Turner Network Television (TNT), which scored big last year with the adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, is scaring up a top notch cast for its latest venture into King territory, “Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.” This anthology series of eight one-hour episodes adapted from King’s short stories will feature such notable performers as Emmy winner and Oscar nominee William H. Macy and Jacqueline McKenzie, who star in “Umney’s Last Case”; Emmy winner Kim Delaney and Steven Weber, who star in “You Know They Got a Hell of a Band”; Samantha Mathis and Jeremy Sisto, who headline “The Fifth Quarter”; Golden Globe nominee Ron Livingston and Golden Globe nominee Henry Thomas, who star in “The End of the Whole Mess”; Oscar nominee Tom Berenger and Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason, who star in “The Road Virus Heads North”; and Oscar winner William Hurt, who headlines “Battleground.”
“Nightmares and Dreamscapes” comes to TNT from Bill Haber’s Ostar Enterprises, with Haber serving as executive producer. The series is produced by Mike Robe, Jeffrey Hayes and John J. McMahon. It will premiere on TNT in summer 2006.
“It is a joy to be working with such incredible talent, many of whom we’ve worked with before, for this ambitious adaptation of Stephen King’s short stories,” said Michael Wright, senior vice president of original programming for TNT and TBS. “King’s short stories are brilliant, and it’s an honor to be able to bring them to life as a true television event.”
The following are the stories that have been cast for production:
Directed by Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire, Elektra) from a teleplay by April Smith (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three)
William H. Macy and Jacqueline McKenzie star in this story about a fictional private eye whose author decides he wants to take the place of his detective creation to escape from the tragedy of his own life.
Directed by Mike Robe (News at Eleven, Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North) who also wrote the teleplay.
Kim Delaney and Steven Weber star in this story of a young couple who happen upon a town in which all of the residents share a deadly secret while gearing up for the concert of a lifetime.
Directed by Mikael Salomon (TNT’s Salem’s Lot) from a teleplay by Lawrence D. Cohen
An award-winning filmmaker, played by Ron Livingston, documents his final hour of life and tells the story of his brother’s discovery of a chemical that ends all violence. When the brother, played by Henry Thomas, attempts to use the chemical on the world, however, the results are catastrophic.
Directed by Rob Bowman from a teleplay by Alan Sharp
Jeremy Sisto plays a recently released criminal who learns from his dying friend of a map torn into four parts. If put back together, the map will lead to the location of $1 million taken during a robbery. But finding it might not be as easy as it seems. Samantha Mathis co-stars.
Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan from a teleplay by Peter Filardi
Tom Berenger plays a prize-winning author on a road trip heading north. After stopping at a yard sale to buy a painting, he later realizes the painting, which shows a car traveling along a road, is slowly changing and may be controlling his fate. Marsha Mason co-stars as Aunt Trudy.
Directed by Brian Henson from a teleplay by Richard Christian Matheson
After murdering the owner of a toy company, a killer for hire played by William Hurt receives a package of toy soldiers in the mail, but these soldiers aren’t just toying around.
Four of the adaptations that are being cast for “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” come from King’s 1993 anthology of the same name. “The Road Virus Heads North” comes from King’s 2002 anthology “Everything’s Eventual”, while “Battleground” comes from 1978’s “Nightshift.”
