Near the end of the movie, Albert Milo (Gary Oldman) shows Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright) one of his paintings and tells him that he painted it for a friend who died. "JMB 8/12" appears in white letters in the upper right corner. Those are Jean-Michel Basquiat's initials and the date of his death.


Memorable quotes for


Rene: What's your name?
Basquiat: Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Rene: Oh my God, you sound famous already!
Benny Dalmau: What would you do if I kissed ya?
Gina Cardinale: You're out of your mind Benny. You should take more drugs.
Big Pink: Oh! How can I ever thank you?
Basquiat: Can I squeeze your titties?
The Electrician: I'll be forty in July, and I'm glad I never got recognition. It gives me time to develop.
Rene Ricard: When I speak nobody believes me, but when I write it down everybody knows it to be true.
Rene Ricard: We're no longer collecting art; we're buying people.
[Basquiat's first agent on his paintings]
Annina Nosei: This is the true voice of the gutter.
Albert Milo: Good conversation is hard to find in this town.
Albert Milo: You know, your audience isn't even born yet.
Rene: That's $2000 and he's from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, suck my pussy, you star!
Henry Geldzahler: He used to, Nixon used to have a room at the Waldorf Astoria, but then he moved to Saddle River, New Jersey.
Jack Milo: Saddle River's in New York.
Andy Warhol: I think it's in New Jersey.
Jack Milo: New York.
Andy Warhol: It's... it's in New Jersey.
Jack Milo: Saddle River's in New York!
Basquiat: How long does it take to get famous?
Benny Dalmau: Four years. Six to get rich.
Basquiat: Whoa! Warhol!
Benny Dalmau: That's Andy Warhol...
[pause]
Benny Dalmau: He's a fuckin' homo.
Basquiat: Ah, piss paint!
Andy Warhol: Not piss paint, Jean, oxidation art!
Basquiat: Ya, I hate cleaning brushes too.
Basquiat: I gotta get out of New York...
Andy Warhol: Hey, we could go to Pittsburgh! I kinda grew up there. They have this room with all the world's famous statues in it, so you don't even have to go to Europe any more... just go to Pittsburgh
Andy Warhol: I don't even like beer.
Basquiat: He says he's jealous of the moon, because you look at it. He's jealous of the sun, because it warms you. He says, "I feel you, even when I'm not feeling you. I talk to you when I'm not talking to you. I love you, even when I'm not loving you."... you know I love you, Gina.

Directed by
Julian Schnabel

Writing credits
Lech Majewski story (as Lech J. Majewski) and
John F. Bowe based on a story by (as John Bowe)

Julian Schnabel (written by)

Michael Holman story development (as Michael Thomas Holman)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

Jeffrey Wright ... Jean Michel Basquiat

Michael Wincott ... Rene Ricard

Benicio Del Toro ... Benny Dalmau

Claire Forlani ... Gina Cardinale

David Bowie ... Andy Warhol

Dennis Hopper ... Bruno Bischofberger

Gary Oldman ... Albert Milo

Christopher Walken ... The Interviewer

Willem Dafoe ... The Electrician
Jean-Claude La Marre ... Shenge (as Jean-Claude LaMarre)

Parker Posey ... Mary Boone
Elina Löwensohn ... Annina Nosei
Paul Bartel ... Henry Geldzahler

Courtney Love ... Big Pink
...................
Produced by
Joseph Allen .... executive producer
Peter Brant .... executive producer
Jon Kilik .... producer
Lech Majewski .... co-producer (as Lech J. Majewski)
Randy Ostrow .... producer
Sigurjon Sighvatsson .... producer
Michiyo Yoshizaki .... executive producer
Original Music by
John Cale
Julian Schnabel