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Runner: I'm Not Sure Disney Knows What "Original" Means

By Steven Lloyd Wilson | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (15)

sfs-viruses-12-monkeys.jpg

Tell me if you’ve seen this movie before: post-apocalyptic future, the few survivors invent time travel, send a guy back, but instead of saving the world he gives up and tries to save a girl. Twelve Monkeys was awesome. This is not Twelve Monkeys though, this is a flick called The Runner to which Disney just acquired the rights. And by acquired, I mean that they are already rolling out plans for a simultaneous release of video game, television series, mobile content, and graphic novels in addition to the film.

With all of those ambitious plans for additional content, one would assume that there’s one hell of a script shoring up the foundation right? That even though the general outline sounds like Twelve Monkeys, there’s got to be some fantastic details embedded in the story to be worth spinning out into seventeen different media platforms, right? Heh. Of course not. That would require there to be a script. There are no details, because all that exists is a pitch.

But, okay, the guy that came up with the pitch must have some serious credentials, right? They didn’t just cut a check for some guy off the street with a three line story idea he read off the back of his last Netflix rental, right?

They might have done better plucking someone off the streets. The writer in question is Dave Andron, whose primary claim to fame is writing all 18 episodes of the 2008 reboot of “Knight Rider.”

Every aspect of this story illustrates different ways in which the film industry is broken. But hey, at least the mouse gets fed.

(source: Deadline)









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Comments

Damn right, "12 Monkeys" is awesome.

Posted by: , at March 9, 2011 10:17 AM

This sounds like a feel-good story like Forrest Gump where a hapless yokel, Andron in this case, achieves fantastically great things just by dumb luck and being earnest.

Posted by: sars at March 9, 2011 10:20 AM

Which incarnation of Disney is doing this? The atrocious "family film" Disney, the epic tale (see Pirates/Carribean) Disney or the Pixar Disney? If it's the family film division then I'm not worried. It will just be some crapfest that I won't want to see anyway. (Though I don't know how post-apocalyptic would work in a kid's flick.)

If it's the epic division then they'll try to make it look fantastic but it will probably suck.

If Pixar does it then it will be an amazing hit but will be constantly accused (rightly so by this synopsis)of ripping off 12 Monkeys regardless.

Posted by: Paultera at March 9, 2011 10:22 AM

I remember when I saw 12 Monkeys it was in a small yet crowded theater, and when the last few notes from that violin stretched out and the lights came up, no one in the theater moved or made a sound.

Posted by: twig at March 9, 2011 10:44 AM

"Though I don't know how post-apocalyptic would work in a kid's flick."

WALL-E? Well, that was Pixar, though. Maybe they can get some of the Pixar writers to oversee it? Would that even stand a chance?

Posted by: Markus at March 9, 2011 10:46 AM

This reminds me of the glory days when the gorgeous Madeleine Stowe was still making (non-TV) movies. What the hell went wrong?

Posted by: sars at March 9, 2011 10:52 AM

Ah, 12 Monkeys, the first time my impressionable, young mind ever considered that a happy ending would have sucked compared to the pre-deteremined tragedy Gilliam gave us. Also, that time travel may be less exciting or dangerous than yet another exercise in human futility. I've never been the same since.

Something tells me, not one of Disney's mediums for this story will achieve anything remotely that consequential.

And, Paultera, in all fairness, Brad Bird did kinda rip off Alan Moore. But there's always room for both. And Jell-O.

Posted by: RobP at March 9, 2011 11:03 AM

This reminds me of the glory days when the gorgeous Madeleine Stowe was still making (non-TV) movies. What the hell went wrong?

Posted by: sars at March 9, 2011 10:52 AM

She reached 40.
Hollywood frowns upon its lady-folk ageing.

Posted by: Simon at March 9, 2011 11:04 AM

She reached 40.
Hollywood frowns upon its lady-folk ageing.

Eye-stabbingly sad but true.

Posted by: sars at March 9, 2011 11:14 AM

RobP- Oh, I agree. My point was that every Pixar movie has been shown to have at least strong similarities to something already done, even though they do it well.

Posted by: Paultera at March 9, 2011 11:34 AM

Wait, so no one is going to mention La Jetée? Fine, see if I care.

Posted by: pissant at March 9, 2011 4:29 PM

isn't that the same plot as 'source code' - minus the apocalyptic future?

Posted by: grizzloch at March 9, 2011 6:03 PM

Right, Paultera, there's nothing wrong with a good story well-told, even if it's not wholly original or unique. I think it was Dan who reviewed True Grit here, and I disagreed with his final sentiment almost entirely because of that idea. But, in the case of The Incredibles (as much as I love that movie), I'm always taken out of the movie when they talk about the super heroes being illegal. And then Smallville did it this season, too, and I just gave up caring.

@pissant, maybe no one mentioned the original because it's boring?

Posted by: RobP at March 9, 2011 6:07 PM

12 Monkeys didn't really make any sense, but god dammit was it awesome.

Posted by: camytaru at March 9, 2011 7:44 PM

RobP
The shit you say. I've always found it entertaing, and the end rules. Plus, even if you find it boring, it's only thirty minutes.

Posted by: pissant at March 9, 2011 9:01 PM