 Philip Kaufman and Richard Price unsuccessfully tried to pitch the project to Alberto Grimaldi . Because of this , Kaufman signed on to direct what would have been the first motion picture based on Star Trek : The Original Series ; called Star Trek : Planet of the Titans . Allan Scott and Chris Bryant were hired to write the film 's screenplay , but their attempt was rejected and Kaufman tried to write the screenplay himself . Before he could finish the screenplay , Paramount Pictures abandoned the project , saying there was no market for science @-@ fiction movies . After the Star Trek project was shelved , Kaufman directed the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers . When filming finished , he went to New York and successfully pitched The Wanderers to Martin Ransohoff . According to Kaufman , " the pieces somehow fell together " , partly because of the increasing popularity of gang movies . 
