After years of attempts from Hollywood execs to get an Amy Winehouse biopic green-lit, a film is finally happening. Sam Taylor-Johnson, the director of Nowhere Boy and the first installment of Fifty Shades of Grey, signed on to helm the forthcoming movie. Studiocanal will produce the project titled Back to Black alongside Alison Owen, Debra Hayward, and Tracey Seaward, per Deadline.
Backed by the Amy Winehouse estate, the project has the support of her father Mitchell Winehouse. The screenplay has been written by Matt Greenhalgh and the casting search is expected to ensue in the coming weeks, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The motion picture will follow the life of the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who passed away in 2011 at 27 years old after a long fought battle with addiction. The late star’s stratospheric rise to fame and subsequent passing has been chronicled in Asif Kapadia’s 2015 A24 documentary Amy, which later won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2016. A 2021 BBC documentary Reclaiming Amy also aired on the “Rehab” singer, paying homage on the 10-year anniversary of her untimely death.
Beginning her illustrious career as a North London jazz singer, Winehouse went on to snag six Grammy Awards with her searing and soulful voice on songs like “Rehab” and “Back to Black.”
Twitter has been ablaze with casting suggestions, with many users calling for House of Gucci actor and musician Lady Gaga to portray the late artist.
The director took to Instagram to commemorate the occasion. “This is a dream movie to helm,” Taylor Johnson said. “I’m ready, let’s go…”
With music biopics only increasing in popularity, the announcement comes hot off the heels of the release of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis film. There’s also Julia Garner who will portray Madonna in an upcoming biopic, Timothée Chalamet is set to play Bob Dylan in the forthcoming film Going Electric, and Naomi Ackie will star as the late Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody, coming to theaters December 21, 2022. We’re in for a busy biopic season.
