Joel Surnow has That Face

He’s best known for sending Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer off on ridiculous terrorism-fighting missions on TV’s 24 and for recently selling a spy pitch, but Joel Surnow’s latest film script might surprise those who know him for his torture scenes.

He’s sold That Face to Universal, which will produce what sounds like a blend of The Devil Wears Prada and My Fair Lady. The plot finds small-town bloke winning a job in the mailroom at a huge New York cosmetics company. But his honesty about the firm’s newest spokes model gets him fired, and his only chance to get his job back is persuading them that a beautiful girl whose picture he snapped on the subway will work as a replacement. Trouble is, she’s a foul-mouthed, opinionated girl from the suburbs and will need more than a little help to become the studied beauty the cosmetics team is after.

The Hollywood Reporter is checking its makeup .