QUAD CITIES -- A remake of the 1983 horror movie "Children of the Corn" will invade the Quad Cities next month.

Shooting will take place most of September for the movie, based on a Stephen King novella, that will debut on cable television's Sci-Fi Channel next year in the United States and be distributed in theaters around Europe.

Area children will be interviewed today through Monday for speaking roles, featured roles and as background extras.

The remake is being written, directed and produced by Donald Borchers, a producer on the original movie, which was filmed in the Sioux City area and spawned numerous sequels.

Borchers said he chose the Quad Cities after receiving a recommendation from Tom Wheeler, manager of the Iowa Film Office in the state Department of Economic Development.

"I went to him and asked him if there was any part of Iowa that was active in filmmaking, and he highly recommended that we go to Davenport," Borchers said Monday afternoon.

Shooting is scheduled to take place Sept. 3-30 throughout the area, said Doug Miller of Bettendorf, the film's location manager.

"We are still scouting throughout the Quad Cities and the countryside beyond, obviously, since it's 'Children of the Corn,'" he said.

"My needs are quite simple. I need corn," Borchers said. "And I understand you have that throughout the state."

Borchers said "Children of the Corn" was one of the few adaptations of King's material that the prolific author himself publicly criticized. The script was rewritten from King's original work to give it a happy ending and add two of what Borchers called "Disney-esque characters," named Jacob and Sarah, as narrators.

"They put a lot of sugar, if you will, into the coffee," he said. "Stephen King doesn't take his coffee with sugar."

The success of movies such as "Saw" and "The Blair Witch Project" showed "it's no longer requisite to have a happy ending," he added. "We wanted to stay faithful to the decisions in his original story."

The first movie starred Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. Borchers said he has not cast the lead roles yet, but "I have a lot of interest of people wanting to be in it."

The budget for the production is estimated at $2 million.

Ron Summers of the Quad City Development Group said movie productions add to the economy and exposure of the area.

"It's always great because it brings several millions of dollars into the Quad City economy in terms of hotels, foods and restaurants," he said. "It gives the Quad Cities exposure on a national, sometimes international, stage. All in all, it's a good deal whenever we have movies come to the Quad Cities."