 The film is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Price ; its screenplay was written by Philip Kaufman and his wife Rose . The film had a troubled development stage ; after unsuccessfully trying to obtain finance for The Wanderers from Alberto Grimaldi , Kaufman directed other films . After filming the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers , Kaufman went to New York and successfully pitched The Wanderers to Martin Ransohoff . The film 's budget is unknown , but Kaufman said it was relatively low . 
