A Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary, King Pleasure, received the green light for production.
According to Deadline, the film is produced by Boardwalk Pictures and Quinn Wilson, former creative director for Lizzo.
The film will be a never-before-seen look into the storied life of the late artist. Archival material and original works of art will be featured along with exclusive notebooks, photographs, animation, and interviews.
Production is slated to begin this summer and will be produced by Boardwalk’s Andrew Fried, Jordan Wynn, and Dane Lillegard alongside Wilson and Ileen Gallagher.
“Jean-Michel Basquiat was one of the most electric artists of all time. He left behind a body of work that continues to inspire and capture the imagination of people from all walks of life” said Jordan Wynn, President of Boardwalk Studios.
Basquiat started out in the graffiti scene in New York in the late ‘70s before becoming one of the youngest artists to ever exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York. He was well known for his friendship with Andy Warhol before his death from a heroin overdose in 1988.
Basquiat’s sisters Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux, who run the estate along with their stepmother, have spent years keeping their brother’s legacy alive. “With so many false depictions and narratives surrounding the life of our brother, we’re thrilled to recenter the legacy of the Jean-Michel we knew and loved dearly,” they commented. They recently curated the Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibition, which featured over 200 of his pieces, in both New York and Los Angeles.
“We have no doubt the Boardwalk team and impeccably talented Quinn Wilson will reclaim his story with a beautiful, intimate, and powerful new documentary,” they added.