The Netflix Ramones biopic starring Pete Davidson faces uncertainty due to an ongoing legal dispute over the band's estate. The film, based on Mickey Leigh's memoir "I Slept With Joey Ramone," has encountered significant obstacles following recent arbitration decisions.

Photo Credit: The Ramones in 1976 (Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone) by Plismo / CC by 3.0

A New York arbitrator has removed David Frey as director of Ramones Productions Inc. (RPI) and barred him from re-election for five years. The decision came after Johnny Ramone's widow, Linda Cummings-Ramone, filed a lawsuit against Frey and Joey Ramone's brother Mickey Leigh, claiming they developed an unauthorized biopic without proper approval.

The film, announced in 2021 as a collaboration between Netflix and STXfilms, was set to be directed by Jason Orley, who would co-write the script with Davidson. However, the project stalled when Cummings-Ramone initiated legal action.

The arbitrator ruled that Frey breached his duties by failing to present the STX/Netflix deal to Cummings-Ramone and the RPI Board for approval. In response to these developments, Cummings-Ramone expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating it would allow them to "move forward and create and expand the legacy of the best band ever."

A counter-lawsuit filed by Frey and Leigh in March accused Cummings-Ramone of attempting to "install herself as the Queen of the Ramones." They maintained that the biopic was intended to be an adaptation of a family memoir rather than a comprehensive band biography.

The dispute has effectively placed the Netflix project in limbo, with no clear timeline for resolution or production advancement. This situation adds to Frey's history of legal disputes in the music industry, including a previous lawsuit involving the band Cheap Trick in 2013.

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