SNL star Pete Davidson has been confirmed to play Joey Ramone in an upcoming biopic about the punk-rocker on Netflix.
The piece is to be directed by Jason Orley, who has worked with The King Of Staten Island’s Davidson previously on the film, Big Time Adolescence and the comic’s Netflix special, Pete Davidson: Alive from New York. The film will be based on Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh’s memoir of the same name, I Slept With Joey Ramone.
The upcoming biopic will be produced by Netflix in partnership with STX, and has been given the full support of the Estate of Joey Ramone. The announcement of the project aligns with the 20th anniversary of the legendary musician’s death, who passed away in 2001 aged 49 after a seven-year battle with lymphoma.
Adam Fogelson, chairman of STXfilms Motion Picture Group, said 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.”
