Kitty Kelley’s controversial Oprah Winfrey biography is getting the TV movie treatment.
Larry Thompson, who’s produced TV movies about the rocky marriages of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and Sonny & Cher, has bought the rights to “Oprah: A Biography” — for a reported six-figure sum.
“This is much more than a rags-to-riches story. I think Oprah is one of the most interesting and fascinating people on the planet,” Thompson told The Post yesterday.
“Being from Clarksdale, Miss. myself — Oprah is from Kosciusko, Miss. — I’ve always been aware of her career and have marveled at her journey.”
Kelley’s book, published last April, claimed that Oprah had been a teenage prostitute, raised questions about her sexuality and quoted family members who said that she mythologized her middle-class upbringing to make it sound as if she were poor.
Thompson, who doesn’t yet have a network home for the project, said the movie/miniseries is targeted to be released in September 2011 — the same week Winfrey ends “Oprah.”
Thompson said he’s “open to the idea” of having an unknown actress portray Winfrey.
“There are so few faces on the earth that are as recognizable as Oprah’s . . . Sometimes it’s easier to have a face the public doesn’t know,” he said. “That’s one of the things we’re debating.”
Officials at Harpo, Winfrey’s production company, had no comment yesterday.