Bill Macy will star in a TNT Stephen King adaptation.

TNT Offers More Stephen King Adaptations

Turner Network Television (TNT) offers audiences Stephen King’s Nightmares & 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 (Fargo, TNT’s Door to Door and The Wool Cap) and Jacqueline McKenzie (The 4400, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), who star in Umney’s Last Case; Emmy winner Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue, CSI: Miami) and Steven Weber (The Shining, Wings), who star in You Know They Got a Hell of a Band; Samantha Mathis (TNT’s The Mists of Avalon and Salem’s Lot) and Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under, TNT’s Julius Caesar), who headline The Fifth Quarter; Golden Globe nominee Ron Livingston (Band of Brothers, The Cooler) and Golden Globe nominee Henry Thomas (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Legends of the Fall), who star in The End of the Whole Mess; Oscar nominee Tom Berenger (Platoon, TNT’s Into the West) and Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl, Frasier), who star in The Road Virus Heads North; and Oscarâ winner William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Village), who headlines Battleground.

Nightmares & Dreamscapes comes to TNT from Bill Haber’s Ostar Enterprises, with Haber (The Uprising, Jack and the Bean Stalk: The Real Story, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) 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:

Umney’s Last Case

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.

You Know They Got a Hell of a Band

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.

The End of the Whole Mess

Directed by Mikael Salomon (TNT’s Salem’s Lot) from a teleplay by Lawrence D. Cohen (Carrie, Stephen King’s It) 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.

The Fifth Quarter

Directed by Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire, Elektra) from a teleplay by Alan Sharp (Rob Roy, Reversible Errors) 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.

The Road Virus Heads North

Directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (TNT’s Into The West, Invasion, Taken) from a teleplay by Peter Filardi (Salem’s Lot, Flatliners) 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.

Battleground

Directed by Brian Henson (Farscape, Muppet Treasure Island) from a teleplay by Richard Christian Matheson (Mobius, It Waits) 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 & 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.

William H. Macy starred in and co-wrote the Emmyâ-winning TNT Original film Door to Door, earning awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Television Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Television Movie (with Steven Schachter). The two paired up again for TNT’s The Wool Cap, with Macy earning another Emmy nomination. Macy’s additional television credits include Emmyâ-nominated performances on ER and on Aaron Sorkin’s Sports Night. Additional television credits include Reversible Errors, A Murderous Affair, Heart of Justice, Standoff at Marion, The Writing on the Wall, The Water Engine, Texan and the miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan, The Awakening Land and TNT’s Andersonville. He received another Emmy nomination for his work in TNT’s A Slight Case of Murder, which he also co-wrote. Macy’s long list of film credits includes an Oscarâ-nominated turn in Fargo and a Golden Globe-nominated performance in Seabiscuit. He also starred in Sahara, The Cooler, Spartan, Magnolia, Pleasantville, Happy Texas, State and Main, Jurassic Park 3, Focus, Boogie Nights, Wag the Dog, Air Force One, Ghosts of Mississippi, Mr. Holland’s Opus, The Client, Shadows and Fog, Murder in the First, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Radio Days and Panic. Macy originated roles for several of David Mamet’s original theater productions, including American Buffalo and The Water Engine, soon establishing his feature-film presence with writer/director Mamet. He continued with Mamet in Oleanna, Homicide, Things Change, House of Games and Wag the Dog. His other theater credits include Baby with the Bathwater, The Dining Room (later filmed for PBS’ Great Performances), Life During Wartime, Mr. Gogol and Mr. Preen and Bodies, Rest and Motion.

Jacqueline McKenzie is probably best known to viewers for her role in the cable series The 4400. The Australian-born actress’ other credits include Romper Stomper, Deep Blue Sea, Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang), When Billie Beat Bobby and Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.

Kim Delaney starred for six years on NYPD Blue as Det. Diane Russell, a role that earned her three Emmy nominations, with an Emmy coming her way in 1997. Her other series credits include Tour of Duty, Philly and CSI: Miami. Delaney has also starred in such television movies as Love and Treason, The Devil’s Child and Closer and Closer. Her feature credits include Mission to Mars, Body Parts and That Was Then…This Is Now.

Steven Weber became acquainted with Stephen King material when he starred in the television miniseries The Shining. His long list of credits includes the hit comedy series Wings and the drama series The D.A. On the big screen, he has starred in such films as Leaving Las Vegas, Jeffrey and Timecode. He was most recently featured in the musical television film Reefer Madness and is currently working on an adaptation of Stephen King’s Desperation.

Samantha Mathis co-starred last year with Rob Lowe in TNT’s highly rated adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. She also starred in TNT’s epic The Mists of Avalon. Mathis’ film credits include The Punisher, Fathers and Sons, Attraction, The Simian Line, American Psycho, Broken Arrow, The American President, How to Make an American Quilt, Jack and Sarah, Little Women, Pump Up the Volume, This is My Life, The Thing Called Love and The Music of Chance. Her television credits include the series First Years and the telefilm Collected Stories.

Jeremy Sisto, who in 2003 starred in TNT’s epic miniseries Caesar, landed his first feature film role at the age of 16 in Grand Canyon. He went on to appear in the films May, The Crew, Hideaway, Clueless, Moonlight and Valentino, Ridley Scott’s White Squall, Suicide Kings, Without Limits and Angel Eyes. For five seasons, Sisto played Billy Chenowith in the HBO series Six Feet Under. His other television credits include the miniseries Jesus and The ‘60s, as well as the telefilms The Shaggy Dog and Solomon’s Choice.

Ron Livingston earned a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the epic miniseries Band of Brothers. Additional credits include the series Sex and the City and The Practice, as well as roles in the movies Adaptation, Office Space, Swingers, The Cooler and Little Black Book.

Henry Thomas is best known to movie lovers as young Elliott in the blockbuster movie E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. His other big-screen credits include Raggedy Man, Misunderstood, Cloak & Dagger, Valmont, Legends of the Fall, Suicide Kings, All the Pretty Horses and Gangs of New York. On television, Thomas has starred in TNT’s Riders of the Purple Sage and earned another Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Indictment: The McMartin Trial. Thomas is currently filming an adaptation of Stephen King’s Desperation.

Tom Berenger was most recently seen in TNT’s epic television event Into the West. His long list of credits includes Platoon, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor; The Big Chill; Gettysburg; Someone to Watch Over Me; Born on the Fourth of July; Shattered; The Gingerbread Man; and Sniper. Berenger’s interest in producing led him to executive-produce and star in The Occasional Hell and the television series Peacemakers and Rough Riders.

Marsha Mason has earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her performances in Cinderella Liberty, The Goodbye Girl and Chapter Two, winning Golden Globes for the first two. She earned an additional Oscar nomination for Only When I Laugh, an additional Golden Globe nomination for Promises in the Dark and an Emmy nomination for Frasier. Her other credits include Blume in Love, Audrey Rose, The Cheap Detective, Max Dugan Returns, Heartbreak Ridge, Stella, Nick of Time and Bride and Prejudice. Her television credits include the TNT Originals Dinner at Eight and Broken Trust, as well as Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows and Trapped in Silence.

William Hurt earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Children of a Lesser God, Broadcast News and Kiss of the Spider Woman, winning the Academy Awardâ for the latter. His extensive big-screen credits include Altered States, Body Heat, The Big Chill, Gorky Park, The Accidental Tourist, Alice, The Doctor, Michael, Dark City, Lost in Space, One True Thing, Artificial Intelligence: AI, Changing Lanes and The Village. This winter he stars in Syriana.