Here’s a project we have no reservations about. A24 is rumored to be in talks to acquire the rights to “Tony,” a biopic about the life of celebrity chef and documentarian Anthony Bourdain, multiple sources have confirmed to IndieWire.
Dominic Sessa, the breakout star of last year’s “The Holdovers” from Alexander Payne, is also in talks to star as Bourdain in the film. Matt Johnson, who directed “Blackberry,” is in talks to direct the film based on a screenplay by Todd Bartels and Lou Howe.
Sources say that no deals are in place just yet. A24 had no comment.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, and it’s unclear if the film is based on any particular moment of his life or any specific source material.
Trevor White and Tim White on behalf of their Star Thrower Entertainment are producing “Tony.” The duo is known for “The Post” and “King Richard,” and they partnered with A24 on the upcoming “Eternity” starring Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller. Emily Rose is executive producing the project.
Bourdain, after cooking in Manhattan as an executive chef throughout the ’80s, became an overnight celebrity thanks to his bestseller “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.” Bourdain spilled secrets of life inside the kitchen, and he had a down-to-Earth, no nonsense honesty about food. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, he became iconic as a compelling wordsmith in describing his enthusiasm for simple pleasures, including everything from world class sushi to scrambled eggs to In-n-Out. Bourdain tragically died of suicide in 2018, and a documentary was made on his life by Morgan Neville, “Roadrunner” from 2021.
Sessa made his acting debut in “The Holdovers,” holding his own with Paul Giamatti and flashing his character’s intellect, sarcasm, and pathos. Up next he’ll appear in a film called “Tow” alongside Rose Byrne, in Michael Showalter’s holiday comedy “Oh. What. Fun.,” and in “Now You See Me 3.”
Johnson is represented by CAA and Chris Spicer at Akin Gump; Sessa is represented by CAA, Untitled, and Steve Warren at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Miller is represented by CAA and Chris Spicer at Akin Gump.
Deadline first reported the news.
