Deadly games

Dystopian thriller The Running Man is out now in theatres.

Directed by English filmmaker Edgar Wright, the film follows working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) who joins a deadly competition in desperation for a cash reward that could save his sick daughter.

The top-rated television game pits its contestants – called ‘runners’ – against a team of professional assassins whose job is to track them down and kill them.

Any runner who can stay alive for 30 days is declared the winner and earns the grand prize of one billion dollars.

Based on the 1982 novel of the same name by American author Stephen King, the new film marks its second adaptation, with the first one dating back to 1987, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, who returns in a photographic cameo on the face of the $100 bill.

“I think maybe in this alternate 2025, people not born in America can run for president,” Edgar said, regarding the Austrian actor’s feature.

“He was already the governor of California, and in this reality, he became president as well.”

The director also recalled discovering the book in his mid-teens and how, when he later saw the Schwarzenegger film, he was surprised by how different the two were – a realisation that made him feel compelled to produce a more faithful version.

“They didn’t really adapt the book at all. They used some of the setup, but the bulk of the story hadn’t been adapted. That always stuck with me, that there was a whole other film in the source material,” he said.

Author Stephen revealed that he actually had little to no knowledge regarding reality shows while writing the book. However, he believes his creation is more accurate to today’s world than ever.

“We had a show called The Biggest Loser (2004 to 2020). It was really obese people who had to crash-diet and several of them got sick. The audience would say, well, they signed on for it, they deserve it. There’s a certain numbness that sets in among the audience where it doesn’t care. You’re just watching these things and they’re like actors,” Stephen said.

“Ben Richards is a real guy who has real problems. He’s obviously had some problems at work, and his baby is sick, but to the show, he’s just a pawn to be moved around and he’s part of the ratings game.”