The beloved chef, author and host took his own life in 2018.
His life, death and legacy is now set to be explored in an upcoming documentary Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain and features interviews with dozens of Bourdain’s close friends who try to understand his suicide.
However, the Italian actress whom Bourdain was dating at the time of his death is not featured at all.
Filmmaker Morgan Neville has spoken about this decision, confirming that he did not want to explore Bourdain and Argento’s relationship.
“His relationship with Asia, I felt like I didn’t want to get one inch deeper into that story because it was quicksand,” the Oscar-winning filmmaker told the Wall Street Journal.
“You can make a whole film just about that and that was not the film I wanted to make. It gets really complicated and in a way that to me is not ultimately enlightening.”
He added: “What I included was a fraction of what was there. So if people think there’s a lot, let me tell you, there is very little compared to what’s there. I feel like I showed tremendous restraint, even though people may not know that.
“And I think I was very fair with having seen all the facts. I’m very comfortable with what I did.”
Bourdain was said to be deeply infatuated with Argento and in the documentary, some of his friends suggest that paparazzi photos showing her with another man led to his suicide.
However, Argento was not contacted to be in the film at all and Neville said he had lawyers vet the project especially for this reason.
He explained: “We had our lawyers and the CNN lawyers vet it. We hired a special Italian counsel to vet it based on the Italian law, and we went through it with a fine-tooth comb. I went out of my way to make sure I put the quote in from [TV director] Michael Steed saying, ‘Tony killed Tony, you know, 60-year-old men don’t normally kill themselves because they broke up with somebody.’”
Neville added: “I’m not saying she caused his suicide. I was merely trying to paint a picture, I think accurately, of the different factors in his life that were going on, and there were many of them. The impression of him really over the last year was him just being much more manic and much more depressive.”
Newsweek has reached out to Argento’s representatives for comment.
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is due for release Friday, July 16.
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.)
