FEATURE:
Shine a Light, Back to Black…
IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Winehouse in 2006/PHOTO CREDIT: Dean Chalkley
The Upcoming Amy Winehouse Biopic
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I think that this year…
IN THIS PHOTO: Marisa Abela will play the late Amy Winehouse in an upcoming biopic, Back to Black/PHOTO CREDIT: Lia Toby/Getty Images
is one where we will get a fair few music biopics. I have already written about the Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, and a possible one that might come relating to Fleetwood Mac. There is a Madonna biopic coming and, whilst no date for that has been announced, the fact she has announced as worldwide tour to celebrate forty years of Holiday and her debut album, maybe it will arrive in the summer. There is a definite appetite to learn more about very important artists. They do not come more important and inspiring than Amy Winehouse. It is tragic to realise that, in October, it will be twenty years since she released her magnificent debut album, Frank. We lost Winehouse in July 2011. So tragic that she will not get to celebrate two decades of a stunning debut album. She also would have turned forty in September. Maybe the new biopic about her, Back to Black, may come out around the time of her fortieth birthday, or the twentieth anniversary of Frank. Many know her best for the 2006 work of genius, Back to Black. Her defining work, this was the anticipated follow-up to Frank. Bolder, more R&B-based and bigger in terms of production and songwriting ambition, Back to Black goes down as one of the all-time great albums! Whilst Winehouse toured and recorded after that album, we never got a third studio album. It is one of music’s great losses. Imagine what a follow-up to Back to Black could have been! I think there was an immense pressure on her.
Award-winning and right in the media gaze, how could Amy Winehouse have a normal life, relax and find inspiration for a third album?! It was an impossible task. Sadly, with the press intrusion into her personal life, she was hounded and scandalised for the remainder of her life. As she suffered from addiction issues, this was almost too good for the tabloid press. Rather than allowing Winehouse alone, there was this obsessive and sick bullying and harassment. Also, with her loyal and loving fans wondering whether there would be another album, there was this impossible weight on her shoulders. Supported by her friends and family, it was still a hugely upsetting and hard time. At the age of twenty-seven, one of Britain’s greatest ever artists died. Camden’s proud daughter, we have not seen anyone like Amy Winehouse since she died – and it is clear that we never will! She has inspired so many other artists and, as we mark some big anniversaries this year, we do get to see her story played out through a biopic. Rather than it being about her decline and struggles with addiction, there is more of a focus on the rise to stardom and the path of a promising young woman to this global phenomenon. NME explains more in their recent feature:
“Footage showing Marisa Abela filming for the upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic has emerged online – check it out below.
The Industry actor will play the late singer in Back To Black from director Sam Taylor-Johnson, who is best known for directing the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy and Fifty Shades Of Grey.
Filming on the biopic began on Monday (January 16) in London, with footage being shared on social media.
As reported by Deadline, Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville have all been added to the cast. O’Connell is set to play Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who she divorced in 2009 two years prior to her death in July 2011.
Marsan will play her father, Mitch Winehouse, while Manville is set to play her maternal grandmother.
Matt Greenhalgh, who previously collaborated with Taylor-Johnson on Nowhere Boy, has written the script for the biopic. Alison Owen, Debra Hayward and Nicky Kentish-Barnes will serve as producers.
The film, which has the approval of the Amy Winehouse estate, will feature songs by the singer. “We are thrilled that Studiocanal, Focus Features and Monumental are making this movie celebrating our daughter Amy’s extraordinary music legacy and showcasing her talent in the way that it deserves,” read a statement from her estate.
According to a press release, 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.”
Abela is best known for playing Yasmin Kara-Hanani in HBO series Industry. She’s also set to star in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming live-action film adaptation of Barbie, opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
Winehouse’s life was the subject of the 2021 BBC documentary Reclaiming Amy, released to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the singer’s death. Her father Mitch appeared in the film, after he was openly critical of 2015 documentary Amy, directed by Asif Kapadia”.
More details are coming to light in terms of cast and locations, but the proof is going to come when we see the teaser and trailer for Back to Black. It is an important project that has been a long time coming. There have been aborted attempts at an Amy Winehouse biopic but, with the backing of Winehouse’s family, this is going to be fantastic. It might be a shame that there will not be more of her troubles and the way the press hounded her. Maybe there will be, but I think the family want a more positive representation of Winehouse. Focusing more on her raw talent and loving personality, rather than the way she was attacked and made the front page so often. I think that is what lingers in people’s mind. This incredible artist who, when you hear interviews, was so grounded and real. That authenticity came through in the music and how she lived her life. The biopic is going to not only give people a chance to celebrate a once-in-a-generation artist. There is going to be this window into her life and career. People will discover her music for the first time. Although there is a lot on the shoulders of Marisa Abela – in terms of portraying Winehouse right and striking the right tone -, she is an exceptional actor who will do Winehouse’s family proud. I also hope that the biopic will bring renewed interest in her work. Even if she released just two studio albums, there is a lot to discover! Back to Black is going to be a chance for us to say goodbye to Amy Winehouse, but also see her come to life. It is a remarkable likeness between Winehouse and Abela. That extraordinary music will be at the heart of things! Amy Winehouse is no longer with us, but her genius and captivating music…
WILL never fade.