Replay (Grimwood novel)

Last updated
Replay
Replay4166ZHz9Sb.jpg
First edition cover
Author Ken Grimwood
Cover artistLarry Ratzkin
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Arbor House
Publication date
January 1986
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages311 p.
ISBN 0-87795-781-9 (hardback edition) & ISBN   0-575-07559-7 (paperback edition)
OCLC 13701262
813/.54 19
LC Class PS3557.R497 R4 1986

Replay is a fantasy novel by American writer Ken Grimwood, first published by Arbor House in 1986. It won the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

Contents

The novel tells of a 43-year-old man who dies and wakes up back in 1963 in his 18-year-old body. He relives his life with all his memories of the previous 25 years intact. This happens repeatedly, with the man playing out his life differently in each cycle. The novel was a bestseller in Japan. Its time-loop concept has been referenced as a precursor of Harold Ramis' comedy-drama Groundhog Day (1993). Richard A. Lupoff explored a similar premise in his 1973 short story "12:01". [1]

Characters and story

Replay is the account of 43-year-old radio journalist Jeff Winston, who dies of a heart attack in 1988 and awakens back in 1963 in his 18-year-old body as a student at Atlanta's Emory University. He then begins to relive his life with intact memories of the next 25 years, until, despite his best efforts at cardiac health, he dies of a heart attack, again, in 1988. He immediately returns to 1963, but several hours later than the last "replay". This happens repeatedly with different events in each cycle, each time beginning from increasingly later dates (first days, then weeks, then years, then ultimately decades). Jeff soon realizes that he cannot prevent his death in 1988, but he can change the events that occur before it, both for him, and for others.

During one subsequent replay, Jeff takes notice of a highly acclaimed film, Starsea, that has become a huge success at the box office in 1974. The film is written and produced by an unknown filmmaker, Pamela Phillips, who has recruited Steven Spielberg to direct and George Lucas as a special effects supervisor, before the two shot to stardom with their own projects. Because the film did not exist in previous replays, Jeff suspects that Pamela is also experiencing the same phenomenon. He locates her and asks her questions about future films which only a fellow replayer would know, confirming his suspicions.

Pamela and Jeff eventually fall in love and become convinced that they are soulmates. Complications arise when they notice that their replays are getting shorter and shorter, with Pamela not beginning her next replay until well after Jeff. Eventually, the two decide to try to find other replayers by placing cryptic messages in newspapers. The messages, which seem very vague to anyone who is not a replayer, generate a fair amount of dead-end responses until the pair receives a letter from a man who is clearly knowledgeable about future events. Jeff and Pamela decide to visit the stranger, only to discover that he is confined to a psychiatric hospital. Surprisingly, the staff does not pay attention to his discussion on the future, but it soon becomes clear why the man is institutionalized when he calmly states that he thinks aliens are forcing him to murder people for their own entertainment.

In a later replay, the two decide to take their experiences public, giving press conferences announcing future events in explicit detail. The government eventually takes notice and forces Pamela and Jeff to provide continued updates on foreign activities. Although the government denies responsibility, major political events begin to transpire differently, and Jeff attempts to break off the relationship. The government refuses, and the pair are imprisoned and forced to continue providing information.

As future replays become shorter and shorter, the two are left to wonder how things will eventually unfold—whether or not the replays will ultimately end, and the pair will pass into the afterlife—or if the current replay is, in fact, the last. Eventually, the replays become so short, Jeff and Pamela relive their original deaths repeatedly in succession—until Jeff finally has a heart attack which he manages to survive. While he calls Pamela soon afterward, she lets him know that she has also survived, and that their replaying was not a dream. While it seems ambiguous whether or not they will meet again, Jeff eagerly awaits entering an unpredictable future with endless possibilities.

In the subsequent epilogue, a Norwegian man finds himself waking up in a youthful body in 1988, twenty-nine years before his apparent death in 2017. He marvels at the possibilities that await him at retaining the memories of his life and world and national events for the next quarter century. It becomes apparent to the reader that the replay phenomenon is not limited to the three individuals experiencing it in the novel, nor is it limited to the 1963-1988 timeframe.

Awards and nominations

Replay won the 1988 World Fantasy Award [2] and was on the shortlist for the 1988 Arthur C. Clarke Award.

The novel has been included in several lists of recommended reading: Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels (1988), Locus Reader's Poll: Best Science Fiction Novel (1988), Aurel Guillemette's The Best in Science Fiction (1993) and David Pringle's Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction (1995).

Sequel

Ken Grimwood was working on a sequel to Replay when he died from a heart attack in 2003 at the age of 59. [3]

Film adaptation

On October 19, 2010, Warner Bros. reported that it was planning on a film version starring Ben Affleck and directing with Jason Smilovic writing the screenplay for this adaptation. [4] On April 29, 2011, Robert Zemeckis was set to direct after Affleck left the project. [5] It was reported later that Greg Berlanti was set to replace Zemeckis as director and will reimagine Jeff Winston as an advertisement executive. [6] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Who Framed Roger Rabbit</i> 1988 film by Robert Zemeckis

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf. The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Stubby Kaye, and Joanna Cassidy, along with the voices of Charles Fleischer and an uncredited Kathleen Turner. Combining live-action and animation, the film is set in an alternate history Hollywood in 1947, where humans and cartoon characters co-exist. Its plot follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator with a grudge against toons, who must help exonerate Roger Rabbit, a toon framed for murder.

<i>Groundhog Day</i> (film) 1993 American fantasy comedy film by Harold Ramis

Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Harold Ramis from a screenplay by him and Danny Rubin. Starring Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott, it tells the story of a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2 repeatedly. The film also features Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, Angela Paton, Rick Ducommun, Rick Overton, and Robin Duke in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Zemeckis</span> American filmmaker (born 1952)

Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American filmmaker. He first came to public attention as the director of the action-adventure romantic comedy Romancing the Stone (1984), the science-fiction comedy Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), and the live-action/animated comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). He subsequently directed the satirical black comedy Death Becomes Her (1992) and then diversified into more dramatic fare, including the Best Picture winning film, Forrest Gump (1994), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director.

Stephen Sommers is an American film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for big-budget action films, such as The Mummy (1999), its sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001), Van Helsing (2004), and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). He also directed The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994) and the action horror film Deep Rising (1998).

<i>Romancing the Stone</i> 1984 film by Robert Zemeckis

Romancing the Stone is a 1984 romantic comedy-adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Diane Thomas and produced by Michael Douglas, who also stars in the film alongside Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. The film follows a romance novelist who must venture beyond her New York City comfort zone to Colombia in order to save her sister from criminals who are holding her for ransom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Grimwood</span> American novelist

Kenneth Milton Grimwood was an American author, who also published work under the name of Alan Cochran. In his fantasy fiction, Grimwood combined themes of life-affirmation and hope with metaphysical concepts, themes found in his best-known novel, Replay (1986). It won the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

<i>Used Cars</i> 1980 film by Robert Zemeckis

Used Cars is a 1980 American satirical black comedy film co-written and directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story follows Rudy Russo, a devious salesman, working for affable, but monumentally unsuccessful used-car dealer Luke Fuchs. Luke's principal rival, located directly across the street, is his more prosperous brother, Roy L. Fuchs, who is scheming to take over Luke's lot. The film also stars Deborah Harmon and Gerrit Graham, and the supporting cast includes Frank McRae, David L. Lander, Michael McKean, Joe Flaherty, Al Lewis, Dub Taylor, Harry Northup, Dick Miller, and Betty Thomas.

<i>Beowulf</i> (2007 film) Film by Robert Zemeckis

Beowulf is a 2007 American adult animated fantasy action film produced and directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, based on the Old English epic poem Beowulf, and featuring the voices of Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright, Brendan Gleeson, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, and Angelina Jolie. The film depicts the rise and fall of the warrior Beowulf after he travels to Denmark to kill a monster. It was produced by Shangri-La Entertainment and Zemeckis's ImageMovers and features characters animated using motion-capture animation, which was previously used in The Polar Express (2004) and Monster House (2006).

<i>The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things</i> (novel) 2001 short story collection by JT LeRoy (Laura Albert)

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things is a novel-like book of ten related short stories written by Laura Albert under the name JT LeRoy, a persona that she has described as an "avatar," asserting that it enabled her to write things that she was incapable of expressing as Laura Albert. These stories predate the 2000 JT LeRoy novel Sarah but were published in 2001, after Sarah was released. The title is taken from Jeremiah 17:9.

Christmas Do-Over is a 2006 Christmas television film starring Jay Mohr and Daphne Zuniga. It premiered on ABC Family in 2006 on their 25 Days of Christmas programming block. It is a remake of a previous 1996 television film, Christmas Every Day, but with an adult as the protagonist.

<i>The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane</i> 2006 novel by Kate DiCamillo

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a 2006 novel by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Following the life of a china rabbit, the book won the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in Fiction category.

<i>Welcome to Marwen</i> 2018 film by Robert Zemeckis

Welcome to Marwen is a 2018 American drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the script with Caroline Thompson. It is inspired by Jeff Malmberg's 2010 documentary Marwencol. The film stars Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monáe, Eiza González, Gwendoline Christie, Leslie Zemeckis, Siobhan Williams and Neil Jackson. It tells the true story of Mark Hogancamp, a man struggling with PTSD who, after being physically assaulted, creates a fictional village to ease his trauma.

<i>Fleishman Is in Trouble</i> 2019 novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Fleishman Is in Trouble is a 2019 novel by American author Taffy Brodesser-Akner. The debut novel was published on June 18, 2019, by Random House. It tells the story of a Manhattan couple undergoing a bitter divorce. Brodesser-Akner also wrote the screenplay for a television miniseries based on the novel, which was released on Hulu in 2022.

<i>Two Distant Strangers</i> 2020 short film

Two Distant Strangers is a 2020 American short film written by Travon Free and directed by Free and Martin Desmond Roe. The film examines the deaths of Black Americans during encounters with police through the eyes of a character trapped in a time loop that keeps ending in his death. Two Distant Strangers won the award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, marking distributor Netflix's first win in the category.

The following is a list of unproduced Robert Zemeckis projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Robert Zemeckis has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially cancelled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

<i>The Netanyahus</i> Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family is a 2021 novel by Joshua Cohen. It was awarded the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Howard's unrealized projects</span>

The following is a list of unproduced Ron Howard projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American film director Ron Howard has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially cancelled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

The following is a list of unproduced Ben Affleck projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American filmmaker Ben Affleck has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

The following is a list of unproduced Paul Greengrass projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, British filmmaker Paul Greengrass has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team.

References

  1. ↑ Westbrook, Caroline (October 19, 2010). "Groundhog Day Review". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  2. ↑ World Fantasy Convention. "Award Winners and Nominees" . Retrieved 4 Feb 2011.
  3. ↑ Obituary in The Independent
  4. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 19, 2010). "Ben Affleck Mulling 'Replay,' a 22-Year Old Suddenly Hot Project At Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (April 29, 2011). "Robert Zemeckis Heading Back to the Future With Replay". Vulture. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  6. ↑ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (December 2, 2011). "Greg Berlanti May Take Over for Robert Zemeckis Heading on Replay". Vulture. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  7. ↑ Foreman, Liza (October 3, 2012). "Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas Project 'Replay' in Play at WB". The Wrap . Retrieved October 6, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.