A24 to Acquire Amy Winehouse Documentary

A24, an American film distribution, production, and finance company formed in 2012, is nearing completion of a deal to acquire Amy, the Amy Winehouse documentary directed by Asif Kapadia, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Amy, a chronicle of Winehouse's life and career, also includes archived footage of the late British singer-songwriter as well as previously unheard tracks from the late award-winning musical artist.

Winehouse's 2003 debut album, "Frank," was a critical success in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, "Back to Black," which sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, led to her winning five Grammy Awards in 2008, including Best Vocal Pop Album. But "Back to Black" also turned out to be Winehouse's last album. On July 23, 2011, she died of alcohol poisoning at age 27.

Winehouse's last recording was a duet on the song "Body and Soul" with the 88-year-old jazz and pop legend Tony Bennett for his album, "Duets II," which was released September 2011. Bennett in an interview with Jon Stewart during the September 29, 2011, edition of The Daily Show said he believed Amy "was in trouble at that time because she had a couple of engagements that she didn't keep up. But what people didn't realize at that time, that she really knew, and in fact I didn't even know it when we were making the record, and now looking at the whole thing; she knew that she was in a lot of trouble; that she wasn't going to live. And it wasn't drugs. It was alcohol toward the end...."

Amy's helmer, Kapadia, is known for having directed several award-winning films, including The Sheep Thief (1997), The Warrior (2001), and Senna (2011), a documentary about late Formula One star Ayrton Senna. James Gay-Rees produced the Winehouse documentary film, and Cinetic handled the domestic sales with Focus International handling worldwide sales. A24 is reportedly planning to release Amy on July 3 in the UK via Altitude Film Distribution, with a teaser trailer being readied for a Thursday's showing. No announcement has been made yet by A24 as to the schedule for the US release of the film.