Amy Winehouse biopic director Sam Taylor-Johnson reveals the biggest hurdle in making a controversial Back to Black film about the singer’s difficult life

As the release date for Amy Winehouse’s controversial new biopic Back To Black approaches, director Sam Taylor-Johnson has revealed the biggest hurdle involved in making the film.

With her signature black beehive hairstyle, thick eyeliner and individual tattoos, there’s no mistaking the singer’s unmistakable look, and finding someone to play Amy was undoubtedly the toughest challenge.

On Thursday, the film’s trailer showed Industry star Marisa Abela, 27, completely transforming into the tragic late singer, who died of alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27.

However, Sam confessed that it wasn’t Marisa’s looks that got her the role, but that she was someone who could embody the unique spirit of Amy herself.”

Speak with richSam explained that Marisa wasn’t trying to pretend to be Amy with her hair teased, but she showed up with bare faces and blew them away.

With her signature black beehive hairstyle, thick eyeliner and tattoos, there’s no mistaking the singer’s unmistakable look, and finding someone to play Amy was undoubtedly the toughest challenge.

She said: ‘I turned on the camera and she looked through the lens, and literally we all went: “What?” It was about getting past Amy’s iconography and getting to know her as a person.”

‘We’d seen some brilliant impersonations, but… [Marisa] managed to align every fiber of her being with who Amy Winehouse was, and is to many people. She inhabited her.’

And it looks like Marisa embodied Amy from the inside out, as the new teaser gives the star an uncanny likeness.

The clip begins with the audience chanting Amy’s name as she appears on stage, while Marisa gets an uncanny impression of Amy’s North London accent.

In a voice-over she says: ‘I don’t write songs to become famous. I write songs because I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t.’

Marisa’s rendition of Amy’s 2007 song Back To Black plays as the Industry star appears, looking like the spitting image of the hitmaker with her signature winged eyeliner and Monroe piercing above her lip.

But while Marisa fits the role, some insiders have expressed concerns that the film’s leads didn’t look enough like the singer and her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

The height difference between Marisa and her on-screen partner Jack O’Connell is said to have been a serious problem for the couple. Amy, who stood at 6 feet tall, was six inches shorter than Blake, while Marisa and Jack were said to be the same height.

Speaking to Empire, Sam explained: ‘I turned the camera on and she was looking through the lens, and literally we were all like, “What?” It was all about getting past Amy’s iconography and getting to know her as a person.”

Amy tragically died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 27 in July 2011, after struggling with substance abuse, mental illness and addiction (Amy pictured in 2006)

The height difference between Marisa and her on-screen partner Jack O’Connell is said to have been a serious problem for the couple

In one scene in the film, Amy and Blake are seen drinking together in a park, with Jack spending most of his time lying down to hide their similar heights.

According to The Mirror, film bosses have tried to use some movie magic to make Marisa look smaller than Jack.

A source said: ‘People have commented on how little they look like Amy and Blake – especially the height difference between them.

‘We’re used to images of Blake towering over Amy, but Jack is as tall as Marisa. For her that means flat shoes and lots of cleverly filmed scenes.’

In one scene in the film, Amy and Blake are seen drinking together in a park, with Jack spending most of his time lying down to hide their similar heights.

The insider said: “In that scene, Jack spends most of his time lying on the grass instead of standing. There’s not much they can do, but a lot of time has gone into making sure the lack of height difference doesn’t bother the public.”

This came after Amy’s father Mitch defended the controversial casting as he disagreed with the backlash against Marisa’s casting, saying on Twitter that she was a ‘great choice’ and claiming it doesn’t matter if they ‘don’t look exactly alike’ . .

Mitch chatted with TMZ about the new release about his daughter, saying, “Marisa is Marisa and Amy is Amy…so it doesn’t matter if they’re not mirror images.

‘Marisa is a good choice for the role’

Marisa embodied Amy from the inside out, as the new teaser gives the star an uncanny likeness