Rob Lowe pleased to do King adaptation

LOS ANGELES, June 19 (UPI) -- Hollywood actor Rob Lowe says he feels honored to have starred in film adaptations of two Stephen King's novels.

Lowe starred in the popular TV miniseries "The Stand" a decade ago and plays a hero in the new two-part vampire tale, "Salem's Lot," premiering Sunday on cable's TNT.

"I think that these are the two best film adaptations of his books and I think these are two of the best books he wrote: 'The Stand,' 'Salem's Lot' and 'The Shining,'" Lowe said. "And 'The Shining' was already done, so I think I may have to retire while I'm still on top."

Asked why he thinks it was necessary to remake the 1979 TV version of "Salem's Lot," Lowe said: "Technology is definitely a big part ... If you go back and look at the original, it's cheesy, with 1970s effects. But more than that, for me, this is a book that is dark and unsettling and provocative, and dark and unsettling and provocative are not the watchwords that come to mind when you think of programming on television in 1979."