Assetholder Johnny Ramone Sues Biopic Movie Joey Ramone Netflix

Ramones (Instagram @johnnyramone)

JAKARTA - Asset rights holder Johnny Ramone sued Mickey Leigh for future biopic Joey Ramone titled I Slept With Joey Ramone, starring Pete Davidson.

According to Billboard, Johnny Ramone's widow, Linda, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan court on January 21. He claims Leigh Mitchel Hyman's real name secretly develops Ramones-based biopics that are not approved and invalid based on Ramones' historical reading.

While the lawsuit does not explicitly refer to Netflix as the defendant in the case, representative Linda Ramone stated that the film in question is based on Leigh's memoir, I Slept With Joey Ramone, which Netflix announced will be produced in 2021.

Sementara itu, platform streaming tersebut kemudian menyatakan bahwa film ini mendapat dukungan dari pihak Joey Ramone, gugatan Linda menolak produksinya kecuali jika film tersebut juga mendapat persetujuannya.

Linda and Leigh both share Ramones' intellectual property, and represent each of Johnny and Joey Ramone's asset rights.

"Obviously Ramone objected to the defendant's attempts to make Ramones films without his involvement not because of being stubborn, but based on the defendant's neglect of [Ramones] assets and their behavior and treatment of Ms Ramone and her late husband," wrote Linda's lawyer as quoted by NME.

"Letting the defendant himself tell Ramones' official story is an injustice to the band and its legacy," continued the lawyer.

Billboard's report notes that Linda Ramone's lawsuit also sparked various other charges involving Leigh and David Frey, appointed by Leigh to oversee Ramones' parent company. His lawyers claim the two of them mismanaged the company and withheld payments from him. He alleges that they are allowing the band's legacy to rot.

"It can be seen from the continued actions of the defendants that their main goal is to torture Miss. Ramone until she agrees to sell her interests," they wrote. Very regrettable, the Defendant seems willing to let the band's legacy rot, for their personal interests

As representatives of Johnny and Joey Ramone, who died of various types of cancer in 2004 and 2001, Linda and Leigh maintained unfavorable legal relations over the years.

In 2019, the two settled a prolonged dispute over the use of the name 'Ramone', after Linda changed her last name to Ramone in 2014, illegally using Ramone's name on social media, and intends to change her home name in Los Angeles to 'Ramone Ranch'.

The arbitration resulted in Linda Cummings-Ramone being barred from changing her home name to 'Ramone Ranch', although she was allowed to name it 'Johnny Ramone Ranch' or 'Linda Ramone Ranch' instead. Leigh was also barred from obstructing Linda's attempts to earn trademarks on behalf of Johnny Ramone and Linda Ramone.

Joey Ramone's biopic was announced to be co-written by Davidson and directed by his permanent collaborator, Jason Orley. In a Netflix press release at the time of the film's announcement, Adam Fogelson, the head of the film production company STXfilms stated: 'I Slept with Joey Ramone' is a great rock song that will be the same great rock biopic film, separated by the family's universal story.