Tag: Jim Brown

Guilty Pleasures: The Running Man

The former Governors of California and Minnesota, the original host of “Family Feud”, a Hall of Fame Cleveland Browns running back, the drummer of Fleetwood Mac, and the son of Frank Zappa in a movie based on a work of Stephen King? Yes, it exists and it’s the fun guilty pleasure that it sounds like. We’re talking about The Running Man from 1987 and it’s kind of the original down and dirty Hunger Games 25 years before Katniss and company graced the silver screen.

Released in the same year as his genuine classic Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this science fiction entry set in the far off future year of 2017. The pic imagines that time as a police state where accused criminals are chased down for sport before a live TV audience on a show hosted by a nefarious character played by real life Feud host Richard Dawson. The supporting cast includes aforementioned folks like Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, Mick Fleetwood, and Dweezil Zappa.

Let there be no mistake – this is strictly B movie stuff and it doesn’t deserve to mentioned in the same breath as true Arnold classics like The Terminator, Predator and Total Recall. Yet this cinematic junk food is a lot more of a good time than it ought to be and that’s why it easily qualifies as a true guilty pleasure.

This Day in Movie History: February 17

30 years ago Today in Movie History – February 17 – Kevin Bacon danced his way into the hearts of moviegoers in Footloose. The picture was an unexpected smash grossing $80 million domestically. Its soundtrack was equally successful featuring Kenny Loggins’ title hit – as well as “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” by Deniece Williams and “Almost Paradise” by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson. A remake would debut in 2010.

As for birthdays, Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown is 78 today. While he’s surely known best for his sports achievements, Mr. Brown has had quite a film career. He costarred in 1967’s The Dirty Dozen and some blaxpoitation titles in the 70s like Slaughter and Black Gunn. More recent appearances include The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mars Attacks!, and Any Given Sunday.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 33 today. He became known as a youngster on the hit sitcom “3rd Rock from the Sun”. In recent years, his film career exploded with pictures including Brick, (500) Days of Summer, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Inception, 50/50, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, and Lincoln. He made his directorial last fall with Don Jon and will soon appear in the Sin City sequel.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between them:

Jim Brown was in The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger was in The Expendables 2 with Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis was in Looper with Joseph Gordon-Levitt

And that’s today – February 17 – in Movie History!