The Rundown

Peter Berg’s second film was called “Helldorado” first and sold abroad as “Welcome to the Jungle”. Looking for a way into the fights, Berg bought a compilation called “The 50 Best Fights Ever Filmed”, was discouraged by it, then saw the Roddy Piper and Keith David brawl in “They Live” and found his opening. He wanted an old school slugging match in which the punches are felt. The crew was robbed at gunpoint scouting locations in Brazil, and the jungle was finally shot in Hawaii. On the Oahu hillside the aim was the biggest fall down a hill yet put on screen; Dwayne Johnson’s regular stuntman turned it down and the replacement was knocked out on the first attempt. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appearance was an accident of timing: he was touring the studio and having lunch with Johnson when Berg asked, and agreed on condition it be shot at once. He passes Johnson in a bar and wishes him a good time. Johnson was paid $12.5 million. Made for $85 million, the film finished just under $81 million worldwide. A good fit if you want the chase built on a real roll down a hillside and the fights on heavy punches. Not for viewers who want their brawls clean and decorative; Berg says he was after the opposite.