NEW YORK -- Horror author Stephen King not only approved of Frank Darabont's film adaptation of his 1980 short story The Mist, opening in theatres today, but he almost appeared in it.

"What I really regret is Frank asked if I would act in The Mist, and for one reason or another I wasn't able to do it -- damn, I kick myself," said King, 60, who has frequently appeared in the film and TV versions of his work.

Darabont, a frequent collaborator with King, said he wanted the writer for a small role as a biker, one of a group of Maine townsfolk trapped inside a supermarket battling otherworldly monsters outside, and the uglier human sides of themselves inside, following a violent storm and its mysterious mist.

The movie isn't your typical horror/sci-fi flick, in that it also has plenty of things to say about the military and religious fundamentalism -- the latter in the town's religious fanatic Mrs. Carmody (played by Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden).

King said he'll leave discussions about those now-timely issues up to the viewer.

"Is The Mist a political story? Is The Mist a story that has to do with the dangers of fundamentalist religion? Is The Mist a story about red versus blue? I'm not going to answer any of those questions," he said. "You go see the movie. And those questions will come up, and maybe you'll discuss them. If it serves as a springboard, that's great."

Darabont, of course, previously adapted for the big screen King's The Shawshank Redemption -- a beloved movie on almost everyone's favourite-film list -- as well as The Green Mile. Both received best-picture Oscar nominations. Darabont also made a short film based on King's The Woman In The Room.

So why do Darabont adaptations work out so well, what with some less-than-stellar adaptations of King's work? "Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's Children of the Corn," the author said with a shrug.

"The thing about Frank that I've always liked is that he still has a child's imagination coupled with an adult's ability to see the core of the material, and then execute his vision," King said. "I feel very comfortable that I'm going to get something from Frank that's going to be usually extraordinary. I'm hoping Frank and I can work together at least four more times."

For the record, Darabont next would like to tackle King's The Long Walk, written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, if given the chance.

King, who has only directed one film version of his books, Maximum Overdrive, said he didn't know if he'd do it again.

"I never say never. I think it would be great sometime to direct a movie where I wasn't coked and drunk out of my mind and see what came out," he said only half-jokingly of his former substance-abuse problems.

King, who has published more than 40 books, said The Mist came to him during a period when he was blocked as a writer.

"I was kind of stuck. And I happened to be in the local market one time, and a lot of people were shopping and I looked at the front windows and I thought, 'If something bad happened, those windows would all blow in,' 'cause that's the way I think. It's not necessarily a good thing but it's been a profitable thing over the years."


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