Photo Credit: The Ramones in 1976 (Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone) by Plismo / CC by 3.0
The ongoing legal battle over the Ramones’ estate leaves the Netflix film about the band, which stars Pete Davidson, up in the air.
Amid a years-long legal battle over the Ramones estate, Netflix’s film adaptation of Mickey Leigh’s memoir, I Slept With Joey Ramone, starring Pete Davidson, is on shaky ground. The latest development sees a new arbitration process that led to the removal of a director from the parent company of the legendary band.
Ramones Productions Inc. director David Frey was ordered to be removed as company director, effective immediately, and rendered ineligible for re-election to the same post for five years. That decision was a legal victory for Johnny Ramone’s widow, Linda Cummings-Ramone, who filed a lawsuit against Frey and Joey Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh earlier this year.
Netflix initially announced its Ramones film in 2021 as a collaboration with STXfilms. Jason Orley was set to direct and co-write the script with Davidson. But Cummings-Ramone filed a lawsuit against Frey and Leigh, alleging they “covertly developed an unapproved and unauthorized Ramones-based biopic” without her permission.
After Cummings-Ramone filed her initial lawsuit in January, Frey and Leigh filed a countersuit against her in March, accusing her of trying to “install herself as the Queen of the Ramones.” They asserted the biopic was not meant to be a band tell-all, but an adaptation of a family memoir.
This week, a New York arbitrator granted Cummings-Ramone’s request to remove Frey as RPI’s director, citing that he had “breached his duty of care, honesty, and loyalty, in failing to present the STX/Netflix deal to Ms. Cummings-Ramone and/or the Board of RPI for their approval.” Cummings-Ramone told Billboard she was “thrilled” with the decision, and that they could now “finally move forward and create and expand the legacy of the best band ever.”
“Preserving this legacy is not just a responsibility but a deeply personal mission for me,” said Cummings-Ramone. “I have dedicated my life to honoring and safeguarding the extraordinary contributions my husband and his band have made to music, culture, and the lives of millions around the world.”
Frey also managed Cheap Trick for several years, but his relationship with the band ended in 2013 when he and founding drummer Bun E. Carlos sued the three other band members in allegedly unpaid touring fees and other expenses.