It has been announced that Industry star Marisa Abela will portray Amy Winehouse in Back to Black, Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson's biopic of the late singer's life.
The biopic has the backing of the Amy Winehouse Estate and will feature her songs. Filming is due to begin on Monday 16 January in London.
Winehouse released her debut album, Frank, in 2003 and released the multi-million-selling, Grammy-winning Back to Black album in 2006. She died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27.
Matt Greenhalgh, who previously wrote the script for Taylor-Johnson's John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, has written the screenplay for Back to Black. His other credits include Control, the biopic of the late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis.
In a statement, director and executive producer Taylor-Johnson said: "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...
"A few years later Amy wrote her searingly honest songs whilst living in Camden. Like with me, it became part of her DNA. I first saw her perform at a talent show at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho and 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 realise Amy's beautifully unique and tragic story to cinema accompanied by the most important part of her legacy – her music.
"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."
The Amy Winehouse Estate added that it is "thrilled" that a film is "celebrating our daughter Amy's extraordinary music legacy and showcasing her talent in the way that it deserves."
Amy Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, was highly critical of the Oscar-winning 2015 documentary Amy, which went on to be the most successful documentary in British cinema history.
Back to Black star Abela has received acclaim for her breakout role as Yasmin Kara-Hanani in the business drama series Industry. She will be seen this summer opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Barbie.
