What you need to know
Arnold Schwarzenegger is showing gratitude to veterans and encouraging others to do the same.
In a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday, Nov. 19, the 78-year-old actor and activist said he was recently celebrating Veterans Day with his “heroes” in West LA Virginia when he learned the center’s movie screening area had been shut down.
Schwarzenegger said he decided to take action and within a week had arranged for a bus to bring veterans to the Paramount venue for a special screening of the new remake of the classic action movie “The Running Man.”
Starr said she wanted to share her story to remind others that they have the power to take action and do good for those around them.
“I wanted to share this because we all have power if we are willing to act,” he wrote in the caption of the post, which was accompanied by a video of a speech he gave just before the screening. “Most people will just post on social media saying, ‘It’s a lie that veterans can’t watch movies at the VA.’ That’s not going to get them in movies.”
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“Sure, most people can’t afford a screening room or a bus. But if you buy a movie ticket for a veteran, you’ll do more good than any social media post. Do as much good as you can. That’s your greatest power, don’t let anyone take that away from you. Not the government, not social media, not the politicians.”
Ernesto Lucio/WireImage
“When you want to complain about something bad, say, ‘What can I do?'” he added.
Running Man star Glen Powell responded to the post, writing: “You are one of a kind, Ernie. Thank you for bringing joy to the world and standing up for our heroes.”
The film’s director Edgar Wright agreed, writing, “This is amazing!! Thank you Arnold X.”
Schwarzenegger starred in the original 1987 version. And while he told the screening crowd that he was proud of the original, he also said he always believed an even better version of the film was possible.
Michael Ochs Archive/Getty
“In 1987 we made the movie ‘Running Man,’ and this was the decade in which most of the best action movies were made,” he said in introducing the film before the screening. “And of course now a lot of companies are coming to remake it. And most of the time I’m not happy with it, because they’re perfect movies.”
He continued, “But, as I always say in interviews, there was one movie I did that was really good, but I felt like we didn’t have the budget to depict the future where this story takes place. And that movie was ‘Running Man’…It was a huge success, but I always felt like we could have done it again in a better way, to depict a better future.”
Schwarzenegger went on to say that he recently watched the new version of the film for the first time and was “blown away” by what it contained.
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“I thought they did a really great job. The visual effects were great. The action was great. The acting was great. The story really came through…I was so excited. When I visited you on Veterans Day and we were all eating pizza, I decided to show you this movie,” he said to the cheering crowd.
“Running Man” is currently in theaters.
