Jean-Michel Basquiat Feature Doc, Titled ‘King Pleasure, In The Works

Jean-Michel Basquiat is set to be the subject of a new feature documentary, King Pleasure, from Val and Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? producer Boardwalk Pictures and Quinn Wilson, former creative director for Lizzo.

The estate of the legendary artist is on board the project and has granted full access to archival material and original works of art, allowing it to be a mash-up of never-before-seen home movies, notebooks, photographs, animation, and interviews.

Wilson, who has also worked with the likes of Dita Von Teese, King Princess, and Ziwe, will direct King Pleasure, which starts production this summer.

It is the latest Basquiat project in the works. Stephan James is attached to star and produce a scripted limited series about the artist with Boat Rocker Studios.

Basquiat, whose untitled painting of a black skull with red and yellow rivulets sold for over $110M in 2017, was in the news last year after the Orlando Museum of Art unveiled 25 paintings that were later found to be fake.

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 with their stepmother, Nora Firtzpatrick, have spent years poring over their brother’s paintings, drawing, photographs, VHS movies, African sculpture collection, toys and memorabilia to curate an exhibition of his life and work. They recently curated the Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure exhibition, which featured over 200 of his pieces, in both New York and Los Angeles.

Boardwalk’s Andrew Fried, Jordan Wynn, and Dane Lillegard will produce the documentary alongside Wilson and Ileen Gallagher. Executive producers include Jeanine Heriveaux, Lisane Basquiat, Anthony Konigbagbe, Katherine Oliver, Lindsay Firestone, James Cunningham, and Emi Stewart. 

“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. “We are honored that Lisane and Jeanine and the rest of the Basquiat family have granted us such incredible access to their trove of materials and we are excited to collaborate with Quinn who has a dazzling vision for an intimate and emotional portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s life.”

“I have been fortunate enough to gain an intimate understanding of Jean-Michel through the stories and recollections shared by his sisters and stepmother,” said Wilson. “We have discovered a story that cracks the narrative of what we know about the prolific artist. Through his previously unseen artwork, thoughts, and memorabilia, we’ve uncovered a history that shatters the conventional understanding of this icon and I look forward to doing justice to his life’s story and shining a light on him not only as an artist, but as a man.”

“Jean-Michel understood that art lives on beyond generations and that after his death, his art would continue to reveal new layers of meaning to our shared human experience,” added Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux. “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. We have no doubt the Boardwalk team and impeccably talented Quinn Wilson will reclaim his story with a beautiful, intimate, and powerful new documentary.” 

Wilson and Boardwalk are represented by WME. The Basquiat estate is represented by Artestar, New York.