BACK TO BLACK Trailer 2 (2024) Marisa Abela, Jack O'Connell

BACK TO BLACK Trailer 2 (2024) Marisa Abela, Jack O'Connell

BACK TO BLACK Trailer 2 (NEW 2024) Amy Winehouse Biopic, Marisa Abela, Jack O'Connell
© 2024 - StudioCanal International

Amy Winehouse‘s legacy is getting the big screen treatment.

Following the acclaimed A24 documentary “Amy,” Winehouse’s life now lands a narrative feature with biopic “Back to Black” directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. “Industry” breakout star Marisa Abela portrays the ill-fated British crooner who died at age 27.

The official synopsis reads: “The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking 2006 album, ‘Back to Black,’ that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.”

The film is written by “Nowhere Boy” scribe Matt Greenhalgh, and co-stars Jack O’Connell as Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Eddie Marsan as Winehouse’s father Mitch Winehouse, and Lesley Manville as her maternal grandmother.

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Winehouse’s music, including title track “Back to Black,” was licensed for the feature, made with the full support of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, and The Amy Winehouse Estate. A first look at the film showed Abela as Winehouse in the recording studio.

Director Taylor-Johnson recalled seeing Winehouse perform live, saying in a press statement, “She wasn’t just ‘talent,’ she was genius. As a filmmaker you can’t really ask for more. I feel excited and humbled to have this opportunity to realize Amy’s beautifully unique and tragic story to cinema accompanied by the most important part of her legacy – her music. I am fully aware of the responsibility, with my writing collaborator — Matt Greenhalgh — I will create a movie that we will all love and cherish forever. Just like we do Amy.”

The film was announced in July 2022 and landed at Focus Features in January 2023, shortly before production began in London. “Back to Black” is produced by Alison Owen and Debra Hayward of Monumental Pictures, with Nicky Kentish-Barnes, Ron Halpern, and Joe Naftalin executive producing on behalf of Studio Canal.

Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, addressed the initial casting backlash to actress Abela, telling TMZ that “Marisa’s a great choice for the role, even if she doesn’t look exactly like Amy.”

Winehouse died at age 27 in 2011 from alcohol abuse. Mitch commemorated the anniversary of her passing in 2022, writing, “11 years ago Amy passed into immortality. She will always be 27 years old and she will always sing our favorite songs. And we will always miss our sweet girl.”

The film is executive produced by director Taylor-Johnson, Anna Marsh, Ron Halpern, and Joe Naftalin, with Alison Owen, Debra Hayward, and Nicky Kentish-Barnes producing. “Back to Black” is a Focus Features release.

“Back to Black” premieres May 17 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
Focus Features has dropped the first full trailer for Back To Black, filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson’s biopic of musical trailblazer Amy Winehouse, starring Industry breakout Marisa Abela. Watch above.

The studio has also shared a new US release date for the pic. It will drop stateside on May 17. Studiocanal will still release the pic in UK cinemas on April 12. There is also a new synopsis for the pic: The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame from her early days in Camden through the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black that catapulted Winehouse to global fame. Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time.

Supporting Abela are BAFTA-winning actor Jack O’Connell as Blake Fielder-Civil, Eddie Marsan as Mitch Winehouse, Juliet Cowan as Janis Winehouse, and Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Lesley Manville as Winehouse’s grandmother, Cynthia.

The pic is written by Matt Greenhalgh (Nowhere Boy, Control), while Giles Martin (Rocketman, The Beatles: Get Back) handles music production, and Nina Gold (1917, The Power of the Dog) was on casting. The pic is produced by Alison Owen (Saving Mr. Banks, Me Before You, Elizabeth) and Debra Hayward (Les Miserables, Bridget Jones’s Baby) of Monumental Pictures alongside Nicky Kentish-Barnes (About Time, Everest, About A Boy). Taylor-Johnson is executive producer, alongside Ron Halpern and SVP Global Production Joe Naftalin who executive produce on behalf of Studiocanal.

Taylor-Johnson, whose credits include Fifty Shades of Grey and A Million Little Pieces, has worked with musical biopics before. She directed Nowhere Boy, a feature on the early life of Beatles legend John Lennon. Abela is best known for her breakout role in HBO’s Industry.

Discussing Abela and her work on the biopic earlier this year, Taylor-Johnson said: “Discovering a talent like Marisa Abela is akin to finding gold dust. The moment she looked into the lens at her first audition, I knew she was the perfect actor to play Amy Winehouse.”

Taylor-Johnson added: “She put in an enormous amount of work, and attention to every detail and she trained daily for hours to be able to sing throughout the entire movie. She doesn’t impersonate Amy, she inhabits her.”

Check out the trailer above.