BURBANK, Calif., July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- HBO has acquired the pilot "Fat
Sells" co-created by 25/7 Productions honcho Dave Broome ("The Biggest Loser")
and writer Gren Wells. Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of
Scotland") will be an executive producer along with Broome on this one-hour
family drama set in the world of the $46 billion herbal supplement weight loss
industry. Gren Wells, who also has "Earthbound" set up at The Film Department
and "Southern Comfort" at Walt Disney Studios, will pen the pilot and serve as
co-executive producer.
"In a culture so obsessed with looks and weight, the idea of "Fat Sells" -
exploring image, self-esteem and power -- was not only culturally important
but very timely. It is a billion dollar industry that many people know nothing
about," says Whitaker.
"Everyone is looking for that Magic Pill to change their lives ... We're
taking a world not regulated by the FDA and breaking it wide open," says
Broome.
Wells says of the project, "This is an incredible arena to explore the
issues of weight in a society that's obsessed with being thin."
"Fat Sells" will be produced by 25/7 Productions and Forest Whitaker
Productions. 25/7 Productions' recently announced projects include a Janet
Jackson series on MTV, an Ashley Paige dock-drama series on TLC, "Ashley
Paige: Bikini or Bust" and seasons 6 and 7 of "The Biggest Loser" on NBC.
Whitaker can next be seen in the upcoming Weinstein project "Hurricane
Season" this Christmas and is currently developing a show at Showtime about
the rise of the African American mafia in the 1970's; a show at FX about arm
dealers and a docu-drama at Sundance about Mayor Corey Booker.
Wells, Broome and Whitaker are repped by William Morris. Additionally,
Wells is repped by New Wave Entertainment and attorneys Greg Gellman and Kevin
Yorn of Morris, Yorn, Barnes, & Levine; Broome by Scott Zolke at Loeb&Loeb LLP
and Whitaker by William Morris.
SOURCE New Wave Entertainment
Andrea DeLesDernier of New Wave Entertainment, +1-818-295-8021,
adelesdernier@nwe.com; or Carrie Simons of 25-7 Productions, +1-615-254-9389,
carrie@triple7pr.com
