Home
Interests
Photo Album
Favorites
News.
Projects.       

Arnold News.

Schwarzenegger eyes hit-man comedy

By JAM! Movies

While the long-planned "Terminator 3" makes its way through the pre-production morass, star Arnold Schwarzenegger is contemplating a role in the black comedy "Ump," Variety reports.

The film, based on the novel by Jim Cohen, is about a hit man known as The Ump, for his strict moral compass. After knocking off two-thirds of a Mob triumvirate, he hides out in a small New Jersey town, where he becomes a local hero for cleaning up the troubled community, the report said.

It would be the first comedy Schwarzenegger has tried in some time. His last pure comedic part was 1996's "Jingle All The Way," although he reportedly provided an unaccredited voice in Eddie Murphy's "Dr. Do little 2."

If "Ump" falls into place, Schwarzenegger would then follow with "T3," with director Jonathan Mostow ("U-571") filling in for franchise creator James Cameron.

Wednesday June 20, 2001

'Terminator 3' script gets 'Game' writers

By JAM! Movies

The long-anticipated "Terminator 3" may be going back to square one, with new writers assigned to redo the screenplay.

The Popcorn.co.uk website reports that the original screenplay by Ted Sarafian -- which was to see star Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg taking on a female robot (rumored to be "X-Men's" Famke Janssen) -- is getting a rewrite from screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris, the team responsible for the 1997 David Fincher film "The Game."

Actor Vin Diesel, who stars in the street-racing movie "The Fast And The Furious," is now being touted as a co-star for "T3," which reportedly carries the subtitle "Rise Of The Machines."

There's no word on whether Ferris and Brancato have been directed to move the story away from the female protagonist concept of Sarafian's story.

Popcorn said "Terminator 2" stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong are poised to reprise their roles in "T3," which is to begin production as soon as the threatened actors strike is resolved.

Thursday April 26, 2001

Arnie had extramarital affair: report

By JAM! Movies

Arnold Schwarzenegger backed out of his plan to run for governor of California after he learned the National Enquirer was planning to print details of an extramarital affair, says The New York Post.

The Post said the supermarket tabloid called Schwarzenegger's lawyer for comment on Monday, just hours before the actor announced he was postponing his bid to run as a Republican candidate until his children were older.

The front-page Enquirer photo is of Schwarzenegger and a 41-year-old brunette, who reportedly tells the paper she first hooked up with the action hero after the two met in Malibu when she was a 16-year-old child actress.

After a 14 year hiatus, Schwarzenegger and the actress hooked up again in 1989 and continued to see each other until 1996, when she began another relationship, The Post reports.

Schwarzenegger's spokeswoman called the story a "complete fabrication" and said his political decision was unrelated to the article. A lawyer representing the woman also called the story "blatantly false."

Premiere Magazine recently reported incidents of Schwarzenegger allegedly groping women and being caught having sex with another woman on the set of "Eraser," and carrying on an open affair with his "Total Recall" co-star Rachel Ticotin. His pals denied the magazine's portrayal of the actor.

Tuesday, February 20, 2001

Jamie Lee defends the Terminator

By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun

HOLLYWOOD -- Arnold Schwarzenegger is a bully, a womanizer and a control freak, according to an article in the new issue of Premiere magazine that has sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood.

But the star's friends are coming to his defense, including Jamie Lee Curtis, who insists there is no truth to these lies.

The Premiere story accuses Schwarzenegger, 53, of fondling female co-stars and female interviewers and of humiliating members of his staff for the amusement of his co-stars.

"I've written a letter to the editor of Premiere. I told them I've known Arnold for a long time and that I hold him in the highest esteem," says Curtis, who played Schwarzenegger's wife in 1994's True Lies. "Arnold is a perfect gentleman and a devoted family man. In the seven months I worked with him on True Lies, I never saw even a hint of the kind of behavior they describe in their article."

Curtis, speaking during an interview with the Sun on the weekend, is convinced "the article is little more than a politically motivated hatchet job.

"It's no secret that Arnold is considering running for governor of California. The moment someone acknowledges that he might have aspirations to run for office, the knives come out." Curtis said.

Schwarzenegger and his lawyer, Martin Singer, shot off a letter to Premiere while the story was being reported, according to E Online!, threatening to sue the magazine and the story's writer, John Connolly. According to Schwarzenegger's publicist, Jill Eisenstadt, the letter was sent because Premiere "sent this guy out here, who was harassing people in Los Angeles. And when we heard about the fictitious nature of the questions, Martin did send the letter.''

As for the claims made in the story, "Arnold's not going to bother dignifying this with any comment,'' Eisenstadt says. "It was a hatchet job, it was intended to be that way, and we're sort of saddened they've taken that approach.''

Curtis is certain Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, are devastated by the article but she is confident they will rise above it.

"This is a deeply religious man who is devoted to his wife and (four) children. Because of them and with their help, he will be able to weather this attack." Curtis said. "It is just a hatchet job and it will go away."

Curtis, whose next film is The Tailor of Panama (opening next month), says that if there is a True Lies II she "will be there in a heartbeat."

Monday, December 4, 2000

Schwarzenegger has fun with accent

By LOUIS B. HOBSON
Calgary Sun

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't mind being the brunt of a good joke.

"I know people imitate me all the time.

I've actually heard some pretty good impersonations of me," says Schwarzenegger.

When he was in Vancouver earlier this year filming his science-fiction thriller The 6th Day, a radio station held a competition to rate the best Arnold impersonators.

"I called in to that station, but I didn't say who I was. I just said: 'I want to try to do that Austrian guy. What do you call his name?'

"The announcer said I sounded just like Schwarzenegger, but I told her not to get me out of character because I'd been practicing doing him real hard.

"I didn't follow the results of the contest but I don't think I won, which is really funny."

Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles shooting a contemporary thriller called Collateral Damage.

Monday November 27, 2000

'Eraser' resurrected as TV series

ABC Television is rewriting the Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick "Eraser" for the small screen.

Variety reports that like the 1996 film, the series will follow the adventures of a federal marshal who specializes in helping people disappear into the witness-protection program.

The movie version, which starred Schwarzenegger, Vanessa L. Williams and James Caan, was only a modest box-office performer, but the network obviously believes the premise could have legs as a series.

Miles Millar and Al Gough -- who co-wrote the screenplay for the Jackie Chan western "Shanghai Noon" and are executive-producing the new teenage-Superman series for the WB Network -- have been hired to write and executive-produce "Eraser," Variety said.

Thursday November 16, 2000

Terminator in "T3" a woman?

Will "T3" be a she?

The New York Post reports that Arnold Schwarzenegger has been telling people that his nemesis in the planned third "Terminator" movie will be a female.

"She can disappear, she can mold into someone else, and she is sometimes just an energy," Schwarzenegger told The Post.

No actress has been cast for the film yet.

Sunday, November 12, 2000

Arnie still in action

At 53, Schwarzenegger returns to sci-fi roots

By LOUIS B. HOBSON
Calgary Sun

HOLLYWOOD -- John Wayne was doing action movies well into his sixties.

Arnold Schwarzenegger feels he has the same kind of true box-office grit.

On Friday in The 6th Day, Schwarzenegger stars as a futuristic helicopter pilot who discovers he has been illegally cloned and that the scientists are out to kill him.

In true action-hero fashion, Schwarzenegger turns the tables on his pursuers and they become his prey.

"The day I feel I can't do these kind of action movies any more is the day I'll quit," says Schwarzenegger, who turned 53 in July.

"I think I am far away from that day. Right now I feel great and I'm still enjoying the thrill, the fun and the challenge of making action movies."

Still, Schwarzenegger has always been a realist.

"I'm not fooling myself. As we get older, things begin wearing out. The thing I notice most about my body these days is that my regenerative powers are decreasing.

"It takes me longer to bounce back from an injury. But I do bounce back and that is all that's really important.

"Right now I'm a long way from the point where I'll have to retire."

Schwarzenegger says there is one other reason he'd contemplate hanging up his action-hero mantle.

"If all of a sudden my movies are not believable to people, then they will let me know. Right now there is no indication of that."

Schwarzenegger's last film, End Of Days, grossed only $68 million in its North American release at this time last year.

Mike Medavoy, who produced The 6th Day with Schwarzenegger, is quick to point out that "End Of Days grossed close to $200 million in foreign markets. Arnold is a huge star overseas and particularly in the Pacific Rim countries."

With The 6th Day Schwarzenegger is returning to the kind of science-fiction thriller that launched his international career.

It's reminiscent of The Terminator, Predator and Total Recall.

"My fans enjoy seeing me in futuristic movies, science-fiction movies, fantasy movies, sword-and-sorcery movies and even prehistoric movies, like the Conan films that I did in my early career," muses Schwarzenegger.

"I think they feel my appearance, my voice, my accent and my body fit easier into these kind of movies than they do into contemporary films.

"I saw this very early in my career and decided to capitalize on it and it worked for me."

Once he had established himself as an action star, Schwarzenegger made an abrupt turn. He began actively pursuing comedic films.

"My association with Ivan Rittman became very valuable and, for both of us, very successful.

"Ivan saw another side of me that needed exploiting and he did that for me with movies like Twins, Junior and Kindergarten Cop."

The serious, comedic and exotic sides of Schwarzenegger are readily on display in real life as much as they are in reel life.

He has great fun toying with the idea of having himself cloned.

"I wouldn't mind being cloned at all. That way I could send one of me off to play golf all day while the other one of me scrambled to do all the things that Arnold has to do each day.

"When I'm having to read a new script that's sent to me or to negotiate film deals, I'd really rather be spending quality time with my children.

"Two Arnolds could accomplish that."

On a more serious note, he says he'd like to be cloned as the 53-year-old Arnold he is.

"Right now, I have a great marriage. I have four wonderful children. I have my health. My heart is strong again.

"I have success and financial stability. This is the best my life has ever been. I have so much joy and so many opportunities, that I need at least two of me to enjoy it all fully."

According to Schwarzenegger's costars in The 6th Day, while he's enjoying making movies and living the life of a superstar, he makes certain others do the same.

Canadian actress Wendy Crewson, who plays Schwarzenegger's wife in The 6th Day, says he is "unbelievably thoughtful and generous. He knew I live in San Francisco. One weekend, he was going to the Bay area to visit a motorcycle factory.

"He flew me home with him in his private jet and then had a limo take me to my house."

Australian actress Sarah Wynter, who plays one of the cloned villains in The 6th Day, says Schwarzenegger has a unique sense of humor.

"He is a practical joker and he loves to tease you but he has the remarkable talent to make you feel special when he is teasing you.

"He is never mean, spiteful or hurtful. You almost want to be the butt of his humor."

Tony Goldwin, who plays Schwarzenegger's evil nemesis in The 6th Day, says the actor "is completely unaffected by his celebrity.

"I've begun directing now and I've learned quickly that often when actors get a little power in Hollywood, they begin to get difficult.

"They demand more and begin to operate on personal time schedules.

"Not Arnold. He is the first to arrive on the set and the last to leave. He's on the set as a cheerleader for the film whether he's needed for filming or not.

"He's a true movie star without any negative movie star behavior."

Tuesday, November 7, 2000

New 'Conan' film in the works

Conan The Barbarian will be stalking back into movie theatres, according to Variety.

John Milieus, who directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1982 adaptation of novelist Robert E. Howard's mythical ancient brute, has signed a deal to write and direct a new Conan movie, which could see him collaborating with "The Matrix's" directing team, Larry and Andy Wachowski.

Variety said Milieus has talked to Schwarzenegger about participating in the film in some capacity. Plans to have World Wrestling Federation star The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) play the title role fell apart after Universal agreed to pay the grappler $5.5 million to star in "The Scorpion King," a prequel to "The Mummy 2."

Schwarzenegger starred in two "Conan" movies for Universal in the 1980s, but the rights to Howard's series of Conan novels were purchased by Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee's company, Stan Lee Media, Variety said. Since then, Lee has been fielding offers from a number of studios and production companies, all of which are eager to resurrect the "Conan" franchise.

Variety said the Wachowskis are big fans of Milieu's original film but will be hard-pressed to collaborate on "Conan" as they gear up for next summer's planned start on two sequels to "The Matrix."

Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Not so invulnerable

Schwarzenegger almost drowned on the set of his latest film

By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun

LOS ANGELES -- Arnold Schwarzenegger was almost terminated while filming his new action movie The 6th Day.

In this futuristic thriller that opens Nov. 17, Schwarzenegger plays a helicopter pilot who discovers he has been cloned.

The 6th Day was shot in Vancouver earlier this year.

During the film's harrowing climax, Schwarzenegger tries to elude his pursuers by hiding in a tank of water.

"The scene should have been a piece of cake for me. I scuba dive and I am an excellent swimmer," says Schwarzenegger.

"We'd rehearsed the scene with me wearing goggles and a air tank. It was so simple.

"When I took off the goggles and the tank and they turned on all the lights for the cameras, the water was murkier than I realized so I got disoriented."

Schwarzenegger swam in the wrong direction, ending up under the platform that had been built to support the cameras.

"When I came up for air, I hit the platform. I was totally out of breath so I tried another spot, but it was further under the platform."

To his relief, Schwarzenegger felt a hand on his shoulder and it began pulling him in the opposite direction.

"It was one of the scuba divers. He had realized what had happened and came to my rescue. I had missed the opening in the tank by just six feet.

"It was one of those things that, if there wasn't someone there, it could have been fatal. That's how quick things go."

Schwarzenegger was not as shaken by this incident as one might think.

"This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. I've had similar close calls on every one of my big action movies."

Schwarzenegger's most harrowing near-death experience occurred on the set of his 1994 movie True Lies.

It was the scene in which he rides a horse onto the rooftop of a building.

"I'm riding out of an elevator onto the roof toward the edge of the building. The horse is supposed to stop suddenly and I fall off," says Schwarzenegger.

Once again, the stunt seemed fairly simple and had been rehearsed numerous times.

Precautions had been taken to ensure that the horse never went too far. There was a fence at the end of the ramp. But during one of the takes, a cameraman's hand slipped on his camera arm and the machine crashed down, nicking the horse's nose.

"It was not enough to hurt the animal, but it spooked him," recalls Schwarzenegger.

"There were guard rails in front of the horse, but none on the sides.

"The next thing I realized was that the horse is slipping off the ramp and his hooves go over the side of the building.

"He started flipping out. All I knew was that it was 60 feet straight down to a cement floor.

"I knew if the horse went over with me on, it meant certain death for me.

"It was a miracle that I slipped off the side of the horse that I did. If I'd gone off the other side, it would have been over."

Such freak accidents have not caused Schwarzenegger to rethink his position as an action star.

"I just keeping thinking that it's really interesting that every time I think a stunt is going to be a piece of cake it ends up being life-threatening."

Schwarzenegger is currently in Mexico filming his new action drama Collateral Damage. He plays a fireman who ventures to the jungles of Colombia to seek revenge after his family is killed by a bomber.

"I'm doing as much of my own stunt work as possible for this one, too, so you can see I'm not frightened by what has happened in the past.

"There is a lot of work with fire in this one and that's a very unpredictable element, so I'm keeping my wits about me."

Tuesday, August 29, 2000

Schwarzenegger's charity work recognized

BOYS TOWN, Neb. (AP) -- The man most famous for bulging biceps, "Terminator" movies and Planet Hollywood restaurants has been recognized for his lesser known role as a mentor to disadvantaged youth.

Arnold Schwarzenegger became the latest recipient of a Boys Town youth service award Monday, following in the footsteps of Mother Teresa and basketball great Michael Jordan.

Schwarzenegger is the 16th recipient of the Father Flanagan Award, but he is the first to receive it under the home's new name, which was extended to Girls and Boys Town last week.

"This is so special to me," Schwarzenegger said. "It's so important that this comes from an organization that has spent almost 100 years ... to help so many children."

The award recognized Schwarzenegger's work promoting physical fitness. Many of the 1,200 in attendance had won a competition to be able to ask the actor body builder a question.

His first question was a simple one: Is he sometimes afraid to do his own movie stunts? His reply was just as simple.

"The question I always ask in deciding is, 'Can you die?"' he deadpanned.

Schwarzenegger's parting words: "If you keep up the good work, I'll be back."

Thursday August 24, 2000

'Hannibal' actress joins Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger now has a partner in "Damage."

Variety reports that Italian actress Francesca Neri will join Schwarzenegger in "Collateral Damage," which is being directed by "The Fugitive's" Andrew Davis.

Schwarzenegger plays a man who loses his wife and child in a terrorist attack, and then enlists the help of the terrorist's wife (Neri) to help hunt down the killer.

Variety said Neri, who has appeared in Italian films and starred in Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's "Live Flesh," recently finished work on director Ridley Scott's "Silence Of The Lambs" sequel "Hannibal."

Tuesday June 20, 2000

Arnold up for 'T3'

After years of denials, Arnold Schwarzenegger says he's ready to once again take on "Terminator."

The New York Daily News says Schwarzenegger is eager to participate in "Terminator 3," which is in development.

"We'll make an announcement soon. It's all a matter of the script, the director and all of those kinds of things," he tells Access Hollywood in an upcoming interview, according to the Daily News.

One of the big stumbling blocks to a "Terminator" sequel has been the participation of director James Cameron. Schwarzenegger has said he won't make the movie without Cameron, but in the wake of his Oscar and box-office triumph with "Titanic," Cameron has seemed hesitant to revisit past glories.

"My big wish is Jim Cameron and I [will] work together again," Schwarzenegger tells Access Hollywood, adding the two are also working on a sequel to their spy film "True Lies."

"A ("Terminator") script is being written as we speak," Schwarzenegger says. "It's a film that Jim will definitely produce. If he will direct it or not, I don't know yet because he never makes up his mind until the script is all done and perfect."

Tuesday, April 4, 2000

Return tripping

By BOB THOMPSON -- Toronto Sun

Arnie Schwarzenegger gets what he wants. Even if it costs an extra $100,000-plus. Arnie is shooting The Sixth Day in Vancouver, but that didn't stop him from grabbing an artsy-type scene of himself in the dressed-up Eaton's Center in Toronto on the weekend.

Besides jet lag, there were some West Coast grumbles about "Arnie's vanity trip" from Vancouver to Toronto. "Needless, pointless and typical," says one insider who bets it will be cut from the finished product.

Tuesday, March 21, 2000

Schwarzenegger may shoot movie scenes at WEM

By STEVE TILLEY -- Edmonton Sun

EDMONTON - Forget the big water park, triple-loop roller coaster or the fleet of submarines: The latest thrill at West Edmonton Mall could be Arnold Schwarzenegger himself.

The world's biggest action hero may be visiting the world's biggest shopping center within two months to shoot a scene for his upcoming sci-fi thriller, The 6th Day, mall officials said yesterday.

Hollywood director Roger Spottiswood (Tomorrow Never Dies) and the film's producers flew to Edmonton earlier this month to meet with WEM's Travis Reynolds and Economic Development Edmonton's Ken Finke to discuss the possibility of shooting a scene in the mall.

VIE WITH SEATTLE

"They're in the final stages of choosing between West Edmonton Mall and a shopping center in Seattle," Reynolds said yesterday, adding the decision will likely be made by the end of this week.

The 6th Day stars Schwarzenegger as family man Adam Gibson who, after surviving a helicopter crash, discovers he's been replaced by a clone. He must fight to discover who's responsible for the cloning and avoid capture by the sinister forces behind the project.

Reynolds said the scene which may be shot in West Edmonton Mall would simply involve Schwarzenegger walking through a bustling mall, entering a futuristic store to buy some kind of gizmo and leaving.

Still, the shoot would last two days, would require the hiring of as many as 400 local extras and would likely pump $1 million into the local economy, Reynolds said.

Thus, the mall officials gave Spottiswood and the film's producers their best sales pitch, taking the Hollywood bigwigs and the film's location managers on a tour of the giant shopping center.

"We're talking a major motion picture shoot in West Edmonton Mall," Reynolds said. "It would be really exciting for us. He (Schwarzenegger) would walk right through the mall."

FALL RELEASE

None of the film's explosive special effects would be needed for the mall scene, so there's no chance of seeing the Santa Maria replica sailing ship being used as the setting for a gun battle, or witnessing Arnie chase a villain down a waterslide in the World Water park.

But Reynolds says there would be logistical considerations to be worked out for the shoot, including re-dressing store fronts to look like the kinds of shops that might populate the mall of the near future.

The 6th Day has been shooting on location in Vancouver since last fall, with Schwarzenegger being spotted tooling around that city in a rented yellow Hummer. Recently, a complicated car chase sequence was being filmed at the Simon Fraser University campus in Burnaby.

The proposed WEM shoot would likely take place in late April or early May, Reynolds said. The Columbia Pictures release is slated to hit theatres this fall.

Monday, January 31, 2000

Arnold signs up for terrorist movie

Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed on to star in "Collateral Damage" to play a man obsessed with hunting down a terrorist.

According to Variety, Schwarzenegger will be directed by Andrew Davis in the film, which is based on a script originally titled "Thou Shalt Not Kill." Schwarzenegger's character becomes obsessed with hunting the terrorist after his wife and child are killed by a bomb.

The movie news website Coming Attractions says that almost nothing was known about the project before the announcement in Variety, although sources told Coming Attractions the movie was originally intended for George Clooney.

Another site, Ain't It Cool News, recently reported that Schwarzenegger's production plate is starting to overflow. He is currently shooting "The Sixth Day" for director Roger Spottiswood, then heads to work on "Collateral Damage."

Here, according to Ain't It Cool News and Coming Attractions, is what is already in development for the star:

·  "Doc Savage: Man Of Bronze" Based on the old paperback series about a bronze-skinned hero.

·  "Total Recall 2" A sequel to the Paul Verhoeven special-effects spectacle.

·  "With Wings Of Eagles," a story about a second world war pilot shot down and ordered executed, and the German soldiers who refuse to do the deed.

·  "Crusade" To be directed by Paul Verhoeven, this film has been knocking around since 1991. Jennifer Connelly, John Tuturro and Robert Englund have also been mentioned for the cast. The film apparently includes a scene where Schwarzenegger's character snags Christ's crucifixion cross and carries it back to Rome. The project's massive budget has been the main stumbling block.

·  "S.W.A.T." Based on the 70s ABC TV show, the plot of the film reportedly concerns the tactical team's troubles protecting a dangerous criminal. Roger Spottiswood and Michael Bay have been mentioned as directors.

·  "I Am Legend" To be directed by Rob Bowman, it's based on a novel that has been filmed twice before -- as Vincent Price's 1964 film "The Last Man On Earth" and Charlton Huston's 1971 movie "The Omega Man. It's the story of earth's last human survivor as he deals with a plague of vampires.

·  "True Lies 2" Tom Arnold, who played Schwarzenegger's sidekick in the original, has been saying in interviews this project is a go, with Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis and director James Cameron all due to return. The plot of the new film has been rumored to concern infiltration of the Russian mob.

·  "Seven Men From Now" A remake of a Randolph Scott Film

·  "First Through The Door" A project being developed at MGM.

·  "Back Country" A project Arnold has been developing on his own.

Tuesday, January 18, 2000 January 18, 2000

Sly and Arnie to team up?

The Last Two Action Heroes are going to work together for the first time.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are looking for a movie project that would see the two icons of action films side-by-side at last, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Although the two have been friends and competitors at the box-office for years, they've never had the chance to team up, and one obvious obstacle would be trying to budget the project.

The Hollywood Reporter says Stallone earned $20 million for his next film "Into Thin Air," while Schwarzenegger was paid $25 million for the recent "End Of Days" and for his work as Mr. Freeze in "Batman And Robin."

But for the right project, Stallone has been known to take a pay-cut. For his work in the low-budget movie "Cop Land," he was reportedly paid a modest $60,000, although Stallone was the lead actor in the film. Sources told the entertainment paper that the duo would find a way to "make it work."

Aside from budget, what kind of film would accommodate their out-sized personas (and egos)? The Hollywood Reporter says the pair recently met to talk up ideas. Schwarzenegger wants to do an ensemble piece like "The Great Escape," while Stallone wants to see them playing rivals, with Sly playing the baddie to Arnie's hero.

Monday, December 27, 1999

Let's get physical

By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun

Arnold Schwarzenegger says he understands the key to his successful marriage to Maria Shriver.

"I'm a physical person," he says.

"Health and fitness are an enormous part of my life.

"I am fortunate to be married to a woman who is very physical-minded. Sports and physical activity are second nature to her," explains Schwarzenegger.

The couple has four children.

"Maria and I are training their bodies as well as their minds.

"We build family physical activity and workouts into every day of our lives."

Arnie's new millennium-themed film End of Days is not likely to be in theatres to greet the new millennium.

It failed to open in the top box-office position and has grossed just $63 million US in its five weeks of release, making it one of Schwarzenegger's least successful films.

"It's not my style to be concerned about being vulnerable at the box-office. I like that there is a danger zone in our profession," says Schwarzenegger, who collected his $25 million to star as a burned-out security guard who attempts to stop the Devil from fathering the Antichrist on the eve of the millennium.

Tuesday December 14, 1999

New Arnold film gets a villain

Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest film, "The Sixth Day", finally has a bad guy.

Tony Goldwin ("Ghost", "Tarzan") has agreed to co-star as Schwarzenegger's villainous opponent in the film, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Robert Duvall, Michael Rapport, Sarah Wynter, Michael Rooker and Wendy Crewson will also appear in the movie.

Director Roger Spottiswood, has already started shooting the $80 million film in Vancouver.

"The Sixth Day" follows Schwarzenegger's character, who discovers he's been replaced by a clone. Goldwin will portray an evil industrialist who develops illegal cloning practices and is then cloned himself after being killed in an accident.

Schwarzenegger is on the run from the evil clone, who wants to keep the cloning technology a secret.

Tuesday, 30 November 1999

Arnold wins German lawsuit

Arnold Schwarzenegger has won $15,600  in damages from a Berlin doctor who said the actor was bound to die soon from past use of anabolic steroids, Reuters reports.

Dr. Willie Heepe, who works in a heart-patient recovery center, told a German radio station in 1998 that Schwarzenegger, now 52, would die soon because of the dangers of steroids.

"Mr. Schwarzenegger objects to a doctor giving him a diagnosis of death from afar," Jan Hagerman, Schwarzenegger's lawyer, told Reuters. "This case is about banning such claims in the future."

Schwarzenegger underwent elective surgery in April 1997 to repair a defective heart valve. He has admitted using drugs while he was a body-builder.

Sunday, 28 November, 1999

Arnold's End-Game

Schwarzenegger hero seeks redemption in End Of Days

By BOB THOMPSON
Toronto Sun

NEW YORK -- In the beginning, there were many end-of-the-millennium movies planned.

Only End Of Days made it to the big screen.

It is fitting, too, that the psycho-thriller action picture about man vs. the devil should star Arnold Schwarzenegger as the bigger-than-life man.

In the special-effects adventure released on Wednesday, Schwarzenegger's ex-cop-turned-burned-out-bodyguard stumbles into a dilemma and the possible end of the world as he knows it.

Lucifer, played by Gabriel Byrne, is plotting to sire a child by the end of the millennium; if the devil implants his seed, evil will rule the world.

This would be a very bad kind of doomsday thing. So the devil must be stopped.

Naturally, there is lots of Schwarzenegger gunplay. There are huge explosions, too, and occasionally gross displays of grotesqueness.

As a change of Schwarzenegger pace, End Of Days also deals with religious faith and universal hope and delivers some anti-violence messages along the way.

Surprisingly, Schwarzenegger's he-man isn't all gung-ho either.

His character is a drunk and he's depressed. He even cries. And he gets tossed around by a woman.

Near the conclusion, this action hero seeks redemption by tossing away his high-powered weapon. Say what?

The thematic message might have something to do with the post-Columbine trend.

Certainly, director Peter Hyams agrees the Schwarzenegger alteration has as much to do with these ever-changing millennium times.

"The millennium," Hyams says, "is that dark apartment you come home to after having thought you left a light on. There's a certain amount of anxiety associated with that."

This is exploited by Hyams and company to deliberate effect.

"We attach everything to mile-posts in our lives, and this is the biggest mile-post we'll ever experience," the director says.

And what better way to celebrate it than with "a genuinely scary movie that's also a big honking' roller-coaster ride?"

And make it a story about the possible world ending and base it in New York. And then get Schwarzenegger -- "who is the biggest action star of the last decade," Hyams says -- to showcase it.

"It's kinda like playing with Michael Jordan," Hyams says. "If you don't step up your game, you're going to get a pass off your nose."

Arnie power still reigns despite Schwarzenegger's late-1990s box-office slump, and his two 1997 open-heart surgeries to fix a defective valve.

Any doubt of Schwarzenegger's durability were wiped out in the first few weeks of shooting the grueling scenes.

"He became a world champion in a sport that's all about will," Hyams says. "He doesn't know how to do things half-way."

No kidding.

Schwarzenegger. Satan. Showdown.

"I wanted to come back from my absence of two years with a big bang," the 52-year-old former Mr. Universe told reporters at a recent Essex House hotel gathering.

"And I chose this film because it showed the character as a vulnerable guy, and it had all the twists and turns," he adds.

"Crying is part of the vulnerability, in this case. It wasn't hard to do. We had to be as real as possible. I couldn't act the crying. I had to dig down deep inside and find the moments that are very upsetting and that do make me cry.

"I think that anyone who has a family is capable of having thoughts that can make you cry. That wasn't the most difficult thing."

What was?

"To act out the helplessness," he says. "Even though I pull myself together as the character and say, 'We're going to find the answers.' There was nowhere to go unless I get rid of my hostility and anger, and look at faith and inner strength as an option."

Now that's completely different from the Arnie mould.

So sure, Schwarzenegger admits, he benefited from moviegoers' lust for hyper-violent pictures in the '80s and '90s. But things have changed -- for everybody.

Schwarzenegger had the surgeries. And he has reconsidered his part in exploiting the hero as macho man.

"Now, I think it has turned the other way. I think you see that in this movie," Schwarzenegger says. "Here we are talking about redemption and not brute strength. Hope and faith were most important."

The actor, who earns $25 million per picture, had to have lots of both.

There were a few pre-production false starts. Then there was the tough, sometimes dangerous, shoot with the running and the jumping required from the still-healing actor.

"I like living on the edge," says Schwarzenegger, who also likes living in the center of the creative process.

"We did six months shooting this film and prepping it. There was coordinating the special effects, location scouting and meeting with religious leaders."

The meetings actually shaped the climax.

"I believe in God, and therefore believe in the opposite force, the Devil," the Catholic-raised Austrian says. "We as people are better off if we do believe in good and evil."

To parallel that new attitude, Schwarzenegger listened to the clergy and adjusted the screenplay accordingly.

"We changed the ending so that we could go into the millennium with the message," Schwarzenegger says.

"The message is you can't wipe out the devil with his creations -- guns, firepower, nuclear weaponry."

But before the revelation, you sure can try.

The END OF DAYS File

ORIGINALLY: Arnie's friend from the Terminators, director James Cameron, was thinking of doing the film. But he passed it on to his associate, Hyams, who made a name for himself directing 2010, Running Scared and Narrow Margin.

SCRIPTED: Andrew W. Marlow says he wrote End Of Days with Schwarzenegger in mind, but then who doesn't write an action script with Arnie in mind? Marlow says that the Arnie character has been matched against some of the worst villains ever, "so why not go with the greatest villain in the history of mankind?"

LOCATION: There are New York street scenes, especially Times Square, but most of the street sequences were shot in and around downtown L.A.

Wednesday, 17 November, 1999

No hasta la vista

It's far from the End Of Days for Arnie

By BOB THOMPSON -- Toronto Sun

NEW YORK -- Like the promise he made in Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back.

He's had a great deal to come back from.

Physically, there were two life-threatening open-heart operations in 1997. Professionally, there was the Batman And Robin flop and the embarrassment of having Warner Bros. pull the plug on Schwarzenegger's too-expensive 1998 film, I Am Legend.

Mentally, the combination would've knocked out most actors. As usual, Schwarzenegger's an exception to the rule.

To prove it, he's starring in End Of Days, opening next week. It's his "comeback" action thriller, described as a cross between Rosemary's Baby and Terminator. Schwarzenegger portrays a loser ex-cop who takes on Lucifer and his evil quest to sire a world-dominating monster before the second millennium finishes.

Despite the End Of Days big-bang gunplay sequences, there are some Schwarzenegger alterations to the formula in these post-Columbine times.

"The gun power is not the ultimate power," the chipper 52-year-old was telling reporters at New York's Essex House earlier this week. "We did not want to go the white-knight-with-the-shining-Armour route either."

Not only does Schwarzenegger play a suicidal drunk, he sheds tears for the first time. He also gets thrown around by a little old lady -- albeit a possessed one.

That was a reel departure and a real challenge. But it was nothing compared to his two open-heart surgeries in April, 1997. They replaced a congenitally defective heart valve. The first operation did the original job. The second came shortly after when Schwarzenegger got too active too fast, and had to have the valve replaced again.

He laughs it off now. "I started cycling two hours after I woke up from the first surgery and the valve broke," admits the husband of TV journalist Maria Shriver and father of four.

These days, the former Mr. Universe bodybuilder is fit and optimistic about what the future holds. "This is not my style to be worried and concerned and be vulnerable," he says.

It is his style to be political in a Republican kind of way. "And I have thought of it many times," confirms Schwarzenegger, who has been mentioned as a potential candidate for California governor or senator.

Right now, he insists that movies are on his mind. He'll complete the End Of Days promotional tour and start shooting The Sixth Day in Vancouver soon. Then he'll get ready for pre-production with director James Cameron on a True Lies sequel.

So Schwarzenegger's back all right. The Catholic family man stared death in the face, but lived to be in a rousing picture dealing with religious faith confronting the epitome of evil. Coincidence?

"Being Catholic had nothing to do with it," says Schwarzenegger, laughing. "Being an opportunist did."

So I guess Schwarzenegger and family won't be doing the anxiety thing at the end of the second millennium,

"We will be on the slopes in Sun Valley," he says smiling, "doing the mogul thing."

Tuesday, November 16, 1999

Heart to heart

Arnold Schwarzenegger talks candidly of ailment that could have terminated him

By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun

NEW YORK -- He's back -- and with a clean bill of health.

With the millennium thriller End of Days (opening Nov. 24), Arnold Schwarzenegger is determined to prove not even major heart surgery can terminate his movie career.

During the filming of 1997's Batman and Robin, it was determined that Schwarzenegger, who is 52, needed to have heart surgery.

"It was not a heart attack -- this is a hereditary condition to do with a deteriorating heart valve,'' said Schwarzenegger in an interview yesterday.

"My grandmother died of this condition because there was no procedure for her.

"My mother died (last year) because she refused to have the surgery.

"When I noticed the symptoms in myself, I elected immediately to have the operation.''

Schwarzenegger actually went under the knife twice.

"That was entirely my fault,'' he explained.

"I decided two hours after I woke up to go on the hospital life cycle machine.

"It was a major mistake.''

Schwarzenegger is adamant that his surgery did not keep him off the big screen for the past two years.

"The surgery sidelined me for only three weeks.

"I was promoting Batman in the overseas markets a month after I got out of the hospital.''

He says that he didn't learn anything major about his own mortality, stressing: "I didn't have a near-death experience.

"I fell asleep and I woke up.

"The most important thing about this whole experience is that I realized how fortunate I am to have a family that was there for me the entire time.

"Maria (Shriver) held my hand and she and the kids (the couple have four) camped out at the hospital. They made signs that said, 'Daddy get well.' ''

To listen to the actor, his health scare won't change the way he lives his life.

"I don't think that my condition says I am weak," he says.

"It just says that high-performance engines need more attention. They need replacement parts sooner.''

Schwarzenegger was extremely moved by the response of his fans during his surgeries.

"I received thousands upon thousands of letters and many were fearful for my life.

"It was important for me to come back with a movie that showed them they had nothing to worry about.

"And that I am the same Arnold who went into the hospital.''

In End of Days, Schwarzenegger plays a security guard who has to stop the devil from impregnating a woman and thus fathering the anti-Christ.

It offered the actor a way to say two important things.

"The stunts in this movie are spectacular. It's what my fans expect from me.

"But it also allowed me to show that I can play a vulnerable character. When they meet me at the beginning of the movie, I am contemplating suicide.

"I tried at first to be like the old Arnold and use firepower to defeat the enemy, but am only triumphant when I throw down the guns and go inside myself to find my lost faith.

"This is something my fans have not seen me do before.''

Schwarzenegger had dozens of scripts to choose from.

He says he choose End of Days because, "it allowed me to come back with a big bang. It shows I'm back physically. That I can do all the big stuff still.''

When Schwarzenegger took more than a year off, rumors began circulating that he was preparing to run for governor of California. Schwarzenegger won't deny that he has political aspirations, but he says they are not in his immediate future.

"I've been offered the chance many times and I considered running seriously many times. It's no secret that I am interested in politics, but right now I am too involved in the movie business.

"If I could clone myself, I would run for office tomorrow.''

He may need to just to fulfill his movie obligations.

Schwarzenegger is scheduled to begin filming the thriller The Sixth Day in Vancouver on Dec. 8. It is a movie about cloning. He says that he is still interested in doing Doc Savage, but adds: ''It's not on my plate just yet, because the script isn't where I want it to be. I think that the sequel to True Lies is a more possible project.''

As far as Terminator 3 is concerned, Schwarzenegger says: "I have been reading stories for five years that this movie is in the works, but until James Cameron is involved at some very important level, I am not the least bit interested.''

Monday, August 16, 1999

We DO need our last ACTION HERO back.

By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun

HOLLYWOOD -- Speaking of Arnold, Schwarzenegger is in talks to star as superhero Doc Savage in Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.

Because the action film will be budgeted at more than $100 million US, it will be a joint venture between Universal Studios and Warner Bros.

Chuck Russell, who director Arnie in Eraser, will direct.

Schwarzenegger, who has been absent from the screen since Batman & Robin, will be seen this fall in the supernatural thriller End of Days.

Wednesday March 31, 1999

Arnold returns to Canada

By JIM SLOTEK
Toronto Sun

Don't believe stuff you may have read elsewhere about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Angela Bassett coming here this summer to star in the movie of the Marvel comic X-Men.

The film is being shot here through the summer, and Sudbury was scouted recently for some armageddonish locations for the "war of the mutants." But reps for both Arnold and Angela are quoted in Cines cape Online saying their clients aren't associated with the project. (Patrick Stewart is said to be set to play the cerebral "Professor X.")

Anyway, Arnie hasn't been back since the U.S. border guys confiscated his Cuban cigars after he was here opening Planet Hollywood. We figure he's still steamed.

Tuesday, December 15, 1998

Arnold will be back

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger said he'd be back.

The actor is in talks to reprise his cyborg role in a third installment of the Terminator, with James Cameron planning to write and produce the movie, Daily Variety reported Tuesday.

No deals have been signed, but enthusiasm is high, the industry publication said.

Cameron is not planning to direct, but sources told Daily Variety that could change.

Thursday, June 12, 1997

Arnie's a cool dude

By LOUIS B. HOBSON
Calgary Sun

Batman and Robin can only be as good as their villains are bad.

In their fourth adventure, Batman and Robin, the dynamic duo is pitted against Dr. Victor Fries, a brilliant molecular biologist whose experiments backfired, turning him into the diabolical Mr. Freeze.

It took a little coaxing and a $20-million US pay check to get Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the chrome-domed ice king.

Not even one of the biggest pay-days in Hollywood history could get Arnie to shave his head. He insisted on skull caps and special effects makeup to transform him into Mr. Freeze.

"I knew I would have to be promoting my Christmas movie Jingle All The Way and I couldn't do that without any hair," explains Schwarzenegger.

"It wasn't vanity, it was practicality."

With all the public complaining George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell have done about the hefty weight of their Bat suits, Schwarzenegger wants his word in, too.

"My Mr. Freeze suit weighs at least 40 pounds and so did my polar bear lounging robe."

Schwarzenegger says he has been dropping hints to director Joel Schumacher for years that he wanted to work with him.

"It finally sunk in. He says I was his first and only choice for Mr. Freeze. I think it was my brainwashing that put the idea in Joel's head."

Tuesday, April 22, 1997

Have heart: Arnie's back home

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger was back home Tuesday just six days after heart surgery on a faulty valve.

The bodybuilder-actor opted to have an aortic valve replaced April 16 even though it wasn't causing him any problems.

"Choosing to undergo open heart surgery when I never felt sick was the hardest decision I've ever made," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "I can now look forward to a long, healthy life with my family."

The action hero plans to rest until the end of May, when he will begin promoting "Batman and Robin." He plays the villainous "Mr. Freeze."

"I want to reassure his fans that he is stronger than ever and he'll be back at work this summer," said Dr. Vaughn Starnes, Schwarzenegger's lead surgeon.

Schwarzenegger's heart is "strong and healthy," Starnes said.

Friday, March 14, 1997

Schwarzenegger switches agents

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It's "hasta la vista, baby," to Arnold Schwarzenegger's old agents.

The pumped-up action star has signed with the William Morris Agency after 15 years with International Creative Management.

"After careful consideration over a number of weeks I determined that William Morris is best equipped to handle my many areas of involvement, not only in the motion picture arena, but also in business, sports-related and charitable activities," Schwarzenegger said in a statement Thursday.

Sources say Schwarzenegger hopes the change will help him go beyond his tough-guy image, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Schwarzenegger, who plays Mr. Freeze in the upcoming Batman and Robin movie, will be represented by a team of agents headed by Robert Stein and Michael Gruber, both senior vice presidents at William Morris.

Thursday, January 16, 1997

Total Recall will be back

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's science-fiction hit "Total Recall" will be back.

Whether the muscular action star will be back with it remains to be seen.

Sequel, prequel and remake film rights to "Total Recall" were purchased Tuesday from defunct Carolco Pictures at a bankruptcy court auction.

Dimension Films, an arm of Miramax, paid $3.15 million.

"This is the perfect franchise opportunity for Dimension," said Miramax chief Bob Weinstein, who said he plans to contact the film's original cast for a follow-up to the 1990 film.

Schwarzenegger has said he would like to do a sequel. Other original cast members include Sharon Stone.

"Total Recall" earned $260 million worldwide for Carolco.

Sunday, December 22, 1996

Schwarzenegger is Santa Claus to needy kids

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Some needy kids whose Christmas looked grim after a massive charity toy theft got a reprieve from a Santa with bulging biceps and a washboard stomach.

Arnold Schwarzenegger donned a red suit and played St. Nick for thousands of children at the Hollenbeck Youth Center, which lost 3,500 donated toys from its warehouse to thieves.

The youth center has distributed toys to low-income children for 16 years. After the Dec. 15 theft, residents, celebrities and companies responded with a flood of gifts and donations.

"I am ready for anything, basically," Schwarzenegger said Saturday. "Everybody in town chipped in."

The Austrian-born action hero was even ready to communicate to the many Latino children there, greeting them in Spanish with a hearty, Feliz Navidad, which means Merry Christmas.

December 6, 1996

Planet Hollywood gambles on Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Some big stars traded their limos for a piece of heavy construction equipment for the groundbreaking of Planet Hollywood's entry into the hotel-casino business.

Planet Hollywood stockholders Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis rode to the site Thursday in the giant scoop of a front loader, then tossed T-shirts and commemorative coins to thousands of cheering fans.

The 3,000-room, $800 million resort is scheduled to open in early 1999.

"All the big players are going to gamble here," Schwarzenegger told the crowd.

Stallone said, "It's been an amazing ride," referring to the five years that has seen Planet Hollywood grow from a single celebrity-focused restaurant to a chain of 50 around the world.

November 23, 1996

Schwarzenegger a softie for fast food

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even the Terminator gets cravings for junk food.

"Every Sunday I ride my hog to a fast-food place. I eat a greasy breakfast and talk movie talk," Arnold Schwarzenegger says in Monday's issue of react magazine.

Despite his age, Schwarzenegger says he is able to maintain a "better-than-average body."

And the macho hero of action films such as Terminator and Total Recall can be a real softy sometimes.

"When I saw Field of Dreams, I cried twice," he said.

Schwarzenegger's new movie, Jingle All the Way, opened Friday.

November 22, 1996

Schwarzenegger plays it coy on sex, politics

By LYNN ELBERT
Associated Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's film career has been impeccably well-mannered thus far.

OK, so the corpse count in such fierce exercises as "Eraser" and "True Lies" is a bit unseemly. And even his comedies, like the new kiddy romp "Jingle All the Way," can turn into screwball mayhem.

But sex, the topic etiquette experts deem forbidden for polite society, is usually avoided. In "True Lies," after all, Jamie Lee Curtis did her shimmying solo.

Shoving courtesy aside, Mr. Schwarzenegger, just when are we going to see some hot-and-heavy romance, some serious sexuality, in your movies? Or are you one of those shy big guys?

And, while we have your ear, what about another touchy subject, politics? Not the movie kind, the genuine article: Given your Republican activism, might there be a Dick Morris (or better-behaved version of political consultant) and a campaign in your future?

Schwarzenegger, gracefully wielding a half-smoked cigar, appears relaxed as he ponders the questions in a Beverly Hills hotel suite.

He's very willing to try on-screen hanky panky, says the bodybuilding champ who morphed into a movie star. But there's a significant obstacle: Size matters.

"The stuff only makes sense if it is a story that is totally believable to the audience. With what I bring to the movie, I just can't pick up any script that has some skinny rat guy," he said.

He cites a 1975 Lina Wertmuller film, "Swept Away," which has the half-Schwarzenegger-sized Giancarlo Giannini "beating up on this woman. He was this little scrawny guy ... but if it were me, it's over. I give her a look, and people feel sorry for her.

"What's important is not that I just satisfy myself to do a role, but it has to be pleasant for people to watch. It has to be a story written in such a way that my size is comfortable to that project and it doesn't get in the way, and it doesn't take anything away from the character or the sense of the whole movie."

Wait, who said all that? Arnold, the action hero?

Yes, the man who made his reputation on menace combined with the pithy punch line -- "I'll be back" and "You're luggage" among them -- turns out to be downright chatty in real life.

The Austrian accent thuds heavily, just as it does on screen, and his syntax occasionally is as convoluted as an action-movie plot. But he is business-executive brisk and savvy, appropriate for a man who is a virtual conglomerate.

There's Arnold the star, of course, and the longtime real estate developer. And there's Arnold the international restaurateur, partnered with Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone in the Planet Hollywood chain, as well as owner of his own eatery in Los Angeles and a chain of Miami Hotels and Casinos.

So what's next?

"Believe me, I've thought about it many times, what is the next thing," he said. "I'm concerned sometimes, concerned what will it be, because it could be very sudden."

Schwarzenegger is referring to the possibility that acting, his primary vocation, could abruptly lose its charm. It happened with bodybuilding, he explains, in 1980.

"I stood one day on the stage, when I won the Mr. Olympia contest, and I said what ... am I doing here, standing here in these little posing trunks, half-naked and oiled-up and proving to the world I'm the most muscular man?

"There's 10 bodybuilders left and right of me who would appreciate this trophy and this title so much more than I," he continues. "What am I doing here, why am I taking this away from these guys?

"And from that point on" -- he snaps his fingers for emphasis -- "gone it was."

For now, acting still inspires enthusiasm: "I'm like a puppy. This is wonderful."

But might politics provide the next, greater challenge? He campaigned actively for President Bush, but pretty much sat out the 1996 race (he knew President Clinton was a sure winner, he explains).

"My interest really came in the late 1970s, early '80s, when I saw the country really deteriorate, during the Carter administration," Schwarzenegger recalled. "I saw interest rates going sky high, saw inflation go out of control."

"The poor were really beaten down by that," he said, and he felt America's image was taking a beating in the eyes of the world. He believed in the approach Ronald Reagan successfully campaigned with, and signed on.

"Nothing against Carter," Schwarzenegger adds, diplomatically. "Believe me, I respect the man fully because his intentions with human rights were absolutely fantastic. Just the whole thing didn't go the way it should have."

"This whole Democratic-Republican thing is such a fine line anyway, you know, in so many cases," he said.

That's probably a sound position for a man who lives in a divided household: His wife, Maria Shriver, is descended from Democratic Party royalty via her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

"I'm very fortunate that I'm married to a very, very bright woman who is a Democrat (but) where she can see my side and I can see her side. It's great to flesh out all those ideas," he said.

He's gained something else valuable from the connection: His mother-in-law's work with the Special Olympics has shown how effective a person can be working outside of the political ranks, Schwarzenegger said.

"Being through with acting doesn't necessarily mean that you have to jump into a political career. It also means that you can take on a great organization you feel strongly about," said Schwarzenegger, pointing to examples including his own past work with the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Besides, he said, he's not prepared now to make the sacrifices that politics demand.

Another point to consider: Schwarzenegger, used to reaching the top, is ineligible to serve as U.S. president because he's foreign-born. Could he settle for less?

His reply comes wrapped in a mischievous grin.

"They said to me I could never be a bodybuilding champion because Austrians won ski races, not bodybuilding contests."

November 20, 1996

Schwarzenegger is a seasonal Action Hero?

By LYNN ELBERT -- Associated Press

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be a tough guy during the summer blockbuster movie season, but when the holidays roll around, he turns into a pussycat.

Aiming to please family audiences, he seeks lighter films like this year's entry, Jingle All the Way, about a dad trying to keep his promise to his young son and deliver the year's hot toy for Christmas.

Although comedy misfired for Schwarzenegger when he played a pregnant man in Junior ("I miscalculated," he says now), he's proven he's a hunk with a sense of humor in the successful Twins and Kindergarten Cop.

He has his own family to please, of course: wife Maria Shriver, the TV newswoman, and their three children.

Through action-adventure films including Terminator, True Lies and Eraser, the square-jawed former muscleman has become famous enough to be a one-name celebrity (provided it's said just right: "Arnold").

He's still entranced by moviemaking, but the 49-year-old is also looking toward the future. The magic of body-building competitions vanished abruptly, and the same could happen for acting, he says.

But for now, movie challenges still await him.

He hasn't tackled a full-on romantic film and some people wonder if he's reluctant to

"I'm still looking for scripts that are quite different from the things I have done," he said. "I'm looking for a script that is a romantic comedy or a straight dramatic kind of love story.

"It has to be a story written in such a way that my size is comfortable and doesn't get in the way. With what I bring to a movie, I can't just pick up any script that has some skinny rat guy."

Schwarzenegger hasn't set a deadline for the end of his action-hero status because he says the film industry just can't be planned that way.

"You get a feel for it, at what point it's becoming redundant," he said. "The public doesn't believe in it or you've got to move on and start doing other things. It's a very intuitive kind of thing."

This season's highly commercial Jingle All the Way bears little resemblance to what Schwarzenegger knew as a kid growing up in Austria.

"It's a really rough thing when people ask me what Christmas gifts I got as a kid," he said.

"I said I never even knew there was a toy. There was no such thing. We got a sweater or something like that."

Now, however, a major challenge for the bodybuilder- actor-businessman is trying to balance his work and family life.

Schwarzenegger takes his kids to the film set with him, a place he calls "the biggest playground in the world."

"There's very few fathers that have the opportunity to do that like I do," he said. "I have in my office a room decorated like an Austrian farmer's house. There's a cradle that each kid had when they came to the office as a baby.

"I'd put a string around it and rock the cradle. So now they come in there and they remember it. They try to fit in there. They say 'Daddy, do this again.'"

Schwarzenegger had a strict European upbringing but acknowledges that things are different for his kids.

"It's like night and day," he concedes. "I can only use 10 per cent of my upbringing with them because otherwise it would be too much. When I grew up, the most common thing was to be punished in school by being hit.

"It's very interesting to watch your kids and realize how much you can accomplish without hitting them, just talking and punishing them another way -- with timeouts, those kind of things.

"I'm a typical American parent with a European style, which means there is a discipline still. I'm much more strict with the homework than maybe most American parents are."

November 18, 1996

Schwarzenegger acts as bait

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger played two roles on the set of Batman and Robin -- he was in character as Mr. Freeze and was also bait in a trap set for paparazzi.

Warner Bros. executives were furious when unauthorized footage of George Clooney playing the Caped Crusader aired on TV's Inside Edition.

Studio officials spotted a photographer in unedited footage from the set and again Oct. 19. He was arrested after he came back for more during Schwarzenegger's first day of shooting.

Security guards said they called police after watching the man snap photos with a tiny camera allegedly smuggled in inside his sock.

November 17, 1996

Slapstick all the way

Arnold Schwarzenegger gets caught up in the Christmas rush in Jingle All The Way

By BOB THOMPSON
Toronto Sun

HOLLYWOOD -- Look up `pathetically panic-stricken' in the Yuletide gift-giving handbook, and you'll see the picture of an unplanned parent in a daze before Christmas.

It is a sight, but not a pretty one. Jingle All The Way (opening Friday), takes that desperate premise and wants to make us laugh.

The movie, directed by Brian Levant and produced by Chris Columbus, stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as an over-worked executive who has everything going for him except an ability to remember the needs and wants of his son.

His son, for instance, needs his father around more, but more specifically wants an action figure by the name of Turbo Man.

When Schwarzenegger, as the dad, heads out on his Mission: Impossible, the potential for comic panic shopping ensues.

There are a few other reasons why the humor factor increases.

Failed father's neighbor (Phil Hartman) is the perfect pop who not only is everything his son could ask for, he purchased everything his son did ask for -- including a Turbo Man.

Competition for the action toy comes from the low of supply (there are only a few left) and demand (shoppers all want one).

There's also the little matter of a manic postman, who is played by the manic Sinbad. The letter carrier is in the same revolting predicament as Schwarzenegger's dad, so naturally they don't join forces but battle each other for a Turbo Man prize.

Did we mention the shopping showdown takes place on Christmas Eve? But of course.

Certainly, Sinbad relates. "Two years ago," he remembers, "there were Power Rangers -- white Power Rangers."

Naturally, "The toy cartel had created a shortage, so there was this craving for white Power Rangers. I was calling around -- nothing.

"Then I called the company that made them, got the shipping schedule, showed up where they made them.

"I met this kid in the darkness near the place. `Call me when you get them,' I said.

"He did. I showed up again and bought 10 of them. It was like a drug deal gone bad."

What about the always organized Schwarzenegger?

"Everyone who has children has gone through that race where it comes to the last day," he says, "where you can't find the toy, or then they are sold out, and you feel like an idiot."

And the parent was a child, too, and relates from the receiving side as well as the giving side.

Sinbad chuckles. He knows about the days in Benton Harbor, Mich., when the Christmas wish list was serious business.

"I was seven," Sinbad says. "It was the Cookie Camera. Had to have it.

"It was like this periscope, but if you looked through it, it was like you were on acid.

"So yeah, I got a Cookie Camera. Do I still have it? No, it only worked once."

Schwarzenegger's festive season seemed to be less complicated when he was a kid in Austria, but for reasons other than choice.

"We were getting much more practical kinds of gifts," says a smiling Schwarzenegger, "like snow.

"Really, our mother would knit a sweater or we'd get a sled, or something like that.

"I was born in 1947, and this was after the Second World War. We had no TV. We had no money. There were no toys or anything, so there was really nothing we could ask for."

They probably had neighbors from hell in Austria, but nothing like the modern day version of the smarmy man that Hartman portrays.

Not only does Hartman's Mr. Nice Guy show up Schwarzenegger's doofus dad, he also puts the moves on the neighborhood moms.

"His job," says Hartman of his character, "is to make the worst day of his next-door-neighbor's life a little bit more miserable."

The acting assignment gave Hartman the opportunity to do what Hartman does best -- play annoying man.

"Yes, my guy," says Hartman in his best annoying man voice, "is unaware of his own compromised ethics.

"He thinks he's the perfect '90s male -- thoughtful, creative, in touch with his feminine side, but the facts speak volumes on this Christmas Eve.

"He has a failed marriage, he sued the company he works for because he got migraine headaches from the office toner fumes.

"So he's retired, and he uses his free time working his way around the cul- de- sac, helping disgruntled housewives with handyman work. Who knows what drains he's snaked?"

Rabble-rouser or not, the crisis mentality of Christmas shopping doesn't require much in the heightened hysteria department -- in real life or in the movies.

"It's true," Sinbad agrees. "You don't really have Christmas until after, because that's when people start talking to each other."

Schwarzenegger concurs. He also admits that merchandising, ironically, has a great deal to do with it.

"I mean that's what TV does to kids," he says, referring to commercials.

"I hear it every day: `Daddy, watch this.' It's a new toy, and they want it. Of course, you don't give it to them -- all the time. But there is lots of pressure at Christmas to come through."

Or? Or live with yourself all the way until next Christmas.

THE TURBO MAN PARADE FILE

LOGISTICS: Filmmakers had to actually make a parade for the climax of Jingle All The Way. There was a 46-foot long Turbo Man float. There was the All Santa Marching Band, which was really the high-steppers at UCLA. The Turbo Man band was the Pasadena City College band. Don't forget the 10,000 pounds of red and gold confetti.

Meanwhile, five cameras photographed the tree-lined snow-covered streets with 1,500 extras dressed in Minneapolis winter-weather clothes. Only this particular sequence was being filmed in L.A., in the summer, in the hot of 100-F degrees.

November 13, 1996

Five Questions with Arnold Schwarzenegger: Seasonal Action Hero?

By LYNN ELBERT -- Associated Press

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be a tough guy during the summer blockbuster movie season, but when the holidays roll around he turns into a pussycat.

Aiming to please family audiences, he seeks out lighter films -- like this year's entry, "Jingle All the Way," about a dad trying to keep his promise to his young son and deliver the year's hot toy for Christmas.

Although comedy misfired for Schwarzenegger when he played a pregnant man in "Junior" -- "I miscalculated," he says now -- he's proven he's a hunk with a sense of humor in the successful "Twins" and "Kindergarten Cop."

He's got his own family to please, of course: wife Maria Shriver, the TV newswoman, and their three children.

Through action-adventure films including "Terminator," "True Lies" and "Eraser," the square-jawed former muscleman has become famous enough to be a one-name celebrity (provided it's said just right: "Arnold").

He's still entranced by moviemaking, but the 49-year-old is also looking toward the future. The magic of body-building competitions vanished abruptly and the same could happen for acting, he says.

But for now, movie challenges still await him.

1. You haven't tackled a full-on romantic film. Are you reluctant to?

Schwarzenegger: I'm still looking for scripts that are quite different from the things I have done. I'm looking for a script that is a romantic comedy or a straight dramatic kind of love story. ... It has to be a story written in such a way that my size is comfortable and doesn't get in the way. With what I bring to a movie, I can't just pick up any script that has some skinny rat guy.

2. Have you set a deadline for the end of your action-hero status, a certain age when you might say it's time to give it up?

Schwarzenegger: You can't plan like that. You get a feel for it, at what point it's becoming redundant. The public does not believe in it or you've got to move on and start doing other things. It's a very intuitive kind of thing.

3. How does the lavish, highly commercial Christmas portrayed in "Jingle All the Way" compare with what you celebrated as a youngster in post-World War II Austria?

Schwarzenegger: It's a really rough thing when people ask me what Christmas gifts I got as a kid. I said I never even knew there was a toy. There was no such thing; where would we see (toys) to say to our parents 'I want this toy.' It didn't exist. We got a sweater or something like that.

4. How do you balance work and family life?

Schwarzenegger: I take my kids to the set. You can't be a bigger hero than taking them to the set. It's the biggest playground in the world, the movie studio. ... There's very few fathers that have the opportunity to do that like I do. I have in my office a room decorated like an Austrian farmer's house. There's a cradle that each kid had when they came to the office as a baby. I'd put a string around it and rock the cradle. So now they come in there and they remember it. They try to fit in there, they say 'Daddy, do this again.'

5. You had a strict European upbringing. Are you raising your children the same way?

Schwarzenegger: Things are so different, it's like night and day. I can only use 10 percent of my upbringing with them, because otherwise it would be too much. When I grew up, the most common thing was to be punished in school by being hit. ... It's very interesting to watch your kids and realize how much you can accomplish without hitting them, just talking and punishing them another way -- with timeouts, those kind of things. I'm a typical American parent with a European style, which means there is a discipline still. I'm much more strict with the homework than maybe most American parents are. 

October 2, 1996

Will Arnie be back in T3?

Arnold Schwarzenegger could become the highest paid actor in history - all he has to do is become the Terminator for a third time.

His compensation? Forty-five million dollars.

Schwarzenegger has always maintained he wouldn't do sequels - he didn't for the hit sci-fi Predator - and kept his word until Terminator director James Cameron seduced him with a script he couldn't say no to in Terminator 2, which became one of the first $200-million-plus hits of the '90s.

Since then, Arnie has steadfastly refused all offers for sequels.

But studio sources told British online magazine Vibe that the superstar has changed his mind about Terminator after filming a sequence for the Terminator theme ride at Florida's Universal Studios.

The magazine reports Schwarzenegger will do a second sequel - if the script is up to snuff. But even if it's green lights all round, a Terminator film won't hit screens until at least 1998 - Cameron is committed to Titanic until at least next July. Once a script is finished that earns the approval of both Cameron and Schwarzenegger, Hollywood sources say the effects needed to make a third Terminator worthy of the series would still take up to two years to film.

September 12, 1996

Arnie sues over car ad

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger has raced across the screen in sports cars, and in real life has even driven a Humvee, a massive three-tone super-Jeep used by the military.

But the action star says he's never "driven, sat in or been photographed with or near a Gumball Porsche."

Schwarzenegger has filed a US$5 million lawsuit against a German magazine and Gumball USA, claiming they used his photo without his permission in an ad for the car.

On the cover of the November 1995 issue of Germany's Sport Auto magazine, Schwarzenegger can be seen smiling and giving the thumbs up sign alongside the car. "Muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger is no friend of weakness. The new Gumball satisfies his passion for fast Porsches," the ad said.

A lawyer for Gumball USA had not seen the lawsuit and declined comment.

June 17, 1996

Arnold and me

Working with Schwarzenegger erases Williams' outsider status

By BRUCE KIRKLAND -- Toronto Sun

HOLLYWOOD -- Vanessa Williams was a woman, and an outsider, in Arnold Schwarzenegger's macho movie world. Like her character in the superhero's new killer thriller Eraser, the singer had to learn to survive and thrive.

And she did. Just as she has since she was forced to endure a 'scandal' over nude pictures of her in Penthouse magazine during her 1983-84 reign as Miss America, a title that was stripped away because of the furor. Her mettle has been tempered by the experience.

"I was intimidated with his presence," Williams admits of her initial days with Schwarzenegger on the Eraser set. "He's got his cigar. He's got his people around him that are part of his crew. It's Arnold's world, and I was stepping into that world that I didn't know."

Williams, a gifted, soulful singer whose strong year includes wrapping up a triumphant nine months in Broadway's Kiss Of The Spider Woman, preparing her fourth solo album, singing the Pocahontas tune Colors Of The Wind on the Oscar show and the U.S. national anthem at Super bowl XXX, is still inexperienced in movies.

Her meager credits include Under The Gun, The Pick-Up Artist, Another You and junk such as Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man. Eraser -- she was cast only on the suggestion of Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver, not because Hollywood was courting her -- is her most prominent movie role ever and her dynamic performance is leading to other movie offers. Eraser opens in Toronto Friday.

Yet Schwarzenegger's team was wary of her, Williams says. In Hollywood, she was a foreigner. "I was an 'entertainer' to them. They hadn't seen me on Broadway, they hadn't heard my music, they just knew I was a celebrity." And celebrity status in one world doesn't carry over to another.

"I wasn't 'the' star of the show, which is something that I'm used to on Broadway. So that was a transition for me. Once I got beyond the transition stage, it was great. It's just very humbling, extremely humbling. But also that's when you're ready to learn. When you can learn at that level, in an ensemble like that, that's when you get the respect."

Respect is a word you hear often in a conversation with Williams. She earned it the hard way and yet offers it readily. She cites her children (Melanie and Jillian) and her role-model parents as inspirations for a healthy attitude.

"I used to get defensive," she says now of times in her mercurial career when she didn't get credit. "I used to say, 'I've always been this talented, you just didn't give me the chance!' " Now her energy flows from a positive source.

"Now, having kids and still being around my parents and seeing how they dealt with different things, I've learned. My ability to deal with stress and deal with problems has a lot to do with being responsible for my own actions.

"I certainly get upset about a lot of things, like other people, but it's the way you handle them that makes you who you are. When you are upset more than you should be some days, those are the days you are losing out of your own life. So deal with it, move on and release it because, otherwise, you'll manifest it physically and mentally. Who wants that?"

May 15, 1996

Now introducing Dr. Schwarzenegger

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) -- Just call him Dr. Schwarzenegger.

Arnold Schwarzenegger will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree Friday night from his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

The award recognizes Schwarzenegger's contributions to health and fitness, speaking out against prejudice, and creating positive opportunities for inner-city children.

His anticipated appearance is causing quite a stir: University officials for the first time are requiring tickets for the graduation ceremonies.

The policy drew complaints last week that some of the 360 or so graduates wouldn't be able to have all the friends and relatives they wanted in attendance.

Schwarzenegger graduated from the university in 1979 with an individualized major that emphasized international marketing of fitness and business administration.

May 8, 1996

Terminator likes freebies

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger is enjoying the habit known as Minnesota Nice.

"Everyone here has been so wonderful," said the Terminator star, who is in the state filming a comedy, Jingle All the Way.

"People who own bakeries have sent cookies out to the cast and crew. People who own coffee shops have sent us coffee," he said. "People who own toy stores have sent toys to my children. I've never experienced anything like it."

Schwarzenegger was host of a charity fundraiser Monday. Guests paid $95 for a meal at Planet Hollywood, of which he is part owner.

March 10, 1996

Arnie to play a villain

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger may muscle his way into the next Batman film, playing villain Mr. Freeze.

The star of the Terminator movies was quoted by Daily Variety on Thursday as saying he would try to fit the role in around his commitment to another new film, Wings of Eagles.

If that's not possible, Bruce Willis is waiting in the wings, the trade newspaper said.

The sequel, titled Batman and Robin is to begin filming this summer, but has had casting difficulties.