Bourdain’s Field Notes

I am brutal on directors. Not in a “Where’s my half-caff soy latte!?!” kind of a way, but in my expectations. I show up on time—all the time. I don’t need my ass kissed. I don’t throw tantrums.

But I want my directors to show me something. Something new. Every time.

Directors on Parts Unknown are given tremendous license to try just about anything they want in the cause of being different, being creative, upending expectations, destroying conventional story arcs.

A director with an idea—for a destination or a new shooting or editing style or new equipment, any new way of telling a story that is likely to cause fear and confusion at the network (and possibly with our audience)—is welcome to try.

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