Sci-Fi "The Running Man" By Stephen King

ryanseanoreilly

ryanseanoreilly
I recently read "The Running Man" by Stephen King (under his Pen Name: Richard Bachman). It's a pretty good, gritty thriller set in a dystopian future. King's vision was pretty prescient back then, as the book centers around a reality-style game show (though in this reality the contestants are hunted down and killed). It makes you consider society breaking down and the manipulation of media by the powers that be. I'd recommend it, especially if (for some reason) you haven't check out King's non-horror stuff before. It's a very fast read.

Now, I read this book for my podcast (No Deodorant In Outer Space) and as a part of that I also watched the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from the 80's. While sticking with the corrupted reality-show theme, the movie also throws in a lot of 80's style cheese. It's enjoyable enough as a campy romp to look back at Arnold's hey-dey, but I didn't like it as much as when I was younger. A little over the top.

It might be interesting if someone made this into a movie now, but more like the book which lacks the arena-style gladiator face-offs, and pits the scrawny protagonist against the entire world. A much more interesting premises.

I wonder if present-day Arnold could pull off remaking this as it was originally written (and without any one-liners)? Makes me think about how Stallone gained all that weight to do that role in Copland.
 
I wonder if present-day Arnold could pull off remaking this as it was originally written (and without any one-liners)? Makes me think about how Stallone gained all that weight to do that role in Copland.
Honestly, I wouldn't want to see Arnold in a remake. I was around for the 80's action-hero movies that had the same actors over & over and I don't think those types of casting choices would work as well today. If there was to be a new Running Man movie I would prefer seeing an actor, or even actress, in the role that would not be considered a typical action-hero choice.
 
Very true. That's not how the book character was written (as Stephen King has mentioned in interviews). A more gritty and faithful adaptation would be refreshing. Arnold should just produce it!
 
In today's world, Arnold would probably do a cameo, or end up as one of the show's "heroes."
Given how much I enjoyed the remake of Total Recall, I'd be up for seeing a remake of this one too.

I've read some of King's "Bachmann" stories but not sure if I ever picked this up or not...
 
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