Plans are under way in Hollywood for a TV miniseries version of the Bible story of Moses and the Ten Commandments, The Hollywood Reporter said Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT

The paper said ABC is working with Hallmark Entertainment and Emmy-winning producer Robert Halmi Sr. on "The Ten Commandments," planned as a four-hour miniseries with a budget of $20 million.

Halmi -- who won an Emmy as producer of the 1996 miniseries "Gulliver's Travels" -- said "The Ten Commandments" miniseries will not be a remake of the 1956 movie epic that starred Charlton Heston as Moses. Instead, according to The Reporter, Halmi said the project would be based on biblical and historical research for a "realistic, truthful presentation" of the story of Moses and the Jewish people's exodus from Egypt.

Producers have signed Robert Dornhelm to direct from a teleplay by Ron Hutchinson. Dornhelm's credits include the miniseries "Spartacus" and the TV movie "Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story." Ron Hutchinson's writing credits include the USA Network miniseries "Traffic" and the TV movie "The Tuskegee Airmen."