Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron Reminisce About Arnold’s First Film Flop
Written by on June 9, 2023
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron reminisced about their feelings over the Last Action Hero’s negative reception. In his new Netflix three-part docuseries, Arnold, the Terminator actor reflected on the highs and lows throughout his career as a bodybuilder, the former governor of California, and a Hollywood star. That included his role in the poorly received action comedy movie Last Action Hero.
The John McTiernan-directed movie follows a young boy named Danny Madigan (played by Austin O’Brien) who enjoys watching films featuring LA cop and action hero Jack Slater (played by Schwarzenegger). While struggling with the death of his father, Danny is pulled into an action movie thanks to a magical ticket from a theater employee (played by Robert Prosky). Once transported into the film, Danny comes face to face with his favorite character, Jack.
Last Action Hero opened with $15.3 million at the domestic box office and $50 million worldwide.
In the docuseries, Schwarzenegger said, “When Last Action Hero came out I had reached my peak after Terminator 2, having the most successful movie of the year worldwide.” The star then noted that when the reviews for Last Action Hero started coming in, “I cannot tell you how upset that I was. It hurts you. It hurts your feelings. It’s embarrassing.”
Still, despite the negative response to the film, it’s clear that the Total Recall star didn’t share the same opinion about his role in the action comedy.
Recently, when asked what he considered to be his “most underrated” performance by The Hollywood Reporter, Schwarzenegger told THR “Last Action Hero. It was slaughtered before anybody saw it. It was literally a political attack because I was campaigning for [former President George H.W. Bush], but Bill Clinton won.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger Called Last Action Hero “Great” and Noted That the Film Was “Underrated”
Schwarzenegger continued, “Last Action Hero was great — it wasn’t fantastic, but it was underrated. Now, more and more people are seeing it and saying, “I love this movie.” I’m getting the residual checks, so I know it’s true. It made money — that’s always an important thing for me. Because it’s show business, right?”
EW noted that Cameron (who directed Schwarzenegger in the Terminator movies) also reflected on the Predator star’s reaction to the Last Action Hero’s poor reception. The director noted that after calling Schwarzenegger the weekend after the film was released, it “sounded like he was in bed crying. He took it as a deep blow to his brand. I think it really shook him.”
The screenwriter continued, “I said, ‘What are you gonna do?’ He said, ‘I’m just gonna hang out by myself.’ That’s the only time I’ve ever heard him down.”
Schwarzenegger added, “I didn’t want to see anyone for a week. But you keep plodding along. And my mother-in-law also said this all the time: ‘Let’s just move forward.’ It’s a great message.”
Following Last Action Hero, Schwarzenegger went on to star in 1994’s action comedy True Lies, which was directed by Cameron. True Lies was a box office success and grossed $378 million worldwide.
The Avatar director said, “Arnold’s bringing me a project that he believes in. He’d never done that before. I thought we could have fun with comedy. I know he had done comedy. He has a good sense of humor.”
Cameron added, “It’s a play. Life is a play. You have to be able to take the failures with the successes. And that’s just the way it is.”
Still, despite encountering some bumps over the course of his long-running career, the star shows no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Most recently, Schwarzenegger made in television series debut with the Netflix action-comedy FUBAR, which was released on May 25th.
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