Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic, titled Back To Black, will grace our cinema screens on the 12th April, 2024.
A biopic on singer Amy Winehouse’s life has been in the works for a while, but this isn’t the first time the late singer’s life has been portrayed on screen.
Asif Kapadia’s documentary Amy was a critically acclaimed hit, but Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, was critical of it, calling the experience of watching the film “horrible”. He told the filmmakers as much, too.
Back To Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, crucially has the support of the Amy Winehouse Estate. Marisa Abel was cast in the lead role after an impressive turn in HBO’s Industry.
Winehouse shot to international fame in 2006 with her second album Back To Black; songs like Rehab resonated with listeners all over the world. Throughout her career, Winehouse sold over 30m records, and her music still generates over 80m streams a month to this day. Winehouse died tragically of alcohol poisoning in 2011 after battling addiction.
Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville round out the cast. Matt Greenhalgh, who also collaborated with Taylor-Johnson in 2009’s Nowhere Boy, has penned the script. The film went into production earlier this year.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Back To Black will focus on Amy’s extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did. 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.”
Although Winehouse’s father claimed that he would never allow any filmmaker to use Winehouse’s music in a film about her after being sorely disappointed with Amy, Back To Black has been confirmed to feature the singer’s work. Universal Music Group and Sony Music Publishing, alongside the Winehouse Estate, have given the production their blessing.
Back To Black is set to arrive in UK cinemas on the 12th April 2024.
