AGC Television, the television production and distribution division of Stuart Ford’s independent content studio AGC Studios, Gianni Nunnari’s Hollywood Gang, and Altimeter are in pre-production on Nobu, a four-part documentary series about world renowned chef and hotelier Nobu Matsuhisa. Matt Tyrnauer is directing.
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa is the pioneering restauranteur and businessman with 47 restaurants and 27 hotels bearing his name. However, his path to success was unlikely – riddled with obstacles, adversity and tragedy. This is an epic journey from Japan to Peru to the United States and many other points around the world that will be uncovered by exclusive access to Nobu, and its glitzy patrons.
Tyrnauer has directed Valentino: The Last Emperor, Where’s My Roy Cohn?, about the Svengali behind Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump; Studio 54, about the famed New York City
nightclub that became a cultural phenomenon, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, and Citizen Jane: Battle for the City. His latest projects include The Reagans, a four-part documentary series for Showtime and the documentary series Home, for Apple. Tyrnauer is also in post-production on the documentary series Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons for Hulu.
Tyrnauer and Altimeter co-founder Corey Reeser are onboard as executive producers along with Nunnari, Ford, AGC’s President of Television Lourdes Diaz and EVP of Non-Fiction Content BJ Levin. Reeser will also serve as showrunner.
Said Ford, “To help a world class filmmaker such as Matt tell of the journeys past and present of a global culinary and cultural icon such as Matsuhisa-san is an exhilarating prospect. We are therefore thrilled to be working with our partners at Hollywood Gang and Altimeter to bring this ambitious multicultural docuseries to life.”
Said Nunnari, “I have known Nobu for so much of my life; he is a man that I profoundly respect, both for his craft and for his wise approach to life. I am thrilled to help share Nobu’s inspiring journey with the world.”
Said Tyrnauer, “This is one of the greatest, most inspiring and interesting stories I have ever had the opportunity to tell. Nobu’s reinvention of a cuisine, his staggering success in redefining the food culture worldwide, and his push into the hotel business would be impressive and interesting enough for a series, but I am floored by the unknown story of the man. He’s a study in perseverance and triumph over adversity—a self-made individual, whose career almost crashed and burned. There are plot twists, great lows, and, more recently, staggering highs. I have not encountered a subject for a cinema verité film like this since my first film, Valentino: The Last Emperor. There are a lot of similarities, if fact, between Valentino and Nobu: both redefined their art forms and are great survivors in the toughest of businesses.”
The deal was negotiated by WME on behalf of Altimeter; by AGC’s SVP of Legal & Business Affairs Anant
Tamirisa and Alan Grodin of Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin on behalf of Hollywood Gang.
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