Paramount Pictures and MTV Films are negotiating to give bigscreen treatment to the life of Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy-metal prince of darkness reinvented as a dysfunctional dad on MTV's reality hit "The Osbournes."
Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne gave Paramount and MTV first crack at his life rights because of the TV relationship. An Osbourne spokeswoman confirmed the deal was in the works, but wouldn't divulge specifics of the film's story as laid out by Sharon and Ozzy. No writer or filmmakers has yet been hired.
Osbourne's early life was much darker than his currently addled but cuddly visage. Like many '70s frontmen of heavy-metal bands, Osbourne's life was dedicated to sex and drugs. He grew up in a working-class family in England, dropping out of school at 15 for a series of jobs that included car horn tester and slaughterhouse employee. After a jail stint for petty theft, Osbourne became a singer, eventually fronting Black Sabbath.
Sharon, the steel-willed daughter of a rock manager, encouraged Ozzy's solo career after he was kicked out of Black Sabbath. She helped to revive his career by launching the annual headbanger tour Ozzfest.
Ozzy and his clan then became TV icons thanks to the reality show.
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