In an interview with The Guardian following the release of AMY, a documentary that pieces together archival footage and personal testimonials to create an intimate portrait of the life and career of Amy Winehouse, her former manager Nick Shymansky says that when he first approached Amy she “flicked my ego away like it was a pea on my shoulder […] I realized humor was the backup plan, and that’s how we connected.”
In a newly released clip taken from the documentary, you can totally see that connection. First we see Amy reclining in a big black leather chair like a goddess. Then she fucks about on an escalator with Shymansky (who met Amy when she was 16, and worked as her manager between 1999 and 2006) putting on a pretty convincing Eastern Bloc accent, saying, “Ever since I won a competition to leave my home country, it’s beyond joy […] I’ve never been on an escalator before!” Then they both wander the streets of New York with no idea where they are, Amy wholly rejects the concept of maps, and asks Nick why he’s filming her so close because she’s ugly—a statement with less truth in it that DWP sanctions leaflet.
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If there’s one positive thing that we can take away from AMY, it’s that only Amy Winehouse could make something as banal as traveling on an escalator this entertaining. Watch the full clip below:
