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."
