According to Deadline, Sam Taylor-Johnson, director of Fifty Shades of Grey and Nowhere Boy, is working on a film adaptation of the life of Amy Winehouse (opens in new tab). Back to Black is also the name of the singer’s second studio album, which will serve as the inspiration for the film’s title. The writing of the script was done by Matt Greenhalgh, who had previously collaborated with Taylor-Johnson on the project Nowhere Boy. Studiocanal is the company that is producing the movie, and now that they have a director attached to the project, things are reported to be “moving rapidly.”
The Winehouse estate is providing financial assistance for the film, and casting for the role of the singer will get underway within the next two weeks. The film is supposed to be a labour of love for filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson, who was a close friend of the late singer Amy Winehouse, and it is said that he is looking for a “relative newbie” to portray the role of Winehouse, as reported by Variety (opens in a new tab). In 2002, Winehouse began her career as a jazz vocalist, and she went on to win six Grammys throughout the course of her career.
Frank, her first studio album, was published in 2003, and Back to Black, her second studio album, was released in 2006. Alcohol poisoning was the cause of her passing in 2011 when she was just 27 years old. The singer’s estate initially signed a deal for the film in 2018, marking the beginning of production on the biopic that has been in the works for some time. Although this will not be the first time that Winehouse’s narrative has been adapted for the big screen, it will be the first feature film that is centred on the singer.
Amy, a documentary produced by A24, was awarded the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Winehouse has also been the subject of a number of other films, such as Amy Winehouse: Back to Black and Reclaiming Amy. There has been no announcement made regarding a release date for the movie as of yet.