Stephen King's "Under the Dome" optioned for TV series
Thanatos
Spielberg, King team on 'Dome'
Duo join forces to bring series to screen
By CYNTHIA LITTLETON
Steven Spielberg and Stephen King are joining forces to develop a
limited series based on King's just-released supernatural thriller
"Under the Dome." DreamWorks TV has optioned the book and is looking
to set it up as an event series, likely for cable.
DreamWorks principal Stacey Snider was key in bringing the project to
the company. Spielberg, King and Snider will exec produce along with
DreamWorks TV chiefs Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey.Book, which has
earned strong reviews as a return to form for the prolific author,
revolves around the drama that unfolds after an invisible force field
suddenly descends on a small vacation town in Maine. As the locals
fight for their survival, the town descends into warring factions led
by enigmatic characters.
DreamWorks is starting to meet with writers for the project. The plan
is to set a writer before shopping the skein to prospective buyers.
Spielberg and King have worked together in the past, developing a
screen adaptation of King's 1984 novel "The Talisman," on which
Spielberg has had the option for more than 20 years. That project has
been developed as a feature, and it came close to being done as a mini
for TNT a few years ago until it was tabled for budgetary reasons.
The "Dome" deal continues a burst of activity on the smallscreen side
for Spielberg and DreamWorks TV. Among the high-profile projects in
the works is a series about the development of a fictional Broadway
tuner for Showtime. Another Showtime contender is a costume-drama
revolving around the Borgia clan, penned by Neil Jordan and with
Robert Zemeckis also producing.
DreamWorks TV also produces the pay cabler's dramedy "United States of
Tara," for which star Toni Collette won the lead comedy actress Emmy
in September. "Tara" bows its sophomore season in March.