The Running Man deserves a quality adaptation.

Yes, we all love Der Governator and his brand of humorous, over-the-top action, killing and post-mortem one-liners, but The Running Man is NOTHING like the original Stephen King/ Richard Bachman novel that was so great... so great, in fact, that I wrote my own screenplay adaptation. If anyone's curious, they could read it.

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I'm going to move this to the General Movie Discussion forum... but am keeping an eye on it and I really really hope you're not just fishing for some input on your screenplay...

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No. Trying to raise interest in the original source material. Although, I did my screenplay more for personal boredom than anything else, since anyone that has read the original novel knows that there are not many that would risk a loyal film adaptation in today's world.

You know, The Running Man always seemed like a great idea, but the poorest execution. I'd be all up for a remake.

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Loved the book and I heard the movie was garbage. So yeah a re-adaption would be great. It's not like it's lacking action or anything. I think it would be great Hollywood stuff.

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I loved TRM, the prob is: that many others did not. SO- IOW's: get over it and move on. Jst sayn..

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“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

I think the Arnold version was quite good. Subject to many of the cliches of the 80s but character-wise, some of the better work that involved him.

Im watching it right now on Encore1.

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I think any remakes, unless they do it Cruise / Gibson / Pitt / Clive Owen style - will fall into the "Death Race" remake model - CGI explosions over the same fairly stock characters (but even emptier characters like in video game adaptations now).

You have to either make it epic and really go into the political stuff and character work - or else leave Schwarzenegger's version as a very good and definitive strictly action approach.

How could you make better stalkers than these?


Fireball


Captain Freedom


Dynamo


Buzzsaw


Subzero

I'll tell you what deserves a quality adaptation is The Running Man Dance.

Well, the novel is actually a dark, frightening view of a future that does not seem too far off. In this future, pollution is high, many people live in poverty or wealth, barely any middle class, etc. Pollution hit a high, and the Government shut off smokestacks and other industries for a while, before realizing that it was more cost-effective to simply stop giving pollution reports and keep the pollution flowing. Rich people get 'nose filters', and the poor get the 'Free-Vee', which is used to basically pacify people and let them choke to death at home instead of out protesting something.

Ben Richards is an average, 28-year old man that married young, worked as a Radiation shield technician for crap pay, quit when he realized he could go sterile, and then miraculously conceived a daughter, even then. He volunteers for 'the games' after his daughter gets the flu. The Running Man has no flashy stalkers or cordoined 'game zone'. It is worldwide. Citizens get rewards for turning him in, and he is given a camera and has to make tapes of himself to keep the money flowing into his Games account.

I don't want to give too much away, but it is a dark novel, brilliant in many ways, and would make an excellent film with the proper cast, director, and execution, but some events in the novel may be too touchy for today's movie-going crowd.

Pick it up at your local bookstore. It's a quick read, because King/Bachman wrote it in three days, and it also comes as one of the four 'Bachman Books', you might find together in one hardcover in the right store.

Wow the movie was nothing like that. Maybe your right. The book sounds like it has more of a Blade Runner type of feel to it?

It was written in 1982. Right around the time Blade Runner actually came out, I suppose. It really would make a great film in the right hands, and if I had to pick somebody to play the Ben Richards of the novel..... ten years ago I would have said Edward Norton. Now, I have no idea.

Good choice on the Edward Norton thing.

love the movie, and some great one liners there from arnie, a great ride and lovely characters

I feel like that about The Time Machine. I'd love to see a really faithful adaptation of the story. It's much more interesting than what we've been shown to date.

I hear they're adapting Stephen King's grocery lists these days. Seriously though, we don't need to ask for remakes. They will come.

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the running man remake would not work without arnie, the cheesiness of the 80s, and harold faltemeyer s score...so guess leave if as if is

I could go for the proper novel adaptation outlined since it would actually be a more grounded cat-and-mouse game instead of the neon-soaked battle royale of the Arnold version. The only issue I can see is that it would probably seem a little too much like Total Recall.

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