Joey Ramone died on this day in 2001 at just 49 years old, but he’ll be further immortalized by Netflix/STXfilms’ I Slept with Joey Ramone, in which tattooed funnyman Pete Davidson will go from playing The King of Staten Island to a king of punk rock.
The Saturday Night Live star’s Big Time Adolescence and Pete Davidson: Alive from New York collaborator Jason Orley will direct the biopic, based on a treatment the duo adapted from Mickey Leigh’s memoir of the same name. Leigh also executive produces alongside Davidson, Rory Rosegarten and David Spiegelman. Ramone’s estate is lending its cooperation and support to the production.
STXfilms Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson said of the project in a statement:
When you share a bed with someone—and not just a bed, but a childhood, a family, and a lifetime—you know that person better than anybody else. Mickey Leigh not only collaborated with his big brother’s band—he has irreplaceable memories of and insights into Joey Ramone, having supported him when no one else would and witnessed him overcome adversity in the most dramatic way. I Slept with Joey Ramone is a great rock anthem that will make an equally great rock biopic, set apart by a universal story of family. Pete is perfect for this role and we’re excited he and Jason will be bringing this icon of rock to life and thrilled to be collaborating once again with our friends at Netflix.
Davidson is a bit of an odd choice, we’d argue: His roguish, life-of-the-party charm and easy confidence clash with Ramone’s shy, soft-spoken (except onstage, of course) personality. No word yet on when the biopic starts shooting or streaming.
Watch a late-’70s Ramones show from the Paste archives below.
