Filming on the eagerly anticipated Amy Winehouse biopic is now complete. On April 16, director Sam Taylor-Johnson shared a touching statement and a carousel of behind-the-scenes images on Instagram to express his gratitude to the cast and crew. It has taken me some time to get back to reality and appreciate everything that went into filming our movie Back to Black. It’s been a team effort, and I appreciate each and every one of you for participating. For the upcoming months, I’m heading off into the solitude of the editing room, she wrote.
Photos from the first day of filming for “Back to Black” in London were not taken when Focus Features and Monumental originally announced on January 13 that the movie would start shooting there long to circulate. British actress Marisa Abela, who has been cast in the titular role, was spotted walking outside iconic jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, alongside Eddie Marsan, the actor who will be playing Winehouse’s dad, Mitch. Abela was spotted wearing the iconic beehive hair and ballet pumps that became synonymous with the singer’s look.
A biopic has been on the cards for years with multiple projects failing to take off, but now the film about the music star’s life, titled after the late star’s hit 2006 album of the same name, is finished, with a release date expected imminently. It will follow Winehouse’s rise to fame, from being the poster girl for London’s Camden to global stardom, and will “focus on Amy’s extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did.”
Throughout Winehouse’s career, she sold more than 30 million records worldwide, and her iconic music still generates over 80 million streams a month, but her success ended in tragedy all too soon. She struggled with drug addiction and died of alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at just 27 years old. The film depicting her life has been directed by her friend, Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades of Grey”), and written by Matt Greenhalgh, who previously worked with Taylor-Johnson on the 2009 film, “Nowhere Boy”.
