Tell most directors to take a long walk and they'll most likely tell you to get lost. Tell Frank Darabont to take a long walk and he'll tell you how he's wanted to for nearly 30 years.

"That is one of the stories that I have been keeping in my hip pocket. One of Steve [King's] weirdest and most provocative stories. I really love it, and I am going to make that in the next few years," Darabont said of "The Long Walk," a Stephen King classic originally published in 1979. "It is one that stays with you."

King's story takes place in a dystopian alternate America, where 100 random teenagers are chosen every year to walk from Maine down the East Coast. Each "contestant" has to keep up a constant speed of at least 4 miles per hour, and the last one standing wins. First prize? First prize is you get whatever you want. Second through Hundredth prize? Second through hundredth prize is you're dead.

A wicked concept, but one that's not inherently cinematic, says Darabont. Read more...