Entertainment
Witness the Rise of the Most Beloved Chef of All Time in First ‘Tony’ Trailer
Some lives are too big to squeeze neatly into a standard biopic, and honestly, that’s usually where the more interesting stories are hiding. Rather than trying to cover decades of travel, fame, food, writing, television, reinvention, and grief in one package, this new film takes a much narrower approach. It goes back to one summer, one place, and one young man stumbling into the kind of world that would eventually help shape everything that came later. That feels like a smarter way, especially when the person at the center is someone audiences still feel so personally connected to.
The trailer for Tony is out now, giving audiences their first real look at Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t) as Anthony Bourdain. Directed by Matt Johnson, the filmmaker behind BlackBerry and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, the film follows a 19-year-old Bourdain as he travels to Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1975 and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen. The movie is set to arrive in theaters this August.
The official synopsis reads: “A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.”
The cast includes Emilia Jones (CODA, Locke & Key) as Nancy, Tony’s love interest, Rich Sommer (Mad Men, Fair Play) as Pierre Bourdain, Stavros Halkias (Tires, Salesmen) as Dimitri, a restaurant worker and Tony’s friend, Leo Woodall (The White Lotus, One Day) as Sal, Antonio Banderas (The Mask of Zorro, Pain and Glory) as Ciro, the restaurant owner who hires Tony, Michael Jibrin (Tony) as Tyrone, a restaurant worker, Caroline Portu (The Society, Julia) as Robin, Nancy’s friend, Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire, Hightown) as Mary, and Dagmara Domińczyk (Succession, The Lost Daughter).
Why Is ‘Tony’ Not a Standard Anthony Bourdain Biopic?
Bourdain’s life has been discussed, mythologized, mourned, and revisited so often that a traditional, full blown biopic could easily feel too neat and tidy for someone who was never especially interested in tidy storytelling, so Tony instead focuses on one formative stretch of time, before Kitchen Confidential. His estate revealed why they’ve chosen this way to tell his story:
Anthony Bourdain’s legacy is meaningful to millions of people. He was a man who valued authenticity above all else and would have been both moved and baffled by the world’s curiosity about his life. We chose to support TONY because it is not a standard biopic and doesn’t attempt to summarize a life. Guided by the vision of director Matt Johnson, the film depicts one transformative summer in 1975 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. It is an interpretation as that part of Tony’s life will always remain somewhat unknown. We appreciate the portrayal of Tony’s complexity, his intellectual appetite and his conviction — qualities that eventually took him around the globe and endeared him to so many. We hope this film serves as a reminder that every journey has a start, and that audiences see the beginnings of the man who taught us how to be better explorers on our own paths.
Tony opens in theaters this August.
- Release Date
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2013 – 2018-00-00
- Network
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CNN
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Afrika Bambaataa
Uncredited
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Darren Aronofsky
Self – Host
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Paul Theroux
Self – Actor
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