Overview

• Brandon Flynn, known for True Detective and 13 Reasons Why, will star as James Dean in the feature film Willie and Jimmy Dean
• The project is based on William Bast’s 2006 memoir Surviving James Dean, which alleges the two met at UCLA and became secret lovers
• Writer-director Guy Guido describes the film as a tender, nontraditional biopic about the costs of being LGBTQ+ in 1950s Hollywood
• Flynn praised the screenplay for presenting Dean as a nuanced individual and exposing how studio culture forced LGBTQ+ people into performance
• Casting for William Bast, his mother Bernice and other key roles remains ongoing under Barden/Schnee Casting Agency as the film advances through development