The Governator May Already Be Thinking About Hopping On His Harley And Riding Back To Hollywood
Can it possibly be that Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger is already tired of the emotional demands of enveloping the panicked citizenry of Malibu in his strong arms each time a wildfire cuts a new swath through some eight-figure weekend homes, and might be planning a return to the Hollywood superstardom he's briefly forsaken to dabble in public service? THR's Ray Richmond blogs that some picket-line chatter amongst the writers of Schwarzenegger's signature blowing-shit-up fare indicates that he may have his eye on a possible comeback:
A few high-profile writers of action films who wished not to be ID'd (you know how that is) were heard conferring that before the strike hit, agents were putting out feelers for material and pitches to develop projects with Schwarzenegger in mind. Nothing specific yet. All just preliminary stuff. [...]
Here is what [political sppkesman Aaron] McLear had to say: "Once the governor's current term is up, he may go back to the movies, or devote energy to business, or continue working on environmental issues, or run a foundation — or start painting!" He continued, "But the governor has decided nothing final as yet and is devoting his energy to the job of running the state." [...]
What evidently implanted this comeback thought in Schwarzenegger's mind, it's being theorized, is the recent success of his old Planet Hollywood buds Sylvester Stallone (age 61) and Bruce Willis (age 52). Their "Rocky" and "Die Hard" sequels found sizeable audiences in 2007, seemingly against the "they're just too dang old for this" odds. Also, Ah-nold was recently seen making the rounds with Harrison Ford, who at 65 is returning to his legendary Indiana Jones role — and apparently kicking butt like the Indy of old.
Indeed, the fact that fading-action-star contemporaries like Stallone and Willis have been able to convince studios to squeeze out new installments of their moribund movie franchises has to be encouraging. The possibilities for comeback vehicles must seem limitless, whether Schwarzenegger decides it time to finally make that Commando sequel he's put off for more than twenty years, or to try something far more ambitious, like convince pal Harrison Ford that a Terminator Vs. Blade Runner project, pitting time-traveling killer cyborg against grizzled replicant-hunter, would be a surefire blockbuster. Even if he can't pull off something on that scale right away, it probably wouldn't take more than one phone call to old friend Danny DeVito to get the ball rolling on a Twins or Junior reunion, just to get his feet wet.