Why Not Harvest Pianos Instead?: The British TV series UFO will be turned into a movie starring Joshua Jackson. Jackson will play Paul Foster, a test pilot who works for a covert agency that defends earth against a race of organ-harvesting aliens. Matthew Gratzner, the visual-effects supervisor on Iron Man, will be making his directing debut. He’ll also be making explosions. [Variety]
It’s a Mom’s World: Oprah’s company Harpo Films has set up a deal with HBO for an hour-long series about a woman who leaves her seemingly perfect family to live in L.A.’s underground, indulging her hedonistic fantasies. Erin Cressida Wilson, who wrote Secretary, is onboard to write the pilot. Which means there will be spanking. Lots of spanking. [Variety]
Green Thumb: Twilight: New Moon director Chris Weitz has signed up to tackle a new film for Summit Entertainment. The Gardener revolves around an immigrant who lives in L.A. and works hard to provide for himself and his son. “There are no werewolves or vampires, just a Mexican gardener in Los Angeles,†Weitz said. Sounds like the makings of a great Carlos Mencia joke. [Variety]
The Year of the Wolf: The werewolf invasion continues as producers Joel Kastelberg and Etchie Stroh plan to relaunch The Howling as The Howling: Reborn. The 1981 original was about a news anchor who was stalked by a serial killer that turned out to be a werewolf. The film spawned six sequels and a fear of people with really hairy faces. [Variety]
Art of Cooking: Art Smith, of Top Chef Masters and Oprah’s kitchen, has landed his own show on TLC. Craving Comfort will follow Smith around the country as he explores variations on classic dishes like fried chicken and apple pie. He plans to dye his hair, wear sunglasses, and get some flames tattooed on his neck, since that’s a proven model for this kind of show. [THR]
