Netflix and STXfilms have cast Saturday Night Live and King of Staten Island star, Pete Davidson, to play the punk rock legend Joey Ramone in the new biopic, I Slept With Joey Ramone.
The biopic is based on the memoir of the same name, written by his brother Mickey Leigh, and will cover the life of the pioneer punk rocker, who founded The Ramones in Queens, New York in 1974. The group went on to change the scene of rock and were arguably the first true punk rock band, up until their split in 1996. Nevertheless, their legendary work has lived on since then and has changed the music genre forever.
“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,” shared Adam Fogelson, chairman of STXfilms. “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,” he added.
Leigh’s I Slept With Joey Ramone, which was written with Legs McNeil, was released in 2010, he writes about sharing a bed with his brother while growing up in Queens, the childhood and teenage years they spent growing up together, as well as the story of the Ramones.
Along with starring in the film, Davidson and Leigh will also work as executive producers along with David Spiegelman and Rory Rosegarten. Jason Orley, who directed Davidson’s stand-up special, Pete Davidson: Alive From New York, will also direct the biopic film.
No additional casting announcements have been made and Netflix has yet to set a release date.
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