28/06/2002 - Penelope Spheeris is to direct a film based on the autobiography of the Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten)

Former Sex Pistols frontman, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) will take a trip down Nostalgia Lane after being hired as creative consultant for a forthcoming feature about the birth of the punk movement to be directed by Penelope Spheeris. The film is based on Lydon´s 1994 autobiography, «Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs».
Spheeris began her career in 1981 with a widely acclaimed documentary about punk in L.A, The decline of Western Civilisation, and progressed to directing more commercial titles like Wayne´s World and The Little Rascals.
The as-yet untitled €12m movie will be co-produced by Panacea Entertainment´s Eric Gardner and Rhino Films and Lydon´s having boarded the project means that the producers will be able to use the Sex Pistol´s music.
Auditions will be held for a highly energetic young man aged between 18 and 25 who is proficient in spitting - the traditional salute of punks - to play Rotten and filming is scheduled to begin early in 2003.