ABC Family announces start of production on 'Home Alone 5'

Set to premiere Christmas 2012

ABC Family and Fox TV Studios announced that production has begun on the latest installment in the popular "Home Alone" franchise, starring Malcolm McDowell, Debi Mazar, Edward Asner, Eddie Steeples and Christian Martyn. The movie is set to premiere as part of the network's annual "25 Days of Christmas" programming event.

In "Home Alone 5: Alone in the Dark" 8-year-old Finn (Martyn) is terrified to learn his family is relocating from sunny California to Maine, and the scariest house he has ever seen! Convinced that his new house is haunted, Finn sets up a series of elaborate traps to catch the "ghost" in action. Left home alone with his sister (Jodelle Ferland) while their parents are stranded across town, Finn's traps catch a new target - a group of thieves (McDowell, Mazar, Eddie Steeples) who have targeted Finn's house. Produced by Fox Television Studios, the movie is directed by Peter Hewitt ("Garfield"), and written by Aaron Ginsburg and Wade McIntyre ("The Finder").

Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in more than 97 million homes.

Fox Television Studios produces scripted and unscripted programming for US broadcast and cable networks, and international broadcasters. The studio produces the hit series "Burn Notice," currently in its sixth season, and "White Collar," which just wrapped its fourth season, both for USA; "The Killing" for AMC, which debuts its second season on April 1; and the series "The Glades" for A&E, currently in season three. FtvS pilots currently in production include "Graceland," from "White Collar" creator Jeff Eastin, for USA, as well as "The Americans" for FX, and "This American Housewife" for Lifetime. Among the studio's unscripted programming is the competition series "The Great Escape" for TNT.