The New Anthony Bourdain Documentary Arrives This Weekend
Last month was the three-year anniversary of the day chef and author Anthony Bourdain took his own life, leaving a rich tapestry and complicated legacy that even today leaves us reflecting on why he chose to leave us. We’ll reflect even more this weekend with fascinating new uncovered footage featured in the documentary Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, directed by Morgan Neville (who did the Mr. Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor) and arriving on Bay Area movie screens this weekend.
And though Anthony Bourdain is gone, he actually narrates the documentary himself with voiceovers from archival footage, as you can see in the trailer below.
Roadrunner premiered last month at the Tribeca Film Festival, and the reviews are already coming in. “The film presents a psychological, almost novelistic portrait of how Bourdain evolved as a person during the years of his celebrity,” writes Variety. “The perks of fame can change anyone, of course. But what was unique in Bourdain’s case is that he was a high-flying personality — an addict, a sensation-seeker, a reckless rebel who craved experience — who had found a way to ground himself in the nightly demands of working in restaurant kitchens. The kitchen was his home. It gave him structure and purpose, a place to play out his obsessive nature. And once he became a TV star, his life as a chef got left behind. The home was gone.”
Yes, above we see Bourdain with a Broke-Ass Stuart “Young Broke & Beautiful” sticker, from the time years ago when Stuart met him. “I found out that Anthony Bourdain was doing a book reading and signing in Manhattan,” Stuart wrote in memoriam. “I am the furthest thing from a starfucker, there’s a very small handful of famous people I’d care to meet, but Bourdain was one of them. So I trucked my way down to lower Manhattan and waited in line for an hour. I was the only schmuck who didn’t bring or buy a Bourdain book to get signed. Instead I did the most Stuart thing ever and signed a copy of Broke-Ass Stuart’s Guide to Living Cheaply in San Francisco, which had just come out, and gave it to him.”
SF Showtimes for the film are seen above, and screenings begin this Thursday, July 15. The film is basically playing at SF’s AMC theaters (The Kabuki and the Vogue, plus other Bay Area AMC theaters.)
Though HBO Max is a co-producer of the film, it will not be streaming on HBO Max this weekend. According to Variety, “Following its release in theaters, Roadrunner will air on CNN and on the HBO Max streaming service at a later, undisclosed date.”
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain opens Thursday, July 15, at the AMC Kabuki, Vogue Theater, and other AMC theaters.
If you’re an Anthony Bourdain fan then you’ll love our tribute shirt. Grab yours right here.
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