Amy Winehouse’s estate is calling out Halcyon Studios over its planned feature film centered on the late singer.
According to TMZ, Mitch Winehouse—Amy’s father and administrator of her estate—claims the entertainment company has not been authorized to create the project, which many have referred to as a “biopic.” Halcyon announced the film earlier this week, confirming it would be based on Daphne Barak’s 2010 book Saving Amy. The writer argues the proposed movie is not a “biopic,” but rather her own story about the time she spent with Amy in the three years leading up to her untimely death.
“Our team is honored to be working on this project,” Halcyon CEO David Ellender wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
Mitch tells TMZ that Halcyon has not contacted the estate for approval, nor has it received permission to use any of Amy’s music for the film. He also says the estate owns and controls his late daughter’s likeness, which is why he’s convinced the “unauthorized” film is “100 percent not allowed.”
Barak—who wrote Saving Amy based on 40 hours of video, exclusive photos, and notes—has seemingly dismissed Mitch’s objections, arguing that she is within her legal rights to pursue the film alongside Halcyon. She has also signed on as the film’s executive producer.
“I have all of the releases and legal agreements needed,” she told TMZ. “Just like the NFTs being marketed on OG2D, this material is also all legally my property to sell.”
It remains unclear if Mitch has any intentions of pursuing legal action against Barak or Halcyon. The news comes several years after the estate announced its own plans to release an Amy biopic, produced by Monumental Pictures’ Alison Owen and Debra Hayward.
