s favourite things.
“Elements are inspired by Anthony’s favourites (Lark cigarettes and oysters), places he worked (Ciro & Sal’s and The Lobster Pot) and a Cape Cod native striped bass having a smoke, in the spirit of the man himself,” he wrote on the original post.
Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.
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