Despite any initial reservations one may have about Tony – the biopic/prequel about how Anthony became Bourdain that sounds like a for-hire job by an emerging filmmaker – the surprise is how perfectly director Matt Johnson’s latest feature aligns with his growing filmography. Hot off the successes of his 2023 tech-based drama BlackBerry and the 2025 feature adaptation of his cult TV show Nirvanna the Band the Show, Johnson has become more noticed as an independent filmmaker with a niche following but a promising career path. The filmmaker’s swerve from a mockumentary-sitcom spinoff film to an A24-backed biopic of a celebrated chef speaks to Johnson’s ongoing transition. As his work moved beyond post-ironic guerrilla filmmaking and into more mainstream material, a quiet fear emerged that Johnson could suffer the same fate as so many other indie directors, either swallowed up