WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? The second Stephen King prison novel adaptation from Frank Darabont, the director of The Shawshank Rdepemtion. Features incredible cast and crew, and earned the highest test screening ratings in Warner Brothers Studio history. Likely Oscar contender.

THE CAST

TOM HANKS: Oh, you all know who Tom Hanks is. (Saving Private Ryan, Forest Gump, Philadelphia, You've Got Mail, etc.) In what is likely to be another Oscar-nominated role, Tom plays Paul Edgecomb, a veteran guard at a death-row penitentiary in the 1930s.

MICHAEL DUNCAN: The big black guy from Armageddon. Michael also played a bouncer in Bulworth, a bouncer in The Players Club, and a bouncer in A Night at the Roxbury. The Green Mile marks his first serious dramatic role; he plays death row inmate John Coffey.

MICHAEL JETER: Broadway actor and Tony-winner turned film star, Michael has appeared in such films as Miller's Crossing and Jacob the Liar and remains best known for his role on the TV series Evening Shade. He plays mouse-friendly convict Eduard Delacroix.

DOUG HUTCHISON: Talented guest star of numerous Morgan and Wong TV shows, including X-Files, Millennium, and Space: Above and Beyond. His film roles include A Time to Kill and Batman and Robin. Here Doug plays sadistic security officer Percy Wetmore.

THE CREW

FRANK DARABONT: Loyal King devotee and Oscar-nominated director, Frank started off in such genre films as A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob remake, and The Fly II. He is best known for The Shawshank Redemption, a moving adaptation of the Stephen King novella which earned him a Best Screenplay nomination at both the Oscars and Golden Globes. Frank directed and wrote The Green Mile screenplay with Stephen King.

OTHER

The Green Mile is a Castle Rock production distributed by Warner Brothers Studio.

THE PREMISE: Faithful adaptation of the wonderful 1997 Stephen King six-part serial novel. Prison guard Paul Edgecomb is startled when his new prisoner -- a black eight-foot death-row inmate named John Coffey -- shows miraculous healing powers. Paul and the other guards and inmates find themselves caught in a moral quandary as the question of Coffey's guilt, and his seemingly supernatural abilities, is raised.

GOSSIP and USELESS FACTS:

• It's going to be big. Moved to December 10th as frightened competition scurried to the 25th (Galaxy Quest) and to February (Scream 3).