Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are scoring Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ biopic

8 February, 2024

The upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black has been confirmed to feature music from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

Per a press release from Studio Canal, Cave and Ellis were tapped by the film’s director Sam Taylor-Johnson to score the film, saying they were “the only musicians” in her mind to score Back To Back.

Taylor-Johnson said in a statement: “Over the years, I’ve listened to everything they’ve composed and longed to realize the dream of working together. Their sensibility as well as understanding of this story has led to a profoundly deep and moving film score.”

The press release also states that Cave and Ellis began scoring this week, and a picture of the duo tracking in the studio with Taylor-Johnson has been shared. A Variety report adds the duo have tracked 20 to 30 minutes of music for the score.

Besides an original score from The Bad Seeds’ Cave and Ellis, Back To Black will also have access to the late Amy Winehouse’s catalogue, including ‘Valerie’ and ‘Rehab’.

Back To Black has been confirmed for release in the UK on April 12, 2024 and on April 11 across Australia. Named after Winehouse’s breakout sophomore – and final – studio album, the film will star Industry’s Marisa Abela as Winehouse herself, and outlines her years living in London, alongside her rapid rise to fame. Watch the official trailer for the film here.

Amy Winehouse Marisa Abel
Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in ‘Back To Black’. CREDIT: Focus Features/Studiocanal

While the film has been approved by Winehouse’s estate, the film’s trailer notably raised controversy, with some accusing the film for “exploiting [Winehouse’s] legacy” and “capitalising off her trauma”. Recently, Mark Ronson – a close friend and producer for the late singer – opened up about his thoughts on the film, admitting that he had read its script.

“The only thing I know about the film is I know Sam quite well, and I read the script and I feel what it did really nicely was… I was reminded of [Winehouse’s] humor and it really caught that well,” he said. “I think she just had this whip-smart razor sense of humor which is one of her many gifts and they got that very nice in the film. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

The post Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are scoring Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ biopic appeared first on NME.