Steven Spielberg Teams with Stephen King for Under the Dome

/Film: “We mentioned last week that Stephen King mentioned that his new book, Under The Dome, might end up as an HBO miniseries. Well, Variety now has word that Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks TV have optioned the book and are looking to set it up as a mini series, likely for cable. Spielberg will executive produce. The story is set in a small vacation town in Maine which becomes covered by an invisible force field which causes the residents to fight for survival, in two warring factions.

Here is the official plot description from the book:

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener’s hand is severed as “the dome” comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when — or if — it will go away. Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens — town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician’s assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing — even murder — to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn’t just short. It’s running out.

The front of the book features an elaborate town map and list of characters, even including “Dogs of Note”. USA Today called the book “Propulsively intriguing… Staggeringly addictive”, and The New York Times said it was “Tight and energetic from start to finish… Hard as this thing is to hoist, it’s even harder to put down.” And author Neil Gaiman called it one of his “favourite books of the year so far.” The 1088-page book was released on November 10th, and is available on Amazon for $14.50.

Dreamworks is on the search for writers, and will probably begin shopping the project to prospective buyers after the creative details are nailed down.

Spielberg has been trying to be involved in a King production for years. Steven purchased the rights to King’s book The Talisman shortly after the book was published in 1984. The project went through many incarnations, but never went into production. Most recently, Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy announced plans to produce a six-part mini-series based on the book for TNT. The project fell back into development hell due to budgetary concerns.”

Alien tee

Fantastic!

“Ruby Red Design’s “Who’s the Daddy?” Alien maternity t-shirt features a sonogram image of an embryonic H.R. Giger creature growing inside your body.”

Awkward Microsoft Store Dances Are Why I Shop Online

Gizmodo: “These staffers at the Microsoft Store in Mission Viejo, CA might seem really excited, but the clearly rehearsed dance routine comes across more like some kind of Stockholm syndrome.”

Xbox Dashboard Update Brings Last.fm, Facebook, Twitter, and Zune Video to Your TV

Lifehacker:

“The annual fall update for the Xbox 360 dashboard is here, bringing with it support for Last.fm radio, Facebook and Twitter integration, and HD streaming through Zune’s online marketplace.

To grab the update, just fire up your Xbox and sign into Xbox Live. You should be prompted to apply the update, after which you’ll have access to all the new features. The Last.fm addition is probably the most exciting update for most of our readers, but the Facebook and Twitter integration looks pretty solid (and let’s face it, Twitter and Facebook are both determined to find a home on every single electronic device you own). The Zune marketplace integration seems like a decent option for instant-streaming HD video rentals, though the selection doesn’t look that impressive at the moment (we still prefer the Netflix integration). Still, if you’ve got a 360, it’s certainly a worthwhile update.”

Xbox.com 2009 Fall Update [Xbox via Gizmodo]

Netflix May Delay New Release Movies by a Full Month

Lifehacker:

“Netflix has become the savior of home entertainment for many, but recently Netflix has been in talks with major studios about delaying new release movies by a month or more. Why? The major studios are willing to drop the price of the DVDs it sells to Netflix with the understanding that all new release movies wouldn’t be accessible to its customers for up to a full month after release date—presumably in hopes that more people would buy their stupid DVDs. It would cut Netflix’s costs by almost half, but there’s no word yet on if that savings would be passed on to its loyal customers.

So we’re wondering: Would you cancel your subscription if this was the direction your trusty red envelope movie service went? Let’s here it in the comments. Photo by jc.westbrook.”

Retailer Asking For Hefty Discounts [Video Business via Consumerist]

Kick-Ass Teaser Trailer

The footage shown at comic-con was awesome…

“Say Tweet Again” T-Shirt

LOL….

/Film:

“This awesome parody of that famous scene involving Samuel L Jackson from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction takes on society and the media’s obsession with the popular microblogging website Twitter. Available from headline shirts for $24, sized small to XXXL.”

Motorcycle Club Colors and Patches

Neatorama:

“Arnie has a collection of around 350 patches and colors signifying motorcycle clubs from all over. Browse through and you might recognize your local club! Or just take a look at the many different designs. Link -via Gorilla Mask”

Out-Of-The-Box Windows 7 Install Is Vulnerable To 8 out of 10 Viruses

Gizmodo:

“The folks at SophosLabs didn’t believe claims that Windows 7 and its User Account Controls were any more secure than previous versions of the OS, so they tested a clean install. Result? A reminder that you should always use protection.

The way the test was conducted is that ten viruses were introduced into a clean install of Windows 7 with the UAC settings on system defaults. While only one virus was blocked, two technically did not function properly for whatever reason. Still, this doesn’t leave much hope for those who decide to skip automatic patching, firewalls and anti-virus applications. Let’s do the whole “Safer Computing” thing, shall we?” [Sophos]

Video Of ‘Endless Racing’ On iPhone

This is freakin cool…