Famously, there was never any love lost between Ramones frontman Joey Ramone and guitarist Johnny Ramone, and that long-simmering tension seems to have out-lived both men, as the guitarist's estate has now filed a lawsuit over a planned Joey Ramone biopic, which it argues will be "one-sided" and "an injustice to the band and its legacy."
On April 15, 2021 - the 20th anniversary of Joey Ramone's death - Netflix announced that it would be making a biopic of the singer based upon the 2009 memoir I Slept With Joey Ramone, written by Joey's brother, Mickey Leigh (Mitchel Hyman). The film is to star comedian Pete Davidson as Joey Ramone (real name Jeffrey Ross Hyman), and is being adapted for the screen by Davidson and director Jason Orley: the planned biopic was hailed as "a universal story of family".
Adam Fogelson, the Chairman of STXfilms Motion Picture Group, said at the tme: "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."
But, as reported by music industry bible Billboard, in a lawsuit filed on January 21 in a Manhattan court, Johnny Ramone's estate, managed by his wife Linda, claims the biopic will be "unapproved and unauthorized”, and will offer a "one-sided recitation of the history of the Ramones."
"Ms. Ramone objects to defendants’ attempt to create a Ramones film without her involvement — not to be obstinate, but rather based on defendants’ disregard for [Ramones] assets and their conduct and treatment of Ms. Ramone and her late husband," Linda Ramones' lawyers state. "To permit defendants alone to tell the authoritative story of the Ramones would be an injustice to the band and its legacy."
As the executors of Johnny and Joey’s respective estates, Linda Ramone and Mickey Leigh each own half of Ramones Productions Inc.
