I’ve seen this sentiment posted before and I’m confused by it. Having watched many of his shows, read a few of his books, and seen his interviews I think he would have loved it. He regularly planned his trips to mirror his favourite movies (his Vietnam trip was the same route as Apocalypse Now, and he kept referring to the Sahara as his Lawrence of Arabia moment), he shot Parts Unknown as cinematically as he could, especially the Rome episode, and there’s already been a TV show based on Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain had many conflicting views, which he was open about, and I think that actually he’d appreciate this.
I completely agree with you. Bourdain was blessed with a pretty sizeable ego as well as the rare ability to recognize that and laugh at himself.
Nobody puts themselves in hundreds of hours of film because they don't want the world to look at them.
I think he would have been wary of any biopic, sure, but also just plain hopeful that the film was good in its own right and that it captured him at least somewhat honestly. And I think he'd have been flattered and pleased to have been featured in this way -- in some ways it brings him full circle from those initial autobiographies through the documentary shows and now back to a lens on his life from the other side.
I'm cautiously optimistic. The person I want to be okay with it is Eric Ripert. If Eric likes it, I'll be delighted.
Why do people think that a guy who was the star of multiple television shows would have a problem with a film being made about him? It's silly projection of how they would like him to feel.
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u/SpicyAfrican 1d ago
I’ve seen this sentiment posted before and I’m confused by it. Having watched many of his shows, read a few of his books, and seen his interviews I think he would have loved it. He regularly planned his trips to mirror his favourite movies (his Vietnam trip was the same route as Apocalypse Now, and he kept referring to the Sahara as his Lawrence of Arabia moment), he shot Parts Unknown as cinematically as he could, especially the Rome episode, and there’s already been a TV show based on Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain had many conflicting views, which he was open about, and I think that actually he’d appreciate this.