The rest of us normal people have to wait a couple of weeks before we get a chance to see Edgar Wright’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man. This seems especially unfair because it feels like everybody else has already seen it. Stephen King has seen it. Arnold Schwarzenegger has seen it. Now it turns out a bunch of high-profile directors have also seen it.
According to World of Reel, a special screening of The Running Man was held on the Paramount lot last week, and it contained a who’s who of A-list directors, including Taika Waititi, Jordan Peele, Ti West, Joseph Kosinski, Barry Jenkins, J.T. Mollner, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Joe Dante, and Walter Hill. At least one of those directors has confirmed seeing the film, as Phl Lord tweeted about the movie saying…
So proud of our lovely friend Edgar and his latest picture #RunningMan full of originality and heart and surprises not the least of which is how essential its ideas are. Laughed with delight all the way through and was carried by its brawny punk rock brains in the final act.
Lord also complimented star Glen Powell, saying he “tears it up” and calling him “Hollywood’s hardest working mensch.” There’s certainly no hedging in this post. Lord clearly loved The Running Man, and while most of the rest of the crowd that allegedly saw the movie haven’t posted publicly, it’s a safe bet they have similar feelings, considering it seems everybody seems to love it.
The fact that Paramount made a point of showing the film to so many top-notch directors would seem to indicate a certain amount of confidence in the final product.
Lord’s comments echo those of other big names who have seen the film. Glen Powell recently revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger called the movie “incredible.” Stephen King saw it and called it “fantastic” and “Die Hard for our time.” King, especially, will be honest when he doesn’t love an adaptation of his work. Those are two voices that carry a lot of weight. Their endorsements will mean a lot to both fans of the original novel as well as the original adaptation.
With The Long Walk being released earlier this year to a lot of critical praise, it’s been a good year for Stephen King adaptations so far. The Running Man certainly has a different one, but it sounds like it will have plenty to say.
The words of filmmakers like Phil Lord are likely to excite movie fans, regardless of their feelings about The Running Man alone. Edgar Wright’s filmography is full of banger after banger. He’s arguably never made a bad movie. He’s got a track record of some absolutely incredible films, and it sounds like The Running Man may simply be the latest in a long line of eccentric, but incredible movies.
I’m certainly excited to see The Running Man next week. All of this positive buzz from great talents is raising the bar for the movie quite high. If it’s really as good as everybody says, it’s going to be something special.
