21 March 2024, 08:39
By Giorgina Ramazzotti
Who will play Amy Winehouse? What will the storyline feature? And when will it be released? The important questions surrounding Amy Winehouse’s 'Back To Black' movie are revealed here.
Amy Winehouse's life was one of romance and rock n' roll, culminating in a tragic ending when she was just 27-years-old.
It's therefore unsurprising that filmmakers have been clamouring for years to make a biopic of her extraordinary life, and it's now been confirmed that the project officially happening.
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The film entitled Back to Black will delve into Amy Winehouse's rise to stardom, iconic music, love life, and tragically early death and is being made with the 'full support' of Amy Winehouse's family and estate.
As filming starts on the streets of London, here's everything we know so far about the major biopic.
Who is in the cast for Amy Winehouse's biopic 'Back to Black'?
Announced on January 13, the British-based Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black has a stellar line-up of cast and crew alike.
Actor Marisa Abela has been announced to play Amy Winehouse, and images released of her in character (below) shows a stunning resemblance between the pair.
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26-year-old Abela is from Brighton, East Sussex and studied acting at RADA before breaking into the small-screen on BBC's Cobra, and most recently in the critically-acclaimed TV show, Industry.
The young actress is also due make an appearance in the highly-anticipated new live-action Barbie film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
Other actors confirmed to be cast in Black to Black include Ray Donovan star, Eddie Marsan, who will play Amy's dad Mitch Winehouse, and actor Ryan O'Doherty playing the part of Chris Taylor, Winehouse's former boyfriend.
The film will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, who has vast experience with musical biopics, having previously headed the John Lennon-focusedmovie, Nowhere Boy.
Cinematic powerhouse StudioCanal is behind the project, with producers Alison Owen, Debra Hayward and Tracey Seaward confirmed to make up the team.
When will 'Back to Black' be released?
It's been confirmed that 'Back to Black' will be released in UK cinemas on April 12, 2024, but its US release has not yet been announced.
With the official announcement of Back to Black released on January 13 2023, producers wasted no time in getting started, with the film's actor's pictured filming on the streets of London on January 16 (below).
What is the main plot for 'Back to Black'?
The film is said to follow the singer's life from her humble North London roots to her rise to superstardom with her second – and final – album 'Back to Black'.
The album was predominantly based on her tumultuous relationship with her future husband Blake Fielder-Civil and the movie is no doubt likely to explore the themes around Amy's love life and tragic drug use.
According to the film's press release published on January 13, the biopic is set to focus on Winehouse's "vibrant years living in London in the early aughts and her intense journey to fame."
"Back to Black will focus on Amy’s extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did," it continues.
"A journey that took her from the craziness and colour of 90’s Camden High Street to global adoration - and back again, Back to Black crashes through the looking glass of celebrity to watch this journey from behind the mirror, to see what Amy saw, to feel what she felt."
For those concerned that the film will be an airbrushed, estate-approved telling of a very complicated story, worry not.
Directory Taylor-Johnson told Empire that while she spoke to the Winehouse family, they didn't have any sway over the direction of the film.
“It was important to meet with them out of respect," she explained.
"But they have no involvement in terms of... like, they couldn't change things. They couldn't dictate how I was to shoot. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it."
What Amy Winehouse songs will be included on the 'Back to Black' soundtrack?
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Considering the film is called 'Back to Black', it is safe to assume the movie will be set to a soundtrack of songs from the album.
Amy's biggest tunes from the 2006 record include 'Rehab', 'You Know I'm No Good', 'Tears Dry On Their Own' and 'Love Is a Losing Game'.
Despite her worldwide fame, Amy Winehouse only released two studio albums in her lifetime, and it's likely her greatest hits will be heard throughout the movie.
The success of Back to Black saw Amy become of just five women at the time to win five Grammys in one night and the album has gone on to sell a staggering 16 million copies worldwide.
What other music will be on the 'Back to Black' soundtrack?
As well as Amy Winehouse's hits, Back To Black will feature a score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
Cave and Ellis have been bandmates in the Bad Seeds (and spinoff Grinderman) for decades, and have also worked on a number of hit soundtracks together.
Their past scores include acclaimed work on The Proposition, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and The Road, as well as unconventional Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde.
“Nick and Warren were the only musicians in my mind to score Back to Black," director Sam Taylor-Johnson told Variety.
"Over the years, I’ve listened to everything they’ve composed and longed to realise the dream of working together.
"Their sensibility as well as understanding of this story has led to a profoundly deep and moving film score.”
The release of the film is being accompanied by a full soundtrack double-album.
As well as songs by Amy herself and finishing with Nick Cave's newly-written 'Song For Amy', the release is packed with key tracks from Winehouse's influences like The Shangri-Las and her contemporaries like The Libertines.
The full tracklisting of Back to Black: Songs from the Original Motion Picture is as follows:
- Thelonious Monk – ‘Straight, No Chaser’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘What Is It About Men’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Stronger Than Me’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘I Heard Love Is Blind’
- The Specials – ‘Ghost Town’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Know You Now’
- Little Anthony & The Imperials – ‘I’m On The Outside (Looking In)’
- The Shangri-Las – ‘Leader Of The Pack’
- Billie Holiday – ‘All Of Me’
- The Shangri-Las – ‘Dressed In Black’
- Donny Hathaway – ‘I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know’
- The Libertines – ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘f*ck Me Pumps’
- Tony Bennett – ‘Body & Soul’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Back To Black’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Valerie (Live Lounge version)’
- Minnie Riperton – ‘Les Fleurs’
- Willie Nelson – ‘That’s Life’
- Dinah Washington – ‘Mad About The Boy’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘(There Is) No Greater Love’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Me & Mr Jones’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Love Is A Losing Game’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Rehab’
- Sarah Vaughan featuring Clifford Brown – ‘Embraceable You’
- Amy Winehouse – ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’
- Nick Cave – ‘Song For Amy’
Will Marisa Abela mime to Amy Winehouse's songs in the film or actually sing them herself?
Amy Winehouse - In My Bed (Official Lyric Video)
An all-important question for all music biopics is whether or not the lead actor will use their own pipes for the film, or instead lip synch to the often impossible-to-match originals.
“When we first talked about it, my first question to [Abela] was, 'Can you sing?'. And she said, 'I can’t'," director Sam Taylor-Johnson told Empire.
"I was thinking, maybe we'll use Amy’s voice throughout, and we'll do it that way. She then went off after that audition – irrespective of whether she knew she'd got the part – and started training her voice."
She added that Marisa blew away everyone at an Abbey Road test session and will handle singing duties for "the entire movie, beginning to end".
