New documentary "King Pleasure" about Basquiat
Travis Kelce may soon be known for something other than dating super mega pop star Taylor Swift and playing for the NFL's Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs. Kelce is also on board to help finance a documentary, “King Pleasure,” about renowned artist and pop culture crossover icon Jean-Michel Basquiat. The film will be made with the collaboration of the artist's estate, according to an article in “Variety”.
The life of Basquiat, which saw him rise from graffiti artist to the innermost circles of power in the New York art world, but which was cut short by a drug overdose at the age of 27, has proven attractive to film producers and directors: it will be the third time that the artist will be the subject of a film production, in the 36 years since he died. The debut of Julian Schnabel director in 1996, “Basquiat,” starred Jeffrey Wright as Basquiat (and featured David Bowie as Andy Warhol, Parker Posey as Mary Boone and stars Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken in supporting roles), and was once the subject of a documentary, “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child“ (2010), directed by Tamra Davis.
Basquiat it has also proven, at times, to be a market titan. An untitled painting of a skull from 1982 sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's New York in 2017. In 2021, its market totaled a record $439.6 million, second only to Pablo Picasso in terms of auction revenue, according to records in the Artnet Price Database. But sales “fell off a cliff,” according to reporting by Katya Kazakina for Artnet News in 2023.
Jean-Michel Basquiat will be the subject of a new documentary, King Pleasure. The legendary artist's personal collections are the stars of the project, which has full access to archival material and original artworks, allowing the work to be a mix of never-before-seen home movies, as well as notes, notebooks, photographs, animation and interviews. The owners of the artist's estate have granted full access to archival material and original artwork, allowing it to be a mix of never-before-seen home movies, notebooks, photographs, animation and interviews. Quinn Wilson, who has worked with names like Dita Von Teese, King Princess and Ziwe, will direct the documentary, which will begin production soon.
Source: Artnet News