Showtime is in the process of adapting Patti Smith’s 2010 memoir Just Kids into a limited series about the iconic singer’s relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. As it turns out, however, they’re not the only ones focusing on this formative affinity, as writer/director Ondi Timoner (Dig!, Brand: A Second Coming) has just cast the parts of Smith and Mapplethorpe in her own biopic feature, Mapplethorpe.
Girls star Zosia Mamet will portray Smith, while Doctor Who alum Matt Smith has been tapped for the title role. Deadline also reports that Timoner, known primarily as a documentarian, will produce alongside Sirad Balducci and (get this) Eliza Dushku. The Mapplethorpe Foundation, a not-for-profit representing Mapplethorpe and his work, is also behind the project. Production is scheduled to begin this summer.
Much like Just Kids, Mapplethorpe will explore the romance and friendship Smith and the photographer cultivated through the ’60s and ’70s. One-time lovers and the closest of friends, their relationship inextricably influenced each other’s work.
