A biopic about Amy Winehouse, titled “Back to Black” and helmed by “Nowhere Boy” director Sam Taylor-Johnson, will start production in January. A late 2023 release is not out of the question.
European studio Studiocanal is backing the film, which has been a passion project for Taylor-Johnson, who was a close friend of Winehouse’s.
No official word yet on who they chose to play Winehouse, but rumor has it that it’s a relatively unknown newcomer.
“Back to Black” has been written by Matt Greenhalgh, who previously collaborated with Taylor-Johnson on “Nowhere Boy” and also wrote “Control,” the critically acclaimed biopic about the late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.
Let’s just forget that Taylor-Johnson also directed 2015’s critically-maligned “Fifty Shades of Grey.” She has more or less disowned that film, citing the creative difficulties she had working with the novel’s author E. L. James.
And just like that, after Venice and Telluride, the Best Actor race is taking shape, with Andrew Scott (“Elsinore”) and John Malkovich (“Wild Horse Nine”) emerging as major contenders.