Cynthia Garris as Lorraine Massey (Woman in Room 217) Lisa Thornhill as Rita Hayworth Look-alike Miguel Ferrer as Mark James Torrance Michael O'Neill as Doctor Daniel Edwards Jan Van Sickle as Al Shockley Several of Garris' colleagues who work in the horror genre cameo in the miniseries' ballroom scene, such as David J. Schow, Christa Faust, P. G. Sturges, Richard Christian Matheson, and Frank Darabont. Stephen King appears as Gage Creed, the orchestra conductor, and Shawnee Smith cameos as a waitress. Sam Raimi also briefly appears as a gas station attendant. Production Development The creation of this miniseries is attributed to Stephen King's dissatisfaction with director Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film of the same name. In order to receive Kubrick's approval to re-adapt The Shining into a program closer to the original story, King had to agree in writing to eschew his frequent public criticism of Kubrick's film, save for the sole commentary that he was disappointed with Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance as though he had been insane before his arrival at the Overlook Hotel. ABC's success with previous miniseries adaptations of King's work made them more than willing to offer the author to work on the screenplay for The Shining miniseries with small Broadcast Standards and Practices enforced. The casting team had a very difficult time finding an actor for the role of Jack Torrance as most of the considerations who rejected the role worried about being compared to Nicholson's performance in the Kubrick version. Two of the many actors considered included Tim Daly (who had starred with Weber on the TV series Wings) and Gary Sinise. King got very impatient, threatening to "wait another 18 years" if the role for Jack Torrance wasn't booked. Finally, via a suggestion from Rebecca De Mornay, Weber was chosen for the role four days before filming began. Weber accepted the offer because he was a fan of the Mick Garris-directed miniseries for The Stand and found the script he read to be "multi-layered" and relatable. King was the one who chose De Mornay for the role of Wendy. The producers approached her in 1994, and she accepted the role, enjoying the script for being "creepier, more disturbing, and more entertaining," and closer to the novel than the Kubrick version. Filming Aside from the motive behind the creation of the miniseries, the 1997 rendition featured an important set piece that helped to