Oprah Vacations, Films TV Movie

Even though she is on vacation from her top-rated daytime talk show, Oprah Winfrey stayed busy Thursday, filming scenes in Ojai for an upcoming made-for-television movie.

Winfrey, who was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for the 1987 film “The Color Purple,” spent the week in the city shooting scenes for the film “Before Women Had Wings.”

Based on the semiautobiographical book by Connie May Fowler, the film depicts the story of a young girl in 1965 Florida who struggles to understand the suicide of her father. She said the book’s tale of a child who exudes great strength and fragility was what attracted her to the project.

“I loved the book and it’s a miracle that within one year of reading it we’ve gotten it on film,” Winfrey said while relaxing between scenes.

In the film, the 43-year-old Winfrey plays the role of Miss Zora, a sagacious and tender woman who helps the girl, played by 12-year-old Tina Majorino, move beyond her pain to again embrace life.

“She’s exemplary, she’s magic,” Fowler said of Winfrey. “She reminds me so much of the woman I knew when I was a girl.”

The film, scheduled to be aired on ABC in November, is part of a six-movie series between the broadcasting company and Winfrey’s Chicago-based Harpo Films, titled “Oprah Winfrey Presents.”

“What I do every day is to try and help people make positive changes and improve their lives,” she said. “But film allows for a deeper perspective because you can get people into it immediately. That’s what I love about it.”

While this is the only film in the series in which the celebrated talk show host will star, Winfrey said she will have a hand in the creative aspects of the other five. The next film, “The Wedding,” is scheduled to begin production later this year.

But fans of the talk show needn’t worry. Winfrey said the show is still her first priority and that acting is more fun than ambition.

“The talk show still rules, it’s our foundation,” she said. “It’s the mother lode.”

Winfrey will head back to Chicago over the weekend and be back at her studio Monday for a taping of the talk show.

She said that even though she worked during the show’s hiatus, it was still a vacation.

“It’s so delightful here, it’s like God’s country,” she said. “The people are so nice it’s reminds me of Mayberry. I keep looking for Andy Griffith.”