If the notion of Kelsey Grammer playing Ebenezer Scrooge conjures up visions of low-budget television specials for you, there’s a reason. He’s played Scrooge before, in an NBC-Hallmark production of A Christmas Carol.

Variety says he’ll Scrooge out again, this time for a major motion picture called An American Carol. The movie is a Zucker comedy, and since it’s Zucker that probably means lame parody in the vein of Scary Movie, though Variety’s story insists on calling it “indie satire”. That certainly sounds more appealing than the Christmas version of Date Movie.

Grammer will play a modern day version of Scrooge and the movie will limply attack contemporary American pop-culture and Hollywood. David Zucker will direct a script he co-wrote with Myrna Sokoloff.

It will not however interfere with his television duties. Kelsey will be shooting the movie back to back with his current series Back to You. So don’t worry Patricia Heaton fans, it’s unlikely she’ll have to loosen up and try something besides her uptight Mom character any time soon.