logo
Dominic Sessa Officially Signs on to Play Anthony Bourdain in A24 Biopic ‘Tony,' Antonio Banderas Joins Cast

Dominic Sessa Officially Signs on to Play Anthony Bourdain in A24 Biopic ‘Tony,' Antonio Banderas Joins Cast

Yahoo23-04-2025
'The Holdovers' star Dominic Sessa will officially don the apron of kitchen legend Anthony Bourdain, alongside Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas in a new biopic from A24.
Banderas' role is under wraps, and Sessa was reported as in talks for the project from director Matt Johnson ('Blackberry') last summer. The film, titled 'Tony,' will take place in 1976 when a young Bourdain has a life changing experience working and living in Provincetown, Mass. Cameras are set to roll next month.
More from Variety
Nicole Kidman's Sexy, Sweaty 'Babygirl' Makes Venice Climax to 6.5-Minute Standing Ovation
Esther McGregor on Starring in Two Venice Titles With 'Room Next Door' and 'Babygirl,' and How 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Helped Rekindle Her Relationship With Father Ewan
Dominic Sessa to Star as Anthony Bourdain in Biopic 'Tony'
Johnson directs a script from Todd Bartels and Lou Howe. A24 will co-finance and co-produce with Star Thrower and Zapruder Films. Star Thrower is run by Tim and Trevor White, who also just wrapped the forthcoming A24 drama 'Eternity' from director David Freyne, screenwriter Pat Cunnane and stars Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner, and Oscar winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph. Director Johnson and Matthew Miller co-produce via Zapruder.
Chris Stinson, Amy Greene, Lou Howe, Todd Bartels and Emily Rose will executive produce. Bourdain's estate rep Kimberly Witherspoon will serve as executive producer, alongside Chris Stinson, Amy Greene, Lou Howe, Bartels and Emily Rose.
Johson, who just took his 'Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie' to SXSW, is repped by CAA and Chris Spicer at Akin Gump. Sessa is represented by CAA, Untitled and Steve Warren at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller. Banderas is represented by Emanuel Nunez at NuCo Media Group and George Hayum at Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman.
Star Thrower is represented by CAA and attorney David Boyle.
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025
The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Tony n' Tina's Wedding' proves that tacky is timeless and that (some) immersive theater still works
‘Tony n' Tina's Wedding' proves that tacky is timeless and that (some) immersive theater still works

San Francisco Chronicle​

time18 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

‘Tony n' Tina's Wedding' proves that tacky is timeless and that (some) immersive theater still works

Glorified mini-malls with chintzy Instagram backdrops. Walk through themed costume parties where you see everything there is to see in approximately 10 seconds. And starting next week at Brava Theater, jury duty, but the kind you pay to be a part of. All this, marketers tell us, is immersive theater, a term ubiquitous enough to verge on meaninglessness. Today it can describe any experience where you're not just sitting quietly observing actors in a hermetically sealed proscenium stage. Got a lobby display with 2D cutouts? You guessed it; that's immersive. But if so much of the genre feels cheugy, that's because at least some of the time in its decadeslong history, immersive theater has worked. Drawing on profound understanding of its audience, it's built thoughtful, appealing worlds with intuitive rules. It's made us feel things, even if it doesn't always rise to the level of art. To that end, whether the term 'immersive' makes you want to stay dry on shore or dive in as its target demographic, it's worth it to revisit a title dating to 1988 to see what juice the form might still have left. One of the best parts of 'Tony n' Tina's Wedding,' which opened Thursday, July 24, in a clear plastic (heated) tent outside the Presidio Theatre, is that no one has to tell you how to act or what to do. If you've been to any real wedding in any culture on Earth, you understand your role from the moment an usher asks, 'Are you looking for your table?' You are a guest at a ceremony and reception where you don't know anyone, and everyone else feels exactly the same way. Just like at a real wedding, a range of behaviors is acceptable. You can hang back shyly or yuk it up with the father of the groom, played by Mark Nassar, one of the original creators of comedy troupe Artificial Intelligence's off-off-Broadway production, which has since been franchised around the world. You can stampede onto the dance floor each time the keyboardist even thinks about striking a note, or, like me, you can wait until everyone's sloshed before you dare reveal your herky-jerky moves. It's all great, because it all makes it look more like a real wedding. The other key to the show's success is that all of us have trashy relatives, but ours probably aren't as bad as Tony (Joe Leone), Tina (Emily Dinova) and their ilk, with their animal-print bridal party wear and matching table runners. To observe caterer and family member Vinny Black (Anthony Patellis) looking chuffed to be in charge in his slate-blue polyester suit is inevitably to reminisce about one's own embarrassing uncles. (Love you, Uncle Tom.) But later, when you observe bridesmaid Donna (Alison Hagen) and mother-of-the-bridge Josephina (Rebecca Pingree) seize the mic for a song like it's their one chance to spew a manifesto, or get out of the way as different ensemble members charge each other like bulls, you get to feel schadenfreude and relief. At least your cousins didn't hit their rock bottom in someone's wedding tent. And some of the touches are exquisite. The bridal party chews gum throughout the ceremony. The wedding singer (Tony Lauria), opening 'At Last,' slides from the first to the second note so slowly and unctuously it feels like it should be rated R. The groomsmen have to become shirtless, and that has to happen during the Isley Brothers' 'Shout.' 'Tony n' Tina's Wedding' plays less as theater than as social experiment. If we tell strangers to wear their fascinators and pearls, give them a cash bar and follow the loose structure of a wedding of Italian Americans — one of the last ethnic groups it's socially acceptable to make fun of — will audiences play along? The answer, indisputably, is yes. For a ticket that costs about as much as a nice wedding gift, we'll line up for the bouquet and garter tosses. We'll dance the conga, and inexplicably for a Catholic wedding, the hora. What we're celebrating isn't deep characters or story, but that in a divided world there's still a silly thing we share, and that by the end of the night we've gone from judging other people's tacky cousins to becoming them ourselves.

Cynthia Erivo Promises She'll Be ‘Having a Good Time' with Her 'Wicked: For Good' Press Tour Looks (Exclusive)
Cynthia Erivo Promises She'll Be ‘Having a Good Time' with Her 'Wicked: For Good' Press Tour Looks (Exclusive)

Yahoo

time20 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Cynthia Erivo Promises She'll Be ‘Having a Good Time' with Her 'Wicked: For Good' Press Tour Looks (Exclusive)

"Everything was really thought out, and that's the way we always are," Erivo says of how she and stylist Jason Bolden plan her looksNEED TO KNOW Cynthia Erivo expects she'll be "having a good time" with her Wicked: For Good press tour looks The actress spoke with PEOPLE about the great work her style team does, especially most recently at the 2025 Tony Awards "Everything was really thought out, and that's the way we always are," Erivo says of working with her stylist, Jason BoldenCynthia Erivo is looking ahead to Wicked: For Good — and to her press tour style. After Erivo channeled her character Elphaba throughout the Wicked press tour in 2024, fans and fashion aficionados have been eagerly anticipating her looks for herWicked: For Good appearances. Speaking with PEOPLE for her partnership with Listerine, Erivo praised her style team's dedication to each elaborate ensemble and hinted at what to expect in the upcoming press run. Erivo tells PEOPLE her style team, spearheaded by stylist Jason Bolden, is very dear to her, and she's constantly impressed by the looks they create. "I mean, they're my family currently," she says, joking, "They had to see me coming because we are busy all the time. We keep each other busy. And these last few months have been really wonderful." A major undertaking for her style team, she says, was the Tony Awards on June 8. Erivo hosted the event and sported a total of 10 outfits throughout the night, each paying homage to a nominated play. Erivo's red and white glittery gown by Zac Posen was a tribute to Annie, while her black Richard Quinn ensemble — featuring long black gloves and a diamond necklace — was in line with the Hamilton reunion, in which all the actors wore black. Her final look, a bold purple dress by Paul Tazewell, paid homage to The Color Purple and Death Becomes Her. The actress tells PEOPLE each look was "very detailed" and "very intentional" — and fans should expect no less from her upcoming Wicked: For Good outfits. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "Everything was really thought out, and that's the way we always are," Erivo says of her style team. "We're very picky, selective about what we put on and what we're wearing, and the story we're telling." She adds, "And more than anything we try and have a really good time doing it. If it doesn't feel good to wear, we're not wearing it. And if I love it and it feels good, then I'll be wearing it. And it can be as avant-garde or as classic as it wants to be, as long as we know what story we're telling, and it feels good to tell that story, then I'll be in it. We have a good time. And hopefully, we'll be having a good time this time round as well." Read the original article on People

Anthony Mackie Says an Unreleased Film From the ‘Worst Director to Ever Direct' Almost Cost Him His ‘Hurt Locker' Role: ‘They Offered It To Somebody Else'
Anthony Mackie Says an Unreleased Film From the ‘Worst Director to Ever Direct' Almost Cost Him His ‘Hurt Locker' Role: ‘They Offered It To Somebody Else'

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

Anthony Mackie Says an Unreleased Film From the ‘Worst Director to Ever Direct' Almost Cost Him His ‘Hurt Locker' Role: ‘They Offered It To Somebody Else'

Anthony Mackie is opening up about how he almost lost his role in 'The Hurt Locker' because of another director's unreleased film. During a recent episode of Variety's 'Know Their Lines,' Mackie shared the backstory behind being cast in the 2009 Oscar-winner. More from Variety Anthony Mackie Jokes He's a 'White Dude Legend' Since His Co-Stars Often Get Award Nominations Over Him: 'I Made Ryan Gosling Famous. Jeremy Renner...' 'Captain America: Brave New World' Sets Disney+ Streaming Date 'Sneaks' Review: Sneakerhead Culture Gets Animated in Pedestrian Kiddie Feature ''Hurt Locker' is probably one of the most important acting experiences I had,' he began. 'We shot that in 2007, and I remember I was doing a movie in North Carolina with quite possibly the worst director to ever direct. Ironically, because of that the movie never came out.' He continued, 'Because of that, the movie went over and I had to pull out of 'Hurt Locker.' They offered it to somebody else, and he said no because it wasn't enough money.' Despite Mackie being tied up with the other film, the production offered him the role again and was willing to wait until he wrapped the unreleased project. 'I went from this sucky director who had no business in being in the business or in the director's chair to Kathryn Bigelow,' Mackie said. 'The moment I landed in Amman, Jordan, we hit the ground running [with] cultural research, military research, character studies – the real work a director does. It really was poignant to me the type of people I want to work with and the type of people who shouldn't be working.' Mackie's performance in 'The Hurt Locker' was a career-defining role as he played Sergeant J.T. Sanborn, a soldier and member of the fictional bomb disposal unit in Baghdad, Iraq. The film received widespread critical praise for its portrayal of the war in Iraq. At the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010, 'The Hurt Locker' took home six awards from its nine nominations for best motion picture, best achievement in directing, best writing, original screenplay, best achievement in film editing, best achievement in sound mixing and best achievement in sound editing. Watch the entire video below. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in August 2025 What's Coming to Netflix in August 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store