Jean-Michel Basquiat is getting the biopic treatment.
On Thursday, it was announced that If Beale Street Could Talk star Stephan James will be playing the legendary artist in an untitled TV drama. James is also producing the project with Boat Rocker and actor Shamier Anderson’s Bay Mills Studios.
Set in the gritty downtown New York City scene of the '80s, the limited series will follow Basquiat’s ascent from unknown artist to star of the Neo-expressionist art movement, palling around with Debbie Harry and Andy Warhol. Basquiat’s close relationship with Warhol will be a focal point of the show (place your bets now on who will get to play Warhol on screen), along with his substance abuse issues and eventual death from a heroin overdose.
James shared a statement with The Hollywood Reporter describing the emotional significance of playing the pop culture icon, saying, “Jean-Michel is an artist I have long revered, and someone who has greatly influenced my work over the years. To embody such a revolutionary, whose influence on modern pop culture is simply immeasurable, will simply be one of the greatest honors of my career.”