Studiocanal has dropped a first-look teaser for Back To Black, filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson’s biopic of musical trailblazer Amy Winehouse, starring Industry breakout Marisa Abela.
The biopic, which hits UK cinemas on April 12, charts Winehouse’s career from her years as a breakout in the London underground music scene to her rapid ascension to worldwide superstardom. Supporting Abela are BAFTA-winning actor Jack O’Connell as Blake Fielder-Civil, Eddie Marsan as Mitch Winehouse, Juliet Cowan as Janis Winehouse, and Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Lesley Manville as Winehouse’s grandmother, Cynthia. The pic is currently set for a May 10 release from Focus stateside.
The pic is written by Matt Greenhalgh (Nowhere Boy, Control), while Giles Martin (Rocketman, The Beatles: Get Back) handles music production, and Nina Gold (1917, The Power of the Dog) was on casting. The pic is produced by Alison Owen (Saving Mr Banks, Me Before You, Elizabeth) and Debra Hayward (Les Miserables, Bridget Jones’s Baby) of Monumental Pictures alongside Nicky Kentish-Barnes (About Time, Everest, About A Boy). Taylor-Johnson is executive producer, alongside Ron Halpern and SVP Global Production Joe Naftalin who executive produce on behalf of Studiocanal.
The teaser features a wide-eyed Winehouse through her early years, setting her famous image and persona on the streets of London before ending with the singer, played by Abela, recording the single Back to Black in a recording studio.
Studiocanal has said the pic will feature many of Winehouse’s hit songs recorded and performed in the film by Abela.
“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,” Taylor-Johnson said. “She put in an enormous amount of work, and 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.”
Check out the teaser above.