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Kitty Kelley’s unauthorized Oprah biography being made into TV movie

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Oprah WinfreyThe scathing unauthorized Biography of Oprah Winfrey written by Kitty Kelley will be released as a made for TV movie in 2011. According to PopCrunch, the rights to the book were bought by veteran TV movie producer Larry A. Thompson.

Kelly’s book includes a focus on Oprah’s early childhood, promiscious teen years and her unknown paternity. The movie is planned to be released in conjunction with Oprah’s exit from network TV in September 2011.

Thompson says of the story:

“…I think it’s a fabulous story, and it’s certainly a challange, but Kitty Kelley’s extensively researched book offers us the factual foundation to frame our cinematic portrait of this powerful and beloved icon. Oprah Winfrey is a very powerful woman, and that’s also something that will make our movie great.”

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Oprah announces her Next Chapter

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To the surprise of no one at all, Oprah Winfrey isn’t leaving television when her daily talk show ends next year.

Instead, she’ll be redirecting her efforts 100% towards her new cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network, where she’ll produce and appear on a number of original shows. She’ll be hosting her own new OWN show, entitled Oprah’s Next Chapter, which finds her traveling around the world to faraway places like Egypt and China to have “more riveting conversations with the people we all want to hear from.” Next Chapter is expected to be an hour-long show, airing 2 or 3 times a week in prime time.

Oprah will also be a part of Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star, where she’ll serve as a judge on an American Idol-type search for the next great talk show host.

The rest of OWN’s roster is made up of shows seemingly tailored around Oprah’s personal friends and the top names on her rolodex, such as Gail King, Lisa Ling, Shania Twain, and more.

Anybody else remember that interview she did with Jay Leno after all the Leno/Conan hubbub, where he was certain she would keep doing a show of some kind, even after The Oprah Winfrey Show ends, and she swore up and down that she wasn’t doing another talk show? I’m not a big Leno fan, but it looks like he was spot-on about Oprah.

Oprah to Say Bye in 2011: What will happen to daytime TV?

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oprah winfreyOprah isn’t set to say goodbye till September of next year but everyone’s already wondering who will inherit her throne in daytime TV. Maybe Geraldo’s time has finally come (*snort*)!

Seriously though, Scott Collins of LA Times says that the most likely contenders for the slot will be “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Dr. Oz Show”. Of course, Dr. Phil might get it considering his on #2 spot in terms of viewership and like Oprah “made” him. Dr. Oz though is also doing really great considering that the show is but a year old, and like Dr. Phil, Oprah also made it. However, if Ellen decides to launch a campaign, like she did with the George Clooney where his poor staff got continuously harassed till he appeared on the “Ellen” or like when she wanted to be on the cover of “O Magazine”, maybe the TV execs will get pestered enough to cave in and give it to her.

Whatever happens though the question is likely moot because daytime TV hasn’t been the same for a long time and with Oprah gone, probably never will. As Steve Farella of TargetCast, an ad-firm, said, “Daytime TV as supplied by the networks is really all but dead. [But] It’s not because the talent isn’t there. It’s because the business isn’t there anymore.”

As for me I truthfully don’t care much who takes the slot because I can just watch reruns of Oprah on the Sezmi (Hopefully the service will be good and they’ll be everywhere by 2011!).

Oprah To Quit?

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No way, right? That was my first reaction when I read bits and pieces online about Oprah possibly canceling her long time TV show. After all, Oprah (the show) has become one of the most popular – if not THE most popular – talk shows all over the world.

As they say, though, if there is smoke, then there is fire. So what is the reason for this “rumor” going around? The Los Angeles Times reported that Oprah recently named Lisa Espramer as her creative chief:

The highly anticipated but delayed OWN: the Oprah Winfrey Network will soon have a chief creative executive.

OWN said Wednesday that Erspamer would work with other executives to “create, shape and drive programming and ensure Oprah’s unique editorial voice across all platforms.”

If you think about it, this is the next logical step in Oprah’s career. She has been hosting her talk show forever and her “empire” has expanded to such great extent, that it is about time for her to have her own network. There are so many implications of this move, however, one of which is the idea that Oprah just might say goodbye to ABC and make her new network her permanent home. I do not blame people for thinking this – I honestly think that this has occurred to Oprah (if she has not decided on it yet). And even if she moved to her new network, I am sure she will still have the Oprah Winfrey Show there – if with some changes. If that happens, then her show as we know it today just might see the end.

What do you think? Is this a new era for the Oprah Winfrey Show?

Tom Cruise guests on Oprah

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Tom Cruise will be returning to Oprah. Hopefully, this time he won’t be jumping up and down the sofa. The episode will be celebrating his career from that first breakthrough performance in “Risky Business.”