OWN breaks into TV film biz with Darlene Love memoir

Just ahead of Valentine’s Day, OWN is getting in the love business with its first foray into the scripted telepic business.

The network announced Monday it’s adapting singer Darlene Love’s memoir, “My Name Is the Love: The Darlene Love Story,” into a TV film.

The legendary backup vocalist, now 72, got her break lending her voice to many key Phil Spector-produced songs in the ‘60s and worked with some of music’s biggest heavyweights, including Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra.

She was recently featured in the Morgan Neville’s Oscar-nominated backup singer documentary “Twenty Feet from Stardom,” of which OWN has licensed the first broadcast window on cable to air the film in 2015.

OWN’s dabble in the scripted TV film arena follows its recent success expanding into scripted programming, which had the company partnering with Tyler Perry.

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“The fantastic life journey of music great Darlene Love is the perfect choice for our first original scripted movie,” said OWN president Sheri Salata in a statement. “There are a handful of stories brought to the screen of daring American women who walked through fire and back to make their dreams come true, and Darlene is one of the heroes on that list. From her first hit song to her darkest days cleaning houses in Beverly Hills to make ends meet, to the triumphant comeback that made rock ‘n’ roll history, Darlene is a true living legend who worked with many of the greatest talents in music from Elvis Presley and Tom Jones to Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen.”

Network boss Oprah Winfrey, no stranger to filmmaking, will serve as an executive producer, along with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Morgan Neville and Love.

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