A GROUP OF STRANGERS BECOME RELUCTANT HEROES AS THEY ENCOUNTER AN UNSPEAKABLE HORROR RESIDING IN A SMALL, NEVADA DESERT TOWN, IN �STEPHEN KING�S DESPERATION,� A THREE-HOUR ORIGINAL MOVIE FROM THE MASTER OF HORROR, MAY 23 ON ABC

Tom Skerritt, Steven Weber, Annabeth Gish, Ron Perlman, Henry Thomas, Matt Frewer and Charles Durning Star

An unlikely band of people find themselves forced to be reluctant heroes as they battle an unspeakable horror in a small, Nevada desert town, in the three-hour original film, �Stephen King�s Desperation,� airing as the �ABC Premiere Event,� TUESDAY, MAY 23 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. The film is based on the novel by Stephen King -- America�s bestselling and award-winning master of horror.

The movie was filmed on location is Bisbee and Tucson, Arizona.

Tom Skerritt (�Picket Fences,� �Contact,� �Alien�), Steven Weber (�Wings,� �Stephen King�s The Shining�), Annabeth Gish (�The X-Files,� �Mystic Pizza�), Ron Perlman (�Hellboy,� TV�s �Beauty and the Beast�), Henry Thomas (�Gangs of New York,� �ET,�), Matt Frewer (�Dawn of the Dead,� �Stephen King�s The Stand,�) and Charles Durning (�Evening Shade,� �O Brother, Where Art Thou?,�) star.

In the middle of the vast, empty Nevada desert stands the once proud mining town of Desperation � a harmless, non-descript little community that one may briefly notice on a drive to some distant vacation destination. But something evil has taken over Desperation � its name is Tak -- and its mission is to eliminate anyone who gets close to stumbling upon its secret.

Posing as Desperation cop Collie Entragian (Perlman), Tak is able to catch his prey while surveying the nearly empty highway. Caught in his deceptive web are famous author Johnny Marinville (Skerritt), whose misdeeds from the past may come back to haunt him; Ralph (Frewer) & Ellie Carver (Sylva Kelegian) and their son, David (Shane Haboucha) � whose faith may hold the key to bringing down Tak; and Mary Jackson (Gish) who, with her husband, Peter (Thomas), will discover a courage they never knew they had while battling the beast. Meanwhile, Johnny�s aide, Steve Ames (Weber), and his traveling companion, Cynthia (Kelly Overton, �The Ring Two,� �All My Children�), find out for themselves the horror that has taken place in Desperation when they go in search of the famous author; and the town�s veterinarian, Tom Billingsley (Durning), knows first-hand the secrets of the town.

Everyone will soon discover that the unearthing of a long abandoned mine in Desperation awakened Tak, and his control over the desert�s animals and insects makes him even more invincible to these reluctant heroes as they battle to bring down the beast� and save themselves in the process.

�Stephen King�s Desperation� stars Tom Skerritt as Johnny Marinville, Steven Weber as Steve Ames, Annabeth Gish as Mary Jackson, Charles Durning as Tom Billingsley, Matt Frewer as Ralph Carver, Henry Thomas as Peter Jackson, Shane Haboucha as David Carver, Kelly Overton as Cynthia, Sylva Kelegian as Ellie Carver with Ron Perlman as Collie Entragian. Co-Starring are Sammi Hanratty as Pie Carver, Ewan Chung as Shih, Alain Uy as Cha�an, Trieu Tran as young Viet, Tom Parker as young Johnny, Darren Victoria as Brian Ross and Glenn Wilder as drunk driver.

�Stephen King�s Desperation� was executive-produced by Mark Sennet (�Martin and Lewis,� �Dr. Vegas,� �K Street�), Stephen King and Mick Garris (�Riding the Bullet,� �Stephen King�s The Shining,� �Stephen King�s The Stand�). Garris also served as director, and King wrote the teleplay. The film is from Sennet-Gernstein Entertainment in association with Touchstone Television.

This program carries a TV-14,L,V parental guideline.