produced for more than a decade, as a television film under the same name. Darabont was approached by Chuck Russell (who was a producer on Hell Night and The Seduction) with an offer to become his writing partner, as he had become interested in Darabont's writing after reading his spec script written for the television series M*A*S*H. The two began working on a script for a remake of the film The Blob, which they had planned to shop around to studios. That was interrupted when they were both hired to rewrite the script of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, with Russell directing the film. The two were given only two weeks to rewrite the script and accomplished it in ten days. The success of their A Nightmare on Elm Street film allowed them to produce the first script they had originally written, The Blob. By then considered a successful writer for hire, Darabont was commissioned to write The Fly II, an early draft of The Rocketeer, and an unproduced sequel to Commando. Darabont made his directorial debut with Buried Alive, a television movie with a $2,000,000 budget that aired on the USA Network in 1990. He followed this with an extended run as writer for George Lucas's television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He also wrote two episodes of the television series Tales from the Crypt. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Darabont made good on the deal with Stephen King by writing and directing the film adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption. Rob Reiner, who had previously adapted another King novella, The Body, as the movie Stand by Me offered Darabont $2.5 million in an attempt to write and direct Shawshank. He planned to cast Tom Cruise in the part of Andy and Harrison Ford as Red. Darabont seriously considered and liked Reiner's vision, but he ultimately decided it was his "chance to do something really great" by directing the film himself. Although the film did not fare well at the box office, it was met with acclaim by audiences and critics. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Darabont. The film attracted additional viewers after its Academy Award nominations, and became the most rented film of 1995. Today it is considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made. The Green Mile (1999) Darabont's next