Unusual premiere puts The Long Walk on a treadmill in LA
A select group of moviegoers in Los Angeles will get to preview Stephen King’s The Long Walk two weeks before its wide release, in a screening that swaps plush cinema chairs for treadmills. Audience members whose pace slips below 3 miles per hour will be removed from the theater, a rules-of-the-game that aims to mirror the brutal pace of the story.
The treadmill screening, described by the Culver Theater as a private event, will take place this Saturday. The setup is intentionally immersive, reflecting the film’s dystopian premise in which a totalitarian United States stages a deadly walking contest among 50 teen boys. The rules are stark: the first two warnings for walking too slowly; a third offense results in being shot, and the last contestant standing wins.
While the theater and the film’s studio, Lionsgate, kept comments to a minimum, the event is designed to give fans a literal taste of the endurance required by the story. The Long Walk is based on Stephen King’s 1979 novel, originally published under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, and features a cast that includes Tut Nyuot as Arthur, Garrett Wareing as Stebbins, along with Mark Hamill, Judy Greer, Jordan Gonzalez, David Jonsson, and Roman Griffin Davis.
Fans will recognize the book’s grueling premise echoed in the film’s production notes. Tut Nyuot recently described the shooting as physically and mentally demanding at San Diego Comic-Con, noting that the cast was “actually walking” throughout production and that scenes were filmed at a rapid pace—often one scene a day. Wareing, who plays fellow walker Stebbins, revealed he tracked his daily steps on set, estimating the ensemble logged eight to 15 miles a day, equating to roughly 25,000 to 30,000 steps.
The Long Walk is scheduled to hit theaters with standard seating on September 12, offering the general audience a conventional experience alongside this provocative pre-release stunt.
Why it matters and what to watch for:
– Immersive marketing: The treadmill premiere is a bold attempt to translate the film’s physical endurance into a tangible fan experience, likely generating social chatter and media interest ahead of release.
– Physical demands of the production: The casting and crew’s accounts of extensive walking emphasize the film’s commitment to portraying the story’s grueling journey with realism.
– Story context: Viewers familiar with King’s novel will recognize the high-stakes tension and moral ambiguity at the core of the plot, which translates into a high-concept, high-visual adaptation.
Summary: The Long Walk is leveraging an unconventional, treadmill-based premiere in Los Angeles to mirror its dystopian, endurance-heavy narrative, while the broader release on September 12 will bring the familiar story to theaters with traditional seating.
Positive note: The stunt build has the potential to heighten anticipation for a fans-first experience, inviting audiences to engage with the film’s themes in a memorable, conversation-starting way.