Eddie isn’t quite good-looking enough to play Mitch
Mitch Winehouse has said he’d rather be portrayed by Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney over Eddie Marsan in the new biopic on his late daughter, Amy.
Mitch suggested Marsan is “not very good-looking”.
The 72-year-old backs the new biopic, Back To Black, which will document the singer’s rise to fame before her death in July 2011, aged 27, from alcohol poisoning.
Winehouse’s debut album, ‘Frank’, was released in 2003, and her follow-up, ‘Back to Black’, in 2006, because an international smash hit, and is one of the best-selling albums in UK history. Two years later, in 2008, she collected five awards at the Grammys, the most by a female artist in a single night.
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson aims to offer an alternative view to the 2015 documentary, Amy, which didn’t shine a positive light on Mitch.
Amy’s dad branded the doc a “lie” and said it portrayed him in the “worst possible light”.
He’s backing the new documentary though, having seen the first script which he said made him “look like a saint, like (he) should be knighted”.
He told The Mail on Sunday, “it was too much”, but joked he’d have liked to see himself played by Clooney, over 54-year-old Marsan.
“‘I told my friend that Eddie was playing me and he said – excuse my French – “Eddie f****** Marsan! He’s not very good-looking.” I said, ‘I know – I wanted George Clooney!’,” Mitch said.
Last month, Mitch defended the casting of BBC Industry star Marisa Abela as Amy after fans pointed out they look nothing alike.
He told TMZ that Abela was a “great choice for the role, even if she doesn’t look exactly like Amy”, and suggested that Hollywood places “too much emphasis is placed on looks”.
However, in his most recent interview with the Mail, Mitch conceded he was initially worried about whether Abela could sing. Those fears have eased somewhat, as she had improved with training and was now “a lot better”.
Amy’s mum, Janis Winehouse, will be portrayed by EastEnders star Juliet Cowan.
She says the film portrays her as a “doormat”.
Skins star Jack O’Connell will play Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, and Mrs Harris Goes to Paris actor Lesley Manville will play the star’s grandmother. It is not clear when exactly the film will be out, but filming is in full swing and the latest predictions are for a late 2023 or 2024 release date.
