Oct 4, 2026 · 2 hr 24 min · 14 segments
In this episode of Reel Reads hosts Luke and Caleb discuss the 1977 film that introduced the world to Arnold Schwarzenegger: PUMPING IRON by director George Butler, based on the 1974 book by Charles…
The book was... published in 1975, I believe.
And then they knew they were going to make a movie.
The photographer and the writer of the book, they knew they wanted to turn it into a movie.
And so very quickly, they got some of the funding to make it.
I also kind
of wonder too, if this was like you do interviews for books and you, you know, somebody's got a camera, you record stuff and It's like, well, we might have material for a movie right here.
Exactly, yeah.
Just doing interviews for the book.
Yeah, yeah.
It was first a book, obviously, and then a movie.
The book and the movie don't really translate all that much as far as the plot.
if you will, of the documentary film, because the book is about the 1973 or 4 competitions, I believe.
The documentary movie is about the 1975 competitions.
Right.
Released in
77.
Yeah, yeah, released in 77.
And it took them a while to get this thing, and they had it in the can, and it took them a while to get the funding to get it released.
But it is basically following...
At the time, really unknown subculture of bodybuilding.
It focuses on the Mr.
Universe contest, which is the amateur bodybuilding contest open to people who are not competing for cash prizes.
The competitors can get endorsements and all that if they want, but they don't actually get paid.
for winning the contest.
The book was... published in 1975, I believe.
And then they knew they were going to make a movie.
The photographer and the writer of the book, they knew they wanted to turn it into a movie.
And so very quickly, they got some of the funding to make it.
I also kind
of wonder too, if this was like you do interviews for books and you, you know, somebody's got a camera, you record stuff and It's like, well, we might have material for a movie right here.
Exactly, yeah.
Just doing interviews for the book.
Yeah, yeah.
It was first a book, obviously, and then a movie.
The book and the movie don't really translate all that much as far as the plot.
if you will, of the documentary film, because the book is about the 1973 or 4 competitions, I believe.
The documentary movie is about the 1975 competitions.
Right.
Released in
77.
Yeah, yeah, released in 77.
And it took them a while to get this thing, and they had it in the can, and it took them a while to get the funding to get it released.
But it is basically following...
At the time, really unknown subculture of bodybuilding.
It focuses on the Mr.
Universe contest, which is the amateur bodybuilding contest open to people who are not competing for cash prizes.
The competitors can get endorsements and all that if they want, but they don't actually get paid.
for winning the contest.
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