Whitaker and Broome Get Wells 'Fat' at HBO

BURBANK, Calif., July 10 -- 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