You better start getting used to a new Smith family member showing up in huge, big-budgeted flicks. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Jaden Smith (who plays Will Smith's son in real life) has signed on to co-star in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still for 20th Century Fox. And yes, he'll be doing so without Pops in the scenes with him, as we saw last year when both Smith family members starred opposite one another in The Pursuit of Happyness. This time, Jaden Smith will play the 8-year-old stepson of scientist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly). HR confirms that Kathy Bates and Jon Hamm will also star off a script written by David Scarpa, while Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) directs.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a remake of the 1951 flick carrying the same name, and it revolves around an alien who arrives on Earth with a giant robot to learn about the planet and spread a message. In a part that suits him more than perfectly, Keanu Reeves will be playing the alien (who goes by the name of Klaatu), while Connelly will play the woman who first comes into contact with the extraterrestrial. As HR points out, "Smith's Jacob and stepmother Helen get caught up in Klaatu's mission, coming to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described "friend to the Earth." Fox will shovel this one out on December 12, making it this year's big flick to see while struggling to afford Christmas presents. Anyone else think Keanu Reeves is actually an alien in real life? Dude is so ... odd. Perfect role for him, and I'm looking forward to this one.

The Hollywood Reporter announced that Jon Hamm, star of *HBO's Mad Men, has signed for a role in the update of the sci-fi classic. Hamm plays Don Draper on the series about the heyday of the advertising business. Hamm will join Keanu Reeves as the alien Klaatu, and Jennifer Connolly will play a research scientist. According to THR, Hamm will play "Dr. Granier, a NASA official who recruits Helen (Connelly) for the scientific team investigating an alien's arrival on Earth". For those of you out there who aren't familiar with the 1951 classic, it centers on an alien and his giant robot friend who land on earth to chastise man about their violent ways. They bring a simple message to earthlings, "Live in peace or be destroyed". Of course, we don't listen and it all goes downhill from there. Variety had reported that the film was going to get a little modernizing in both the story and the FX department, saying, "The 1951 film's premise, a response to the rise of the Cold War after WWII, is being updated, and the film will use advances in visual effects."

News of the remake first surfaced back in February, and the jury is still out on whether Keanu Reeves is the right choice as the harbinger of earthly doom. Scott had brought us the news back in April that Scott Derrikson had been hired for the remake and that Last Castle scribe David Scarpa is in charge of the script. The production is expected to be an expensive affair and locations have already been scouted in Vancouver for the lengthy shoot. Hamm is currently filming Boy in The Box with Josh Lucas while Mad Men is on break. The Day the Earth Stood Still is set for release on December 12th, 2008.

*Correction: Mad Men airs on AMC.

Actress Rhona Mitra is definitely no stranger to the ways of the law. She spent a good deal of time on The Practice, and then jumped ship for the ultra-wacky law show Boston Legal. Since then, well, she's not only got nipped and tucked, but she's taken some time for Skinwalkers, the flop that is The Number 23, and Shooter. Now The Hollywood Reporter has posted that she's going to co-star in a new indie thriller called The Boy in the Box -- written by actor Glenn Taranto and helmed by Anders Anderson.

No, this is not a retro celebrity biopic about Corey Hart. Rather, it's about a "small-town police chief (Jon Hamm, We Were Soldiers ) determined to discover the truth behind the mummified remains of a boy who was murdered a half-century earlier." Mummification -- that's not something that pops up in a thriller every day. Or in life for that matter. Anyway, Mitra will play "the police chief's wife, who is trying to move on after the disappearance of their own son eight years earlier." No wonder he's obsessed.

But there's even more cast on this sucker. The film is re-teaming Mitra with Sweet Home Alabama co-star Josh Lucas, who will play the slain child's dad. I imagine that means flashbacks -- since Lucas sure as hell isn't old enough to have a son who has been dead for 50 years. Wrapping things up, there's Dawson Leary / James Van Der Beek, Marcus Thomas (You Kill Me), the young tyke Jimmy Bennett (Evan Almighty) -- who I imagine will play the slain kid, and Jessica Chastain (Law and Order). I'll just go out on a limb and say Dawson did it! He's got a good creepy look to him when he wants to. As for you Buffy and Grey's fans out there, Box also has the vengeance demon/overachieving doctor Kali Rocha.

It'll be a little while before this film gets up and running. Having tackled the skinwalkers, Mitra is about to head for New Zealand and face lycans in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.