Mary J. Blige is expanding her empire.
On Wednesday it was announced that the iconic hip-hop artist is partnering with Lifetime to executive produce the new original movie “Real Love”, inspired by her hit song.
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“Real Love”, released in 1992, was Blige’s first single to make it into the Billboard Top 10, and has continued to be one of her more enduring, iconic songs.
“In the coming-of-age romantic drama Real Love, Kendra sets off on her own for the first time to a college in upstate New York, determined to focus on her studies,” reads the plot synopsis. “But when she meet’s her film class partner Ben, she tries her hardest to keep things professional. Despite disapproving parents, financial hardship, and competition for the top spot in class, Kendra and Ben find themselves falling hard for each other and ultimately learn the meaning of real love.”
The movie will feature the song “Real Love”, as well as more music from Blige’s catalog.
“I wrote ‘Real Love’ based on my real life experiences and my fans connected to it in a deeply personal way,” Blige said in a statement. “It’s exciting to now use this song and my music to create a new story by way of film, continuing to build on a pillar of the foundation of my production company, Blue Butterfly. My passions for acting and music now include developing diverse stories with music as the backdrop. I am grateful to Lifetime for their partnership in the story of ‘Real Love’.”
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The TV movie will be written by Sonja Warfield and Rachel Ingram.
“Mary is one of those phenomenal talents that can do it all, and we are so thrilled to be able to partner with her again on this new opportunity to bring her music to life in the form of a movie that we know audiences will love,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP Scripted Content, Lifetime and LMN.
Blige recently made a huge splash, performing alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl.
