Singer Amy Winehouse’s tumultuous relationship with husband Blake Fielder-Civil impressed her to write down and document the groundbreaking album “Again to Black.”
Now some 13 years after her premature loss of life, actress Marisa Abela, finest identified from the TV sequence “Business,” is portraying her on the massive display within the Sam Taylor-Johnson directed biopic Again to Black.
For the movie, Taylor-Johnson determined to not use Winehouse’s vocals. As an alternative, utilizing Abela’s singing voice to belt out Amy’s iconic tunes. She spent 4 months studying to sing in Winehouse’s particular vocal fashion (two hours a day, 5 days per week), play guitar (one hour a day, 3 times per week) and transfer like her via “intense” bodily coaching.
HipHollywood spoke with each Taylor-Johnson and Abela through the latest press day to be taught extra about how they introduced Amy’s story to life.
HH: Sam since you are also a musician and artist, was this a mission that you just actually felt such as you needed to do?
Sam: I’ve all the time been obsessed together with her music and cherished her music for such a very long time. So when the movie got here in as a suggestion for me to make it, I mentioned sure with out even processing as a result of I used to be simply so linked immediately to the thought of constructing this movie.
HH: Marisa, what did you hearken to throughout movie? Had been there artists, have been there songs, that actually helped you remodel into Amy?
Marisa: There was numerous [artists] through the preparation. Listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Diana Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Vacation. And in a means the locations that I began to seek out Amy’s voice most was in these songs as a result of it’s really easy whenever you hearken to one thing like ‘Rehab’ to get in your head about the way it ought to sound as a result of you understand the document. However studying about jazz via these girls after which singing alongside as Amy after studying among the strategies that I used to be studying it began to really feel extra free.
Marisa: There’s a music on the deluxe model of the ‘Frank’ album, which is ‘Somebody to Watch Over Me’ and I believe that’s one in all my favourite songs that Amy sings as a result of it’s like her voice as a jazz singer is so vital to recollect as properly. So, yeah, I used to be listening to all of that stuff in addition to hip hop.
HH: Sam discuss your method with the music as a result of it’s an integral a part of this movie. What it a enjoyable or difficult course of for you?
Sam: Yeah, it was my favourite factor to do, actually, to work with music. By way of the movies I’ve made to date, they’re typically actually musically linked. Once they got here to me with the film, they mentioned, now we have all of the music rights. It was a pleasure as a result of simply to know that we had entry to each a part of her catalog and simply to have the ability to work with whichever components of her music that we wished to was only a actual reward. To then actually deep dive into her lyrics after which be guided by them to make this film from her perspective was tremendous vital.
Again to Black is in theaters Could 17.