LOS ANGELES  —  NBC is hurrying development of a movie about the rescue of POW Jessica Lynch.

The network is meeting with potential writers and producers for a made-for-TV film intended to air early in the 2003-04 season, a network spokeswoman said Thursday.

Lynch, a 19-year-old Army private first class from Palestine, W. Va., was captured March 23 after her 507th Maintenance Company convoy was ambushed in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.

She was rescued from a hospital in the city April 1 by U.S. commandos.

NBC is attempting to get official rights to her story but is willing to proceed with a script based on news reports and other public information, Daily Variety said Thursday.

CBS reportedly is considering pitches for a Lynch TV movie but has yet to decide whether to proceed.