Director Edgar Wright insists that his new film The Running Man is not a remake of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger joint. Instead, it’s another, more faithful adaptation of the book that Stephen King published under his Richard Bachman alias in 1982. I saw it over the weekend, and it definitely has a very different vibe from the ’80s action classic. In the sole nod to the previous Running Man, we learn that in this new corporate-controlled dystopia, Schwarzenegger’s face is on the $100 bill. And I completely missed that the person conveying that information is Julia Cumming, leader of the New York indie rock trio Sunflower Bean.
Today, Julia Cumming posted on Instagram about her experience acting in The Running Man. She doesn’t exactly have a huge role. She’s Cynthia, one of the Vanna White-type models on the titular bloodthirsty game show. On Instagram, Cumming says that the leotard that she wears in the film is the same one she had on in Sunflower Bean’s “Nothing Romantic” video a few months ago. She’s done a bit of acting before this, but it’s mostly just been in shorts.
The Running Man is one of two movies currently in theaters that’s seemingly inspired by action flicks that Arnold Schwarzenegger made in 1987. That’s weird, right? A Running Man and a Predator out at the same time, 38 years later? Shout out to Edgar Wright for doing the cover blurb for my book. Sunflower Bean’s new album Mortal Primetime is out now on Lucky Number.
