Amy Winehouse biopic: Back to Black first look, release date, cast, and more

Amy Winehouse's upcoming biopic will be titled Back to Black and will star Marisa Abela as the Grammy-Winning Singer.

Following Amy's passing over a decade ago, Hollywood tried to tell her story with various projects going into development, including one from Lotus Entertainment with Noomi Rapace as the lead. Sadly, none of them worked out, and the projects were subsequently shelved.

In July 2022, Back to Black was officially given the green light. The film is named after the singer's number-one single. Let's take a closer look.

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Amy Winehouse's biopic Back to Black first look and what we know about the film so far

British actress Marisa Abela, who plays Winehouse in the film, was recently spotted in the singer's getup on the set of the upcoming movie.

Studio Canal, who'll distribute the film in Europe, announced the film on Twitter:

"One of music’s greatest artists, Amy Winehouse, comes to the big screen in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black. With cameras rolling from next week, we’re thrilled to release this first look at rising star Marisa Abela as Amy."

Sam Taylor-Johnson will be directing the film. She had previously directed a young John Lennon's biopic, Nowhere Boy, in 2008, which starred her now-husband, Aaron Taylor Johnson.

Sam Taylor-Johnson has always been a fan of the singer with an otherworldly voice. She spoke highly of Winehouse in an interview:

"My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden. I first saw her perform at a talent show at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, and it was immediately obvious she wasn’t just ’talent’…she was genius. As a filmmaker, you can’t really ask for more."

Alison Owen and Debra Hayward are producing the film with Nicky Kentish-Barnes in executive production duties. Nina Gold is responsible for the casting, with Ron Halpern and Joe Naftalin executive producing and overseeing for StudioCanal.

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Who was Amy Winehouse, and how did she die?

Amy Jade Winehouse, born on 14 September 1983, was an English singer and songwriter. She was famous for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and for merging several musical genres, including soul, rhythm, blues, and jazz.

Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released in 2003. Many of the album's songs were influenced by jazz, with most of the songs written by the singer herself. The song Stronger Than Me won her the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.

Her second album, Back to Black, was released in 2006 and went on to become an international success and one of the best-selling albums in UK history. At the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008, she won five awards, becoming the first British woman to do so. Her awards included three of the "Big Four" Grammy Awards, a testament to her being a generational talent.

Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on 23 July, 2011, at the age of 27. Following her passing, Back to Black became the UK's best-selling album of the 21st century for a while. VH1 ranked her 26th on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.