Amy Winehouse's Story Comes to the Big Screen in First Trailer for “Back to Black ”Biopic Starring Marisa Abela
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The film, from director Sam Taylor-Johnson, hits theaters May 10
Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features
Marisa Abela transforms into late singer Amy Winehouse for the upcoming film Back to Black.
In the first teaser trailer for the biopic directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Industry star Abela portrays Winehouse, who died on July 23, 2011 at age 27 from accidental alcohol poisoning.
Clocking in at just over a minute, the clip offers brief glimpses into Winehouse's success and struggles as she rises from an unknown singer to the musical icon the world knows her to be. It's scored to Winehouse's power ballad "Back to Black," which inspired the name of the film.
The trailer also covers Winehouse's more personal life, including her romance with Blake Fielder-Civil (played by Skins actor Jack O'Connell) and her close relationship with her mother Janis Winehouse (portrayed by The Crown's Lesley Manville).
Several scenes from Winehouse's life are recreated for the film, including her infamous 2008 Grammy's performance. The trailer for the film noted that it will cover her life, her music and her legacy.
The cast also includes Eddie Marsan, Bronson Webb, Ansu Kabia and Harley Bird.
According to a press release, Back to Black was made with the full support of The Amy Winehouse Estate, plus Universal Music Group and Sony Music Publishing.
Related: Remembering Amy Winehouse's Life in Photos
Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features
A closeup of Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in director Sam Taylor-Johnson's 'Back to Black,' a Focus Features release.The movie is billed as a "never-before-seen glimpse" into the British Grammy winner's "early rise to fame and the release of her groundbreaking studio album, Back to Black."
"Told from Amy’s perspective, the film is an unapologetic look at the woman behind the phenomenon and the relationship that inspired one of the most legendary albums of all time," per the synopsis.
Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features
Marisa Abela in "Back to Black"Taylor-Johnson, 56, explained her personal connection to Winehouse in a previous statement to Entertainment Weekly.
"My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden. I got a job at the legendary KOKO club, and I can still breathe every market stall, vintage shop and street," she said. "… A few years later Amy wrote her searingly honest songs whilst living in Camden. Like with me, it became part of her DNA."
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Courtesy of Dean Rogers/Focus Features
Marisa Abela and director Sam Taylor-Johnson behind the scenes of "Back to Black"Related: 'Bob Marley: One Love' Trailer — See Kingsley Ben-Adir as the Late Singer in New Biopic
The director said she saw Winehouse perform for the first time at a talent show held at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho: "It was immediately obvious she wasn't just 'talent'… she was genius."
"As a filmmaker you can't really ask for more. I feel excited and humbled to have this opportunity to realize Amy's beautifully unique and tragic story to cinema accompanied by the most important part of her legacy — her music," she added.
"I am fully aware of the responsibility, with my writing collaborator, Matt Greenhalgh, I will create a movie that we will all love and cherish forever. Just like we do Amy."
Back to Black is in theaters May 10.
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