Movies
Would You Watch A Real Life ‘The Running Man’?
Although the 1976 Dustin Hoffman-starrer Marathon Man is a better jumping off point, I watched Paul Michael Glaser’s 1987 The Running Man on Netflix this weekend, so that serves as the inspiration for the following post.
Starring the great Arnold Schwarzenegger (and Jesse Ventura), I’ve been watching this dystopian classic since I was a kid. In it, Schwarzenegger refuses military orders to obliterate a small town, which results in him being framed and staged for a public stoning on national television. It’s a last man standing film, similar to Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, which has all sorts of political statements layered within.
As a kid, I could give a shit about the social implications, which left me asking one simple question: would I watch a real life Running Man? Could I order a PPV where prisoners are run through the mill and slaughtered right before my very eyes.
Watching it again this weekend had me pondering such a future that oddly doesn’t seem that far fetched. So, I thought I’d bring this discussion to you guys and ask, would you watch a real life Running Man, and why?
Two-time BAFTA winning filmmaker Joe Wright (Hanna, “Black Mirror“) is set to direct the feature adaptation of post-apocalyptic thriller novel, Juice, Deadline reports today.
Emmy winner Abi Morgan (Shame, “Eric”) will adapt Tim Winton‘s novel for Working Title Films.
In Juice, “A young husband and father is recruited into a top-secret resistance organization, to join the ranks of militia men tasked with targeting the isolated and wealthy culprits responsible for this global catastrophe. When a mission goes wrong, he finds himself on the run, having to fight to the end to survive in this hostile world.”
It’s set in a world ravaged by climate-change disaster.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that Tim Winton has entrusted us with his extraordinary epic,” Wright told Deadline. “The story is both a thrilling modern family saga and an urgent call to action. I cannot wait for audiences to experience it on the big screen.”
Winton added, “I’m pleased to know a filmmaker of Joe Wright’s calibre has chosen to adapt Juice for the screen. His capacity to portray the turmoil and the turning points of nations and peoples as well as private individuals distinguishes his work as a director and I’m confident that Juice is in good hands.”
Juice was initially published in October 2024 and longlisted for The Climate Fiction Prize 2026.
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