Re: Trailer: THE RUNNING MAN

On Jul 2, 2025 at 1:30:54 AM PDT, "Ubiquitous" <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

In article <10419hd$2vhrb$1@dont-email.me>, atropos@mac.com wrote:
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD18ddeFuyM
 
Looks like a lot more accurate adaptation of the book than that
Schwarzenegger abomination was.

 
Hey, I liked that version!
 
I never read the books, nor care to, but in the original version, wasn't
RUNNING MAN some kind of competetive realty show, not a public criminal
execution?

The Schwarzenegger adaptation of RUNNING MAN was both horribly cartoonish, and
absolutely nothing like King's story. Beyond the superficial similarity of
them both being televised 'reality' games that are fought to the death, the
two stories are very different.

The RUNNING MAN is set in a dystopian version of the United States in the year
2025, which I'm sure seemed way off in the distant future in 1982 when the
novella was published.

The protagonist, Ben Richards, is a citizen of Co-Op City, a suburb of the
fictional city of Harding, which is located somewhere in the country west of
Detroit. The world's economy is in shambles and America has become a
totalitarian dystopia. Richards is unable to find work, having been
blacklisted from his trade, and he needs money to get medicine for his gravely
ill daughter. His wife has resorted to prostitution to bring in money for the
family. In desperation, Richards turns to the Games Network, a
government-operated television network that runs violent game shows. After
rigorous physical and mental testing, Richards is selected to appear on The
Running Man, the Network's most popular, lucrative, and dangerous show.

The rules of the game:

The contestant is declared an enemy of the state and released with a 12-hour
head start before the Hunters, an elite team of Network-employed hitmen, are
sent out to kill him. The contestant earns $100 per hour that he stays alive
and avoids capture, an additional $100 for each law enforcement officer or
Hunter he kills, and one billion dollars if he survives for 30 days. Viewers
can receive cash rewards for informing the Network of the runner's
whereabouts, so basically the entire world is his enemy. The runner is given
$4,800 and a pocket video camera before he leaves the studio. He can travel
anywhere in the world, and each day he must videotape two messages and mail
them back to the studio for broadcasting. If he neglects to send the videos,
he will be held in default of his Games contract and will lose the prize
money, but will continue to be hunted indefinitely.

When the story starts, the record time for survival is eight days and five
hours-- a mark that Richards eventually surpasses by a wide margin, to the
dismay of the Network which can't allow anyone to actually win this game.