Anthony Bourdain was open and curious, reflects the producer of "Parts Unknown".



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Anthony Bourdain, head of television, used his CNN documentary series "Parts Unknown" to draw attention not only to food, but also to the social, political and economic challenges facing people around the world.

The death by suicide of Bourdain in June was a shock for many. He died on the spot in France, working on an episode of season 12 of the award-winning Emmy and Peabody show.

Here NowLisa Mullins speaks with longtime producer "Parts Unknown" Sandra Zweig, who says that she can not imagine that there will be another show like this again.

"Tony had a unique voice, there's no way to reproduce that," she says.

Highlights of the interview

On the way the production team "Parts Unknown" has enough content for an entire series

"We had shot the majority of the episodes of the season before his death, so there was a lot of content that was already in the box, as they say, some were being edited. premiere of the season, was shot in Kenya with Kamau Bell, and Tony had written and sounded the whole episode, although there were some pieces of narration that they wanted to get.

"We are so used to his voice, and just be able to fill holes, historical holes, political holes, establish a sense of belonging, add humor , add a point of view. "

Sandra Zweig, on the challenges that end the season without Bourdain

On if Bourdain wrote all his narration

"He did, I mean, the producers and editors would do a full version of the VO in order to have something to work with during the editing, but he rewrote everything, it was his voice, I can not Imagine yourself doing the show without rewriting it. If we had just handed him a script that he had to read, it would not have had the same feeling: there were just things that were going to happen. he could add – I mean some historical information, quite frankly, he was like a mine of knowledge and that was part of what made this place interesting or interesting for him. "

On what attracted Bourdain to CNN of the Travel channel

"I think the transition to CNN was partly due to Tony's interest in doing more than what was on the Travel Channel, [which] was more, you know, travel, food. And Tony really wanted to do more than that. He wanted to go to places that Travel Channel might not have interest in, or could not help access to, and the transition to CNN also provided us with additional tools and resources and people to who to speak. were on Tony's list, but it was never possible to do it. "

About what people from other countries and cultures of Bourdain

"I think it may have depended on where he was going and who he was talking to – Tony had a great ability to be – even though he was no longer a man at all. do it all – but he was always very open to listening … what was going on in the lives of others … he was curious and he was going into these conversations with a number of information but the conversation was his, producer or director came, you gave Tony the information and he had the conversation.

On the challenges of finishing the season without Bourdain

"We are so used to his voice, and just being able to fill holes, historical holes, political holes, establish a sense of place, add humor, add a point of view Tony did it with his narration.

"I can think of a fairly simple and straightforward example: Indonesia is one of the episodes of the coming season and there is a complicated political history that is very difficult to understand without anyone showing the way forward." so we had to find other tools to do that, and it only remained to lose some of it. "

Chris Collins, from left to right, Lydia Tenaglia, Anthony Bourdain, Sandra Zweig, Tom Vitale and Erik Osterholm, winners of the award for an exceptional or special information series for
Chris Collins, from left to right, Lydia Tenaglia, Anthony Bourdain, Sandra Zweig, Tom Vitale and Erik Osterholm, winners of the award for a series of outstanding or special information for "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown", pose for a portrait on TV Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 12, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Vince Bucci / Invision for the TV Academy / AP)

If Bourdain had been alive, but if his death was due to moments of the last season.

"I know there are certainly moments in the series that might not have been in a series, if he was still alive, because he made comments that could have been considered as off-the-shelf remarks. camera, or something like that, but added more of his voice, which is something that we are so used to hearing in his narration.

"In the first episode in Kenya, there is a moment when he and W. Kamau Bell look at this kind of horizon." Kamau talks about how, looking where he is and where he is, just a bit of light. until where he came from, it's something unbelievable for him, then Tony talks about what he has for this job, and he basically says that 'the cameras are off and we go out and have a cocktail … I pinch myself … it would not have wanted that in this show. "

On the death of Bourdain

"I was probably as stunned as anyone, I would never have imagined it."

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