Things got really windy in July after Hollywood struggled with the project for over a decade. We’re talking about a biopic about British jazz and soul singer Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011. Not only was it quickly announced that “Fifty Shades Of Grey” creator Sam Taylor-Johnson is stepping into the director’s chair on “Back To Black”. With Marisa Abela (“Industry”), a leading lady was quickly found who accepted the challenge of posing as Amy Winhouse.
Now through has released a first photo of “Back To Black”. It stars Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse – and the resemblance is absolutely striking:
A “Barbie” star as Amy Winehouse
It’s especially important for the producers of “Back To Black” to focus on authenticity. This intention has already been underlined with the election of Marisa Abela. Like Abela, Winehouse is of Jewish descent and also has a fairly low vocal register, which should do justice to Winehouse’s exceptional vocal range. But before we get to see Abela as Amy Winehouse, the actor first stars with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Barbie. Theatrical release in Germany is July 20, 2023.
Back To Black is written by Matt Greenhalgh, who previously wrote the scripts for Control (about Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis) and Nowhere Boy (about Beatles icon John Lennon). So Greenhalgh is already familiar with biopics that don’t necessarily follow the usual formula. Meanwhile, “Back To Black” aims to take a very intimate look at Amy Winehouse’s life. It was determined not only by music, but also by alcohol and drug surpluses. The extraordinarily talented singer died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27.