Danny Boyle to direct six-part Sex Pistols TV biopic
Pistol is based on Steve Jones' memoir
Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle is set to direct and executive produce a new six-part biopic TV series called Pistol about Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.
Based on Steve Jones’ acclaimed 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, the six-episode limited series will air on the TV channel FX. Production on Pistol is set to start on 7th March 2021.
The series from Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle was created by Craig Pearce and written by Pearce and Frank Cottrell Boyce. Jones, Boyle and Pearce serve as Executive Producers alongside Gail Lyon, Anita Camarata, Tracey Seaward, Paul Lee, Hope Hartman and wiip.
Pistol stars Toby Wallace (Babyteeth, Acute Misfortune) as Steve Jones, Anson Boon (Crawl, 1917, Blackbird) as John Lydon, Louis Partridge (Enola Homes, Medici) as Sid Vicious, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook and Fabien Frankel (The Serpent, NYPD Blue) as Glen Matlock.
Other stars include Dylan Llewellyn (Derry Girls) as Wally Nightingale, Sydney Chandler (Don’t Worry Darling) as Chrissie Hynde, Emma Appleton (The Witcher, Traitors) as Nancy Spungen, and Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as punk icon Jordan.
Danny Boyle enthuses: “Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent.
“This is the moment that British society and culture changed forever. It is the detonation point for British street culture...where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion…and everyone had to watch & listen…and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols. At its centre was a young charming illiterate kleptomaniac - a hero for the times - Steve Jones, who became in his own words, the 94th greatest guitarist of all time. This is how he got there.”
Nick Grad, President, Original Programming, FX Entertainment, adds: “It’s great to be back in business with Danny Boyle, an exceptional artist responsible for so many great feature films and TV series.
“Steve Jones was at the center of the storm that shook the rock establishment and we’re thrilled to have Danny and the rest of the creative team tell his story as a member of one of music’s most notorious bands - the Sex Pistols.”
Paul Lee, CEO wiip, says: “The Sex Pistols changed music forever and Danny Boyle is the perfect director to tell Steve Jones’ story fueled by raw creativity and destruction. We’re thrilled to be making this with our friends at FX.”