Factual error: In the beginning of the movie just prior to the Bakersfield Massacre, the camera cuts away from Arnold periodically and shows a computer schematic for his location. The very first coordinate that we see is 29º, 43' N by 119º 23' W and is off the coast of Baja California. The last coordinate that we see is 45º 4' N by 119 8' W and is in north-east Oregon. So, in the 35 seconds or so between these scenes, Arnold's helicopter traveled approximately 1050 miles. That's one fast helicopter. This cannot be explained by saying that they just shortened the trip for the movie because in the first computer schematic you see Bakersfield in the distance which is certainly not 1050 miles away. (00:01:35 - 00:02:10)
Plot hole: In the unedited video footage of the helicopter incident shown to the crowd, the last shot of Arnie getting knocked out is seen from his perspective and as such could never have been filmed by any camera.
[Footage of what really happened at Bakersfield has just been shown to the audience and home viewers.]
Damon Killian: Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll please bear with us. We are experiencing technical difficulties.
Agnes: Bullshit.
More trivia for The Running Man
Question: At the very beginning of the movie, Ben refuses to fire on anyone even though he was under orders to do so. I can understand him being court-martialed for this but, why would they alter the video to show him killing innocent people with orders not to? And why send him to prison for allegedly killing innocent civilians?
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Answer: They needed a scapegoat, someone to blame. The government controlled the people through violence, but at the same time tried to convince the people the government was fair (i.e. Runners who made it through were given their freedom when in fact they never left the arena alive). The people at Bakersfield were still massacred (that part wasn't made up) by the government in order to control the riot, but just not by Ben. But people would just riot more if they knew the government ordered their killing, so the footage was faked to make people think Ben acted alone and against orders. And to continue the ruse, they convicted him to appease the people and prevent them from rioting.
Bishop73