News
Did You Know?: THE RUNNING MAN was a REAL gameshow!
Written by Dr. Jose
Imagine a dystopian, totalitarian future full of fear, violence, and running. Lots of running.
No, I’m not talking about our current state of affairs (ha-ha *collar pull*). I’m talking about Stephen King’s hit sci-fi novel, The Running Man. Written in 1982 and set in 2025*, King’s vision of the future is a grim, if not prescient, one: the worldwide economy is completely wrecked, violence is at an all-time high, and the country exists in a culturally-censored police state**. For entertainment, people tune in to a new reality game show called The Running Man – a show where contestants travel all over the world to escape the assassins who were hired to kill them. If they survive 30 days, they win freedom and the grand prize of one billion dollars. Only thing is: no one has survived longer than a week.
In a prime example of life imitating art (or is it art imitating life?), a Berlin-based production company ExtraMile was so inspired by King’s story, they decided to make it a reality – and in August of 2000, they did just that.
The concept was the brainchild of triathlon athlete, Alexander Skora, and was broadcast over the then-burgeoning internet at “RealityRun.com”. Viewers followed along as Roger, a Dutch gym teacher, did his best to avoid getting spotted by his would-be captors. If Roger was able to go undetected for 24 days, he’d win the grand prize of $10,000. If he was caught before then, his captor would claim the reward. Here’s the wild part: anyone and everyone could be a potential capturer. Spectators observed Roger’s whereabouts via the RealityRun website, which gave out clues and hints as to his location, and they were encouraged to seek him out and take his potential winnings.
Coincidentally, much like the contestants in The Running Man, poor Roger only lasted a week out in the wild: a young German woman spotted him in a library, nabbed him, and won the grand prize of $10,000. Roger walked away without any money, but at least he was still alive.
The internet show proved to be somewhat of a hit. After a bit of rule-tweaking (mainly, lowering the survival span from 24 days to a mere week), subsequent “episodes” took place in the United States. The idea was to have all the winners from the cumulative episodes converge in a “Mega-RealityRun” winner-take-all grand finale, for the grand prize of $100,000. There was even talks of turning the web-based program into a TV show. Unfortunately, the contest was to take place on September 10th, 2001. Any plans for a reality show about people hunting a fugitive were scrapped in the wake of September 11th, 2001.
Strangely enough, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were trying to get their own identical reality show, The Runner, off the ground at the same time RealityRun was being eyed at for network TV. After 15 years of laying dormant, the show finally premiered online in July 2016. A second season is in the works.
* The movie version, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, takes place in 2017 – which is just a liiiitttle too spooky for me.
** I don’t know what’s scarier: the fact that Stephen King predicted reality shows almost 20 years before they became a thing, or that he predicted our current social climate 35 years before it happened.
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Movies
Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed
The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.
Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.
The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.
Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”
Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.
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News
Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.
The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.
“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.
Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.
The prize also includes:
An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings
A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear
A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room
A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course
The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II
Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two
“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”
Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.
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Movies
’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power
Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.
Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.
Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.
There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.
The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.
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