Disney and producer Scott Rudin are getting an old pet project back up and running, tapping "Napoleon Dynamite" director Jared Hess to helm the long-gestating sci-fi family comedy "The Pet."

Rudin, who moved his production shingle from Disney last year over to Sony, is producing the live-action pic alongside Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor.

Based on an original idea from Matt Lieberman ("Short Circuit"), "The Pet" centers on a man who's abducted by aliens, taken to their planet and turned into a family pet.

Rudin originally boarded "The Pet" years ago at Disney when he had a first-look deal at Miramax. But the project became relatively dormant when he left the Mouse House -- in large part because Disney sold Miramax and refocused on family-friendly films, leaving Rudin's adult-skewing projects without a natural home.

"The Pet," however, fits the Disney mold.

"The Simpsons" helmer David Silverman had been attached to the family comedy, and despite a recent rewrite from scribe Tim Dowling ("This Means War"), "The Pet" is now in the hands of Hess, who will oversee all aspects of creative development going forward.

The UTA-repped Hess' recent credits include the Jack Black starrer "Nacho Libre" and 2009's "Gentlemen Broncos." He and wife Jerusha Hess are also exec producing Fox's "Napoleon Dynamite" toon, based on the 2004 indie hit comedy.

Rudin just wrapped another busy awards season, having produced "Moneyball" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

迪士尼与制片人斯考特·鲁丁（Scott Rudin）计划联合制作一部科幻家庭喜剧《宠物》（The Pet），《大人物拿破仑》（Napoleon Dynamite）的导演杰拉德·海斯（Jared Hess）将执导该片。

《宠物》的创意来自Matt Lieberman，故事讲述一个人类被外星人绑架，然后带到外星，被那里的智慧生物当作家庭宠物养了起来。

这个计划很早就有了，但由于种种原因一直没有开始制作。斯考特·鲁丁是好莱坞著名制片人，去年的《龙纹身的女孩》（The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo）、《点球成金》（Moneyball）都是由他制作的。