Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic is now in production
The Amy Winehouse biopic film is now in production, proving that the musical biopic storm is showing no signs of calming following the success of last year’s Baz Luhrmann picture Elvis. The film focuses on the troubled life of Winehouse and will take its name from her second album, Back to Black.
Marisa Abela will take on the challenging role of playing Winehouse in the film. Winehouse sadly died at the age of just 27 after a long-standing history of drug and alcohol abuse. The film will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, who already has experience working in music-centric cinema, having previously headed the John Lennon-focused Nowhere Boy. Taylor Johnson will team up once again with Matt Greenhalgh for Back to Black, who had previously worked with her on Nowhere Boy.
Taylor-Johnson said of the film: “My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden. I got a job at the legendary KOKO club, and I can still breathe every market stall, vintage shop, and street.”
She added: “A few years later, Amy wrote her searingly honest songs whilst living in Camden. Like with me, it became part of her DNA. I first saw her perform at a talent show at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, and it was immediately obvious she wasn’t just ‘talent’… she was genius.”
Discussing the task that she has on her hand, Taylor-Johnson noted, “As a filmmaker, you can’t really ask for more. I feel excited and humbled to have this opportunity to realise Amy’s beautifully unique and tragic story to the cinema, accompanied by the most important part of her legacy – her music. I am fully aware of the responsibility, and with my writing collaborator – Matt Greenhalgh – I will create a movie that we will all love and cherish forever. Just like we do Amy.”
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