Nick Cave and Warren Ellis to score Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Back to Black’
Nick Cave has teamed up with frequent collaborator Warren Ellis to produce the score for Sam Taylor-Johnson’s upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black.
The forthcoming film, set for release in cinemas on April 12th, stars Marisa Abela as Winehouse and Jack O’Connell as Blake Fielder-Civil. It promises to chart the beginnings of her career, her meteoric rise and struggles with fame, plus the creation of her seminal album, Back to Black.
Back to Black has been made with the full support of Winehouse’s estate, who have granted Taylor-Johnson access to use the entirety of the late singer’s back catalogue. However, the director has still sought the talents of Cave and Ellis, who will also contribute to the back catalogue.
The news of the duo’s involvement was confirmed by Variety, with Taylor-Johnson stating: “Nick and Warren were the only musicians in my mind to score Back to Black. Over the years, I’ve listened to everything they’ve composed and longed to realize the dream of working together. Their sensibility as well as understanding of this story has led to a profoundly deep and moving film score.”
The upcoming movie is based on a script penned by Matt Greenhalgh, who previously worked with Taylor-Johnson on Nowhere Boy. Additionally, Eddie Marson portray’s Winehouse’s father, Mitch, and her mother, Janis, is played by Juliet Cowan.
Taylor-Johnson previously said of the film: “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. She put in an enormous amount of work, 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.”
Watch the first trailer for Back to Black below.
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