Edgar Wright recalls “nerve-wracking” moment he delivered ‘The Running Man’ script to Stephen King
In an exclusive interview with Far Out, Edgar Wright has discussed the “nerve-wracking” moment when Stephen King read his script for The Running Man.
Wright’s new action film, starring Glen Powell, which is out in cinemas now in the UK and released in North America on November 14th, is an adaptation of the 1982 novel by King, published under the pen name Richard Bachmann.
As a result of the movie being based on King’s original work, the novelist had to give his permission for it to get the green light.
In a new interview with Far Out, Wright described King as a “writing hero of mine”, before sharing, “So the day that we finally sent him the script was a nerve-wracking one, because it was like handing in your coursework to the world’s most famous English teacher.”
Thankfully, King was impressed with Wright’s work, which was a huge relief for the acclaimed British director and screenwriter.
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He shared, “The great news was that he really liked the adaptation, and he liked what we’d kept in, and he liked what we changed.”
While getting King’s seal of approval, which Wright described as “a big thumbs up”, was a cause for celebration, it also meant that he now needed to deliver the goods and produce a movie that lived up to the script.
Wright explained, “The only thing about that is you’ve now added to the pressure, because you’ve still got to make the movie! When you’re making the movie, you’re trying to live up to the film that’s in your head. And then, after Stephen King gave it his approval, I realised that I was having to live up to the film that was in his head as well.”
The director’s comments to Far Out come after Powell, who plays Ben Richards, revealed that King also had to sign off on his involvement in the movie.
Speaking at New York Comic Con last month, Powell shared, “Edgar offered me this movie, and I was like, ‘Yes.’ I’m like, ‘Let’s go…’ And then, like, later that night [Edgar says], ‘By the way, like, you have to be approved by Stephen King. He’s gonna watch Hit Man tonight.”
Thankfully, to his relief, Powell discovered the next day that King “loved” his performance in the Richard Linklater film.
The Running Man is out in cinemas now in UK and Irish ahead of its release in North America on November 14th.
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