Imprisoned by a madman, only a monster can set him free.

For years I’ve been receiving a steady stream of inquiries from producers about rights to my popular 2003 Salon piece “The Dictator Who Snagged Me.” It’s about the incredible real-life story of Three Ninjas director Shin Sang-Ok (or Simon Sheen). Sheen and his movie star wife escaped from North Korea in 1986 with an amazing, against-the-odds story of surviving Kim Jong-Il and his mad dream of becoming the George Lucas of Pyongyang.

I’ve just written a screenplay with co-writer Patrick Runkle, based on this black comedy. It’s a little like The Last King of Scotland, only it’s true:

In 1978, Simon Sheen is a divorced, down-on-his-luck movie legend–the Orson Welles of South Korea–who searches for his ex-wife, Theresa, only to be lured into a kidnapping scheme orchestrated by Kim Jong-Il (Team America). Kim, famously obsessed with Friday the 13th, is next in line for his father’s job as cruel dictator of North Korea, but has visions of becoming the studio boss of a North Korean Hollywood. All he needs is the talent.

So Kim has Sheen shipped to the North and sentenced to a brutal prison camp until he agrees, years into his punishment, not to escape. Reunited, the couple rekindles lost love and plans a daring escape. They’ll earn Kim’s trust by agreeing to shoot the blockbusters dreamed up by Kim, including a loony Godzilla rip-off about a giant creature that stomps on capitalists. And they’ll get further into Kim’s world of cognac, women and power than almost anyone else to have fled the world’s most dangerous dictator.

Anyhow, it’s being read at various places. If you’ve landed on this page and are interested, drop me a line. (I own the rights to the Salon piece.)