'Back to Black' director opens up about 'noise' around Amy Winehouse biopic

"Back to Black" director Sam Taylor-Johnson is opening up about any criticism she faced while making the movie.

During a May 17 appearance on TODAY, Taylor-Johnson was asked how she dealt with negative comments from fans who felt her biopic about Amy Winehouse's life might've been "too sympathetic" or, on the other end, "exploitative in some kind of way."

"Of course I felt the pressure, but I had to shut it out and just focus in on the movie that I wanted to make, and creatively I made the decision to go through (Winehouse's) music and her perspective to tell the story," Taylor-Johnson. "So, if I used her words within her songs as my kind of guidance in a way, I felt like I couldn't go wrong because I was honoring her with her words and she was telling her own story that way."

Taylor-Johnson shared she was aware of the "noise" around the film, saying, "You always have a friend that says, 'Did you read' And I'm like, 'Don't tell me,' because I have to just sort of zone into the exact vision. And her telling her story just felt like honoring her."

For the film, which came out May 17, Taylor-Johnson made the controversial decision not to use Winehouse's vocals. Instead, actor Marisa Abela, who plays Winehouse, can be heard singing the iconic tunes in the trailer. This is a departure from traditional biopics like "Bohemian Rhapsody" which featured the late Freddie Mercury's vocals in the movie.

When asked about the vocals in the film, Abela said she "definitely had to learn how to sing" to be in the movie.

"It was a choice as to whether we were going to use partly Amy's voice, partly mine, but what became really clear throughout the process was that Amy was such a soulful performer," she said. "She would change every single time depending on her mood, depending on the audience, depending on whether (ex-husband) Blake (Fielder-Civil) was there or not. So, I wanted to be able to have the freedom to express emotionally through each song what Amy was dealing with at that time."

When the official trailer for "Back to Black" dropped in February, it received some criticism from social media users online.

Over on YouTube, a person wrote in the comments that the film "won’t answer any questions or bring anything new to light. It will just dramatize an ultimately sad and painful end. Just listen to her music and let her rest in peace."

Another said, "I think the AMY documentary captured her life and career perfectly. it had real footage of her and told her story the right way. we really don’t need an impression of her. let her rest."

A third added, "There’s literally no one who can accurately portray her if we are honest."

However, some fans expressed their excitement after watching the YouTube trailer.

"An old soul that burned incredibly bright and snuffed out too soon. Such a sad tragic story. Tears watching this trailer. I cant wait to see it," one fan wrote.

Another penned, "I am 61 yrs old and I adored Amy. One of my tattoos is in memory of her. I am ecstatic that this film has been made."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com