Jones’ Foxy Roxy Productions To Develop Terrell Project With Sean Dwyer And Elizabeth Cullen At PokeProd; Film will chronicle the life of the Motown legend and Marvin Gaye duet partner on classics “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need To Get By” and “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing “Castle” star Tamala Jones announced that her Foxy Roxy Productions company, in collaboration with Sean Dwyer and Elizabeth Cullen at PokeProd (“Zoe Gone”), is developing
the much anticipated feature film that chronicles the life of Motown legend Tammi Terrell, the woman who teamed with Marvin Gaye on a string of 1960’s iconic recordings before tragically dying of brain cancer at age 24.
Ludie Montgomery, Terrell’s sister, is lending her full support to the project and will work with producers to tell the incredibly powerful and soulful story of Terrell. The film is based on the book, “My Sister Tommie,” written by Montgomery with Vickie Wright and the screenplay by Sylvia Jahshan.
“I am excited to work with Tamala, Sean and Elizabeth to bring Tammi’s story to life and share her powerful and rich musical history,” says Montgomery. “The Terrell Estate fully endorses this project as the only authorized film about my sister’s life, and would like to especially thank the continuing support of Tammi’s fans and their commitment to Tammi’s legacy.”
Montgomery’s support of the Foxy Roxy / PokeProd version of Terrell’s story allows the film to follow more closely the memorable career of the singer who was majorly influenced by her family and growing up on the streets of Philadelphia.
Terrell began performing at local concerts and sock hops and, at the age of 15, was signed to the legendary Scepter Records by Florence Greenberg. At 17, Terrell became the headliner in the James Brown Revue, later signing with Motown and teaming with Gaye in early 1967 to make music history on the Motown classics “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Your Precious Love,” “You’re All I Need To Get By” and “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing.”
Filming on the untitled project is set to begin in 2016 .
“Tammi Terrell’s story is more than a movie or Motown history, it is American history,” says Jones. “Tammi’s story is about belief in one’s abilities and overcoming tremendous obstacles to
achieve tremendous success; I cannot wait to share her triumph and tragedy with the world! ” The Terrell biopic is the first full length feature through Jones’ Foxy Roxy Productions. Jones, who is represented by Danielle Del at D2 Management and Barry Mcpherson at APA, will also star in a yet to be disclosed role.
“Tammi Terrell is iconic,” producers Dwyer and Cullen attest. “In her short life, she managed to create with Marvin Gaye classic musical moments that have been unmatched. We are so excitedto bring to the screen the amazing life of Tammi Terrell, a life tremendously lived. “