'Salem's Lot
King and George A. Romero's first conversations with each other were about the development of an adaptation of "'Salem's Lot" (1975) in the late 1970s; although Romero wouldn't be involved in any adaptation of that novel, he did express interest in adapting "The Stand" during these discussions. While King initially didn't think of the novel being worthy of a film version, Romero's reason was the amount of traveling he could do, as the novel takes place in several locations; and the story's relevance to social issues.