Even if you don’t watch Saturday Night Live, you probably know who Pete Davidson is. Be it from tabloid headlines, appearances in other media, or just general osmosis. But on the off chance that you don’t know who Pete Davidson is, this new King of Staten Island featurette might help. This behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming movie explains why Davidson’s own life story served as inspiration for the Judd Apatow movie, which is headed to VOD next month.

The King of Staten Island Featurette

With The King of Staten Island, Judd Apatow wants to make Pete Davidson a star – or at least a bigger star than he already is. Davidson’s real-life story – which involves his father, a New York City firefighter, dying on 9/11 – is the basis for Apatow’s latest. Here’s the synopsis:

Scott (Davidson) has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. He’s now reached his mid-20s having achieved little, chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist that seems far out of reach. As his ambitious younger sister (Maude Apatow, HBO’s Euphoria) heads off to college, Scott is still living with his exhausted ER nurse mother (Marisa Tomei) and spends his days smoking weed, hanging with the guys—Oscar (Ricky Velez), Igor (Moises Arias) and Richie (Lou Wilson)—and secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey (Bel Powley). But when his mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter named Ray (Bill Burr), it sets off a chain of events that will force Scott to grapple with his grief and take his first tentative steps toward moving forward in life. The film also stars Steve Buscemi as Papa, a veteran firefighter who takes Scott under his wing, and Pamela Adlon as Ray’s ex-wife, Gina.

Apatow helms the film from a script he co-wrote with Davidson and Dave Sirus. And I think this movie might turn out to be a nice surprise. I’ll admit I’m a little iffy on Davidson as a live performer – his constant breaking on SNL can get tiresome, and the snippets I saw from his Netflix stand-up special were rough. But I also think he has untapped talent that’s waiting for the right creative person, and maybe that person is Apatow.

Look for The King of Staten Island on demand June 12.

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