Amy Winehouse's family refuses to give permission for biopic

Amy Winehouse's father has claimed the Halcyon biopic based on the book 'Saving Amy' cannot go ahead because the producers have not asked permission to proceed with the project. Photo / Getty Images

Amy Winehouse's father has claimed the Halcyon biopic based on the book 'Saving Amy' cannot go ahead because the producers have not asked permission to proceed with the project.

According to TMZ, Mitch Winehouse - who is the the administrator of his late daughter's estate - says the proposed movie cannot happen because the media company has not contacted him or Amy's record label Universal to use any of her music or her likeness, something which it must do as the estate controls her image.

Daphne Barak - the author of the 2010 book optioned by Halcyon which is based on more than 40 hours of footage, photos and notes with the singer during her final three years - has not contacted the estate or record label either.

According to the website, Mitch said it is "100 per cent not allowed".

Journalist Barak has described the project as not being a biopic, but rather the musician's story with her footage featuring herself with Amy over the years.

Barak said: "I have all of the releases and legal agreements needed. Just like the NFTs being marketed on OG2D, this material is also all legally my property to sell."

Previously announcing the film, Halcyon Studio CEO David Ellender said in a statement: "Our team is honoured to be working on this project.

"Although her career was cut far too short, Amy was the voice of a generation and we look forward to telling her story in the most poignant way possible."

Last year, Mitch revealed that he was developing his own biopic about Amy.

The patriarch said the film will offer a truthful portrayal of the singer's life after he previously hit out at Asif Kapadia's 2015 documentary 'Amy' for its "misleading" portrayal of the relationship between him and his daughter.

Speaking on actor Paul Danan's The Morning After podcast, he stated: "We've got a lovely movie, a lovely Broadway show coming, and that's how we'll get our own back, by portraying Amy the way she was.

"The movie is gonna be in a year or two. We've gone beyond talks, we're at script stage. The film is going to be a biopic.

"The casting will be – and I get to choose, with recommendations from the producer – a star-maker. We're gonna get an unknown actress, ideally a Jewish girl from north or east London who looks a bit like Amy and talks like Amy."

'Back to Black' singer Amy tragically died in July 2011 from alcohol poisoning at age 27.