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If you think Red Sonja is a cinematic low for Arnold Schwarzenegger, hold onto your popcorn! Helmed by Richard Fleischer and penned by Clive Exton and George MacDonald Fraser, this 1985 flick might not have snagged any Oscars, but it does offer a buffet of campy fun and over-the-top sword fights.

Fans of the Austrian Oak, however, argue that this sword-and-sorcery movie isn’t even close to his worst film. That dubious honor goes to Hercules in New York (1970), the actor’s debut flick.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielsen in Red Sonja (1985) | Credit:

MGM/UA Entertainment Co.

Schwarzenegger’s first big screen outing, directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, has been widely panned. The movie’s reputation is so poor that fans often scratch their heads, baffled by how the actor went from this flop to a superstar. One especially puzzled viewer even asked, “How did he become a star?”

Arnold Schwarzenegger...

During the long career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, he has had an unusually varied group of job choices in sports, the entertainment industry and most recently in politics.

He first came to international attention as a bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests numerous times. He became the face of the then new sport of bodybuilding and that brought him to the attention of the entertainment industry. His first film was a low budget film called “Hercules in New York” for which he was mostly used for his physique. Due to his heavy accent his dialogue had to be dubbed by another actor. His notoriety increased with the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” which made him a familiar face to American audiences.

His second foray into films was more successful. For his supporting role in the film “Stay Hungry,” he earned a Golden Globe Award as Best Film Debut for a male actor.

With Netflix recently unveiling the trailer for their three-part documentary focusing entirely on the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger (releasing June 7) alongside his new series Fubar, it's more than a perfect time to go back to the Governator's roots. While film fans the world over adore Schwarzenegger for his bombastic and pitch-perfect performances in the likes of Terminator and in the jungles of Predator, there was an (admittedly brief) time when the 6 foot 2 inches tall heavily accented human piece of muscle wasn't the globally recognizable figure we see today.

In fact, many may not know that his first film was actually a low-budget film about a character from Greek mythology in the Big Apple.

Big Arnold in the Big Apple

Seven years into his life as a professional bodybuilder, a then 23-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast in a low-budget movie titled Hercules in New York. Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, Schwarzenegger...

Richard Herd, a character actor best known for his role as Mr. Wilhelm on “Seinfeld,” has died at the age of 87.

A representative told TheWrap that Herd died of cancer-related causes at his home in Los Angeles with his family present.

Herd recurred throughout several seasons of the sitcom as Mr. Wilhelm, supervisor to Jason Alexander’s George Costanza during his time as an employee of the New York Yankees. He appeared alongside the show’s caricature of former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was voiced by Larry David.

Also Read: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2020 (Photos)

Herd also starred in the original “V” miniseries in 1983 as John, the leader of the alien Visitors who come to occupy Earth. He later reprised the role in the 1984 sequel “V: The Final Battle.” His other TV credits include recurring roles on “seaQuest Dsv” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” as well as a series regular...

On July 30, 2019 Arnold Schwarzenegger will celebrate his 72nd birthday. Over his long career, he has had an unusually varied career in sports, the entertainment industry and most recently in politics.

He first came to international attention as a bodybuilder winning both the Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia contests numerous times. He became the face of the then new sport of bodybuilding and that brought him to the attention of the entertainment industry. His first film was a low budget film called “Hercules in New York” for which he was mostly used for his physique. Due to his heavy accent his dialogue had to be dubbed by another actor. His notoriety increased with the bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” which made him a familiar face to American audiences.

SEEWho’s your favorite Best Director Oscar winner of the 1990s: Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Jonathan Demme … ? [Poll]

His second foray into films was more successful.

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An appreciation of the rippled muscles of Arnold Schwarzenegger, from his Hercules days through to Predator...

Did you know Donald Trump's successor on The Celebrity Apprentice was once one of the biggest box-office draws in the world? Trippy, right? Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger became famous for his unique style and his fluctuating dialect, but he was picked for stardom for another reason entirely: he was a rippling, bulging slab of primeval, otherworldly manhood. The man was a titan, casting a shadow as wide as it was high. His fresh, smiling face and booming Austrian lungs were the perfect extras, but Arnold was thrust into the limelight because of his physique.

It was his earliest, formative years in which we saw Arnold's greatest flexes, when he relied on his jaw-dropping size for impact. In 1990 he would dominate both science-fiction and family genres, but it was in the years preceding this that his chest was most greased, skin most tanned and muscles most inflated. So let's think back, relive the carnage, and appreciate the 'King of Kings' in all his glittering majesty.

Hercules In New York (1970)

Seven long years before he starred in a breakout bodybuilding documentary, Arnie's 22-inch arms were breaking onto small screens in Hercules In New York. In Schwarzenegger's first real acting role, his unease is palpable. His thick Austrian accent (dubbed over in the film's original release) hasn't a spot of charisma and his performance is comparable to that of a re-animated corpse.

Schwarzenegger is Hercules, a demi-god sent to Earth. On his trip, he does all the things an everyday tourist does in the Big Apple: finds love, begins a career, flees pursuers in a chariot and chokes out a (man in a) bear (suit). He also finds time to fight off group of six men, using only a ridiculously long plank of wood, and best an Olympic-quality team of athletes at various track and field events. The film may have had a budget tighter than Arnold's shirt, but there is scant excuse for the lack of dimension or invention.

We are treated to Arnold's first show of size when his date shows him a poster for an upcoming Hercules picture. Our travelling deity is offended, claiming the actor looks nothing like him. Doing what any rational demigod would do, he strips off his cream turtleneck, revealing his chiselled torso. His audience-of-one loses her mind as he begins posing, before she realises what an insanely ludicrous thing has occurred. It's only the hindsight novelty factor that keeps Hercules In New York relevant.

Pumping Iron (1977)

Arnold was a star long before Pumping Iron. He was at the peak of his craft. At 28 years old, he stood at 6'2, weighed 240lbs and was a six-time Mr Olympia winner. He retired on top.

The most alpha of males, Arnold sashays through the documentary. Whilst some of his fellow competitors look like circus strongmen, Arnold is a walking sculpture, the perfect blend of symmetry and balance. Even starring alongside a real-life superhero, the Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno, he looks ginormous. The gap between his front teeth is the only chink in his man-made armour, but somehow he even turns that to his advantage.

The moment in which Schwarzenegger pops the loudest is in a moment of silence. As the documentary takes focus on the reigning champion, we are given a look behind the camera. A photo-shoot sets Arnold alight, as he poses and flexes in complete tranquillity. The only noise we are offered is that of the shutter, focusing our attention to the spectacle before us. In a film where some scenes feel uncomfortable to observe, at one point Arnold refers to Jesus as an inspiration for his legacy, this quiet moment of appreciation is a refreshing pause.

Conan The Barbarian (1982)

Refreshing pauses were seldom offered to us in the following years. Conan's story begins as 'a tale of sorrow', before the barely-dressed warrior embarks on a tale of revenge and retribution. Schwarzenegger's seductive ex-slave possesses superior sword skills, spinning, slashing and slaying a plethora of barbaric nasties.

At the film's most glorious, Conan and his collaborator take a stand against the villainous cavalry. With axe in hand and horns on head, Conan cleaves and slices. Though his weapon looks to be made out of foam and the enemies put up less effort than a pre-relegation Aston Villa, we are treated to a whirlwind of visual and verbal masculine aggression. What's more, we are given one of Arnold's earliest one-liners. In his first prayer, Conan asks his god to "grant me revenge, and if you do not listen, then to hell with you!" It's much better heard than read. This classic scene contained all the components that made his next breakout, muscle-bound feature such an enduring success.

The Terminator (1984)

It only took until 2029 for Arnold to hit the big time. James Cameron's "blazing, cinematic comic-book" (Variety's words) was the perfect vehicle for an emerging Schwarzenegger, as his role would rely on his frame rather than his command of the English language. The Terminator's unmoving grimace removes the need to portray emotion or reaction, but it is a skill few could pull off with such menace. Schwarzenegger is perfect casting: when he loses his eyebrows, he cuts the figure of a stone-cold killing machine.

The opening moments in the present day focus on a trash collector. Electric bolts awaken the workman from his boredom-induced coma, fizzing and zapping around him. They rally to a crescendo of light, producing a figure curled up in a foetal position. This figure is the T-800, a stark-naked Arnold; we see his arse before his face. He rises like the phoenix, striding into the light without a flicker of disorientation or embarrassment. We are slapped with a shady silhouette of his flapping member as he approaches a gang of ruffians, led by a young Bill Paxton, before he utters the now immortal phrase: "Your clothes: give them to me."

The T-800 swats one lackie away, before his jacked right arm lifts another overhead. This loiterer comes down without his heart, Cameron's camera hovering on Arnold's deep red, clutching hand. The T-800 is an instant threat, legitimately scary throughout, but it is in this brutal opening that he feels most deadly. It's not just Orwell who made 1984 special...

Commando (1985)

After playing a travelling god, a rugged caveman and a killer robot, Arnold was refreshed as a loving and devoted father. As John Martix, Schwarzenegger is a family man and a killing machine. These would come to represent the two sides of Schwarzenegger's coin: his films often worked best when the two went hand-in-hand. On screen he would mow down enemies with bullets and grenades, and later help his fictional daughter with her algebra homework. What a sweetheart.

And yet, in a film where hundreds of henchmen bite the dust, it is in his role as 'dedicated father' where he is the most impressive. Matrix had left his commando days behind, now taking care of his daughter, living a reclusive existence. Almost immediately, Schwarzenegger ripples; close-ups of his veined arms and chest are all too close, but remind the audience that Stallone is a boy scout in comparison. Arnold saunters toward the camera, carrying a huge tree on his shoulder like it’s a week's laundry. Schwarzenegger doesn't finish there. Not only does he handle the log like it's a twirling baton, he finishes the testosterone fest by turning it into kindling. A guy's got to keep that fire burning.

Predator (1987)

While Commando would eventually snowball into a cult classic, Schwarzenegger's following feature would prove the key to stardom. Even before Schwarzenegger stepped foot in the jungle, he met a fellow goliath. As Arnold's pumped-up mercenary Dutch is being briefed on his mission, a lone figure, sitting at a distant table, interjects. That figure is Apollo Cre… Carl Weathers; a man whose size and wit will match Schwarzenegger's all the way.

"Dillon!" Dutch gasps with childlike glee, before grounding his joy with the deprecating: "You son of a bitch." As Dutch and Dillon stride toward one another, their formidable forearms recoil before colliding into the most powerful handshake in cinematic history. The camera shifts focus from their gleaming smirks to the strained embrace. One second turns into five, the embrace morphing into competition, each man fighting in this mid-air arm wrestle. Five seconds turns to ten - the tension grows thick as Arnold toys with his rival. This contest lasts a full twenty seconds - twenty long, facial-hair-inducing seconds.

We may never recover from a scene that powerful.

The film soon hurtles into contact with the titular chameleon with barely chance to catch its breath. This lazer-toting, extra-terrestrial assassin is Arnold's ultimate nemesis, even down to the maniacal cackle. But, not even a foe this deadly could create a scene with the power of that handshake. Even in the film that popularised the full body mud-pack, the ass-kicking action and tension-mounting drama relies on the introduction Weathers and Schwarzenegger offer.

This theme would follow our Austrian actor. His greatest muscle-bound moments would come early, as an introduction, setting the tone and character in motion. As his career developed, Arnold proved he was much more than just unisex eye-candy, developing his aesthetic allure into real Hollywood charisma. Arnold would come to blossom in attracting a younger market, mixing action roles in Terminator 2 and Total Recall with Kindergarten Cop and Junior. Not only did Kindergarten Cop have no right to be as good as it is, but Arnold had no right to be so enjoyable to watch. His size became a point of contrast rather than one of awe, towering over others without menace but humour. He became his own character, a phenomenon for a reason beyond his look. He became the epitome of the American Dream, persevering and succeeding more than anyone thought he could. The ex-army tank driver would go on to ask in Junior, "Does my body disgust you?" and later become the Governor of California.

We've had some shallow fun, picking through Arnold's early years for his most outrageous muscle flexes. But it's worth remembering that Schwarzenegger's story is one of success through a lot of hard work and perseverence.

I'm just going to leave this here in case you feel motivated; I know I do...

Movies Feature Jake Wilson Arnold Schwarzenegger 16 Jun 2016 - 05:14 Pumping Iron Conan The Barbarian Commando Predator Hercules In New York The Terminator...

In answer to the question, "What is best in life?," Conan the Barbarian answered in 1982: "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." Arnold Schwarzenegger's sincere though stolid delivery of that dialogue became iconic, reflecting his relative inexperience as an actor as well as the movie's macho, action-first aesthetic. The great John Milius directed the muscular action adventure and cowrote the screenplay with Oliver Stone. Discounting the little-seen Hercules in New York, It was the first starring role for former bodybuilding champion Schwarzenegger and proved to be a box office success, leading to  the sequel Conan the Destroyer two years later.   Schwarzenegger's career...

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They may be best known today for their later roles, but these six stars all got their first break by playing super heroes on TV. Maybe these shows aren’t the most memorable or well-made super hero projects, and they aren’t the highlight of the actor’s career, but these little shows jump-started the careers of some future celebrities.

Bruce Lee

Started out as—Kato, the Kung-Fu fighting sidekick to the Green Hornet in the TV series The Green Hornet (1966).

After that—Lee had a recurring role in the detective series Longstreet before returning to Hong Kong to star in a highly successful trio of films; The Big Boss (1971); the Chinese Connection (1972) and the Way of the Dragon (1972). His first and only Hollywood film was Enter the Dragon (1973). Lee died young and his legend has grown ever since. He is considered by many as the greatest martial arts star in the history of film.

Viewers already saw James Corden help Tom Hanks reenact his filmography in under seven minutes, and on Monday, the Late Late Show host helped Arnold Schwarzenegger do it in six! Together, they performed scenes from many of Schwarzenegger's famous movies—even the duds! The Austrian-born actor made his feature film debut in 1970's Hercules in New York, though his accent was so thick that this lines were dubbed in post-production. That movie wasn't included in the late-night sketch, though he and Corden did pay homage to several of his earlier roles, including Conan the Barbarian and Pumping Iron. When Schwarzenegger and Corden recreated a scene from The Expendables, they used cardboard stand-ins for...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to make his next non-“Expendables” franchise return to the big screen on July 1st with “Terminator: Genisys.” However, before the future Governator ever went back in time to kill Sarah Connor, he hefted a great sword in another epic '80s — and later — franchise. That series, of course, is "Conan," and it all began with 1982’s “Conan the Barbarian.” (Interesting side note — the first "Conan" film fared better at the box office than the first “Terminator” flick…and also the last “Expendables” outing.) Schwarzenegger’s first big franchise role — and the one that really catapulted him to wide renown (yes, “Hercules in New York,” I know) — Conan was and is a muscle-bound, sword-toting fantasy hero created by Robert E. Howard in the early 1930s. Schwarzenegger was unfamiliar with the character when producers Edward Summer and Edward R. Pressman first approached him about the film,...

This weekend marks Hercules’ return to the big screen. A staple in the hero canon, the half man, and half god has slayed lions, bedded mortal women, and even hung out with the Three Stooges. Over the past seven decades, the hero has transformed from an Italian Stallion of the 1950s to the Blockbuster Beefcake we see today thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kellan Lutz taking on the title role. With the former’s film (Hercules directed by Brett Ratner) opening this weekend, we thought it was a good time to look at the evolution of Hercules on the big screen.

’50s: The Italian Stallion

A star of the “sword and scandal” genre, Hercules became a regular fixture in Italian cinema during the 1950s. These historical epics were seen as the country’s answer to successful big-budget Hollywood films, such as Spartacus and The Ten Commandments.

Subsequently, the...

This weekend marks Hercules’ return to the big screen. A staple in the hero canon, the half man, and half god has slayed lions, bedded mortal women, and even hung out with the Three Stooges. Over the past seven decades, the hero has transformed from an Italian Stallion of the 1950s to the Blockbuster Beefcake we see today thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kellan Lutz taking on the title role. With the former’s film (Hercules directed by Brett Ratner) opening this weekend, we thought it was a good time to look at the evolution of Hercules on the big screen.

’50s: The Italian Stallion

A star of the “sword and scandal” genre, Hercules became a regular fixture in Italian cinema during the 1950s. These historical epics were seen as the country’s answer to successful big-budget Hollywood films, such as Spartacus and The Ten Commandments.

Subsequently, the...

For the last few years, Summertime has been super-hero time at the multiplexes. It seems ever other week another costumed character with incredible abilities is battling away for a big chunk of the box office pie. But what about the original amazing avenger? Sure the Man Of Steel was here last Summer and is gearing up for his return (when he’ll face off against another hero). Nope let’s go way, way back to the real original, that demigod Hercules. The superstar of Greek mythology has been a cinema staple since the late 1950′s when American Steve Reeves laced up his sandals in two surprise hits imported from Italy. Reeves was the first of many famed body-builders to portray him right through 1969 with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Hercules In New York and 1983 with TV’s Hulk Lou Ferrigno in a pair of low-budget epics from Cannon Films. The man of muscle also went animated,...

Good news for Brett Ratner and The Rock; their version of Hercules can't be any worse than. Hercules in New York (1969) Director: Arthur Seidelman Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnold Stang, Deborah Loomis After pissing off his father Zeus, the mythical Hercules is sent to New York City, where he clashes with the mortals and tries to make it as a professional wrestler. As the child of a non-native speaking immigrant, I don't usually tale pleasure in making fun of...

Feature Ryan Lambie 19 Mar 2014 - 06:21

The 1977 docu-drama Pumping Iron launched Schwarzenegger's career, and led to an era of fitness obsession and action heroes, Ryan writes...

In February 1976, the Whitney Museum in New York played host to a highly unusual exhibit: Arnold Schwarzenegger, clad in little more than a tiny pair of brown briefs, posing like a Greek statue on a rotating platform. Around him, some of the Manhattan art scene's most famous critics sat and pontificated.

Called Articulate Muscle: The Male Body In Art, the exhibition included two fellow Mr Universe bodybuilders, Frank Zane and Ed Corney, plus a panel of artists and historians, who discussed the notion of "the body itself as an art medium". The event was inspired and organised by Charles Gaines, a former weight lifter and author of the book Pumping Iron, a candid and in-depth account of bodybuilding with photographs by George Butler.

Originally expected to attract around 300 visitors,...

Kellan Lutz ‘The Legend of Hercules’: New Summit release has 0% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating (photo: Gaia Weiss and shirtless Kellan Lutz in ‘The Legend of Hercules’) Starring Kellan Lutz, best known as the hunky and likable vampire Emmett in the Twilight movies, The Legend of Hercules opens today, January 10, 2014, in North America. That’s the good news for Kellan Lutz fans. Now, the bad news: The Legend of Hercules isn’t about to become the next Spartacus — or even the next Gladiator. “The only thing epic about The Legend of Hercules is what a failure it is,” writes Stephanie Merry in the Washington Post, while Newsday‘s Rafer Guzman’s complains that “this painfully feeble version of the strongman story fails on every level, from Lutz’s wooden acting to the styrofoam special effects.” In fact, out of 35 reviews, the Summit Entertainment / Lionsgate Pictures release has a 0% approval rating...

Some people just have an absurd amount of time on their hands and an attention to detail that they invest themselves into world-changing endeavors that make full use of their abilities. Case in point: The fine individual who put together this massive supercut of every single Arnold Schwarzenegger kill onscreen. From Hercules In New York to The Last Stand, Arnold's bodycount is tallied in real time as you watch the vicious, silly, and creative ways in which he's dispatched his...

Two new Hollywood adaptations of the Greek hero Hercules will be battling for box office supremacy in 2014 - Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Hercules: The Legend Begins.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson stars as the titular role in The Thracian Wars - out on July 25, 2014. After performing his legendary 12 labors, Hercules is asked by King of Thrace and his daughter to defeat a cruel warlord.

Meanwhile, Twilight's Kellan Lutz will play his own version of Hercules in The Legend Begins. Lutz's Hercules is exiled after falling in love with the Princess of Crete, who is set to marry his brother. The upcoming film is set for a March 2014 release in the Us, and will debut on August 8 in the UK.

As if that wasn't enough, BBC's new series Atlantis has Mark Addy starring in a more comedic take on the role. While Johnson and Lutz have the traditional physical brawn to...

Bodybuilding guru who built up a fitness empire and helped Arnold Schwarzenegger break into show business

Ben and Joe Weider turned bodybuilding into a worldwide phenomenon: part sport, part beauty pageant and part lifestyle. The younger brother, Ben, expanded their International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, in their home town of Montreal, into a hugely profitable outfit and also became a philanthropist and renowned Napoleonic scholar. Joe, more flamboyant and a relentless self-promoter sometimes accused by rivals of harbouring a Napoleon complex, moved to California, where he kept the various Weider enterprises in the public eye. Joe has died aged 93.

It was Joe who, in 1968, brought a relatively unknown Austrian bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to Los Angeles. His repeated success in the Weiders' Mr Olympia contest led Schwarzenegger into show business and by starring in the film Stay Hungry (1976) and the documentary Pumping Iron (1977), he put himself, and bodybuilding, on the map.

So sad. The man who discovered Arnold Schwarzenegger and founded a bodybuilding empire passed away on Saturday, Mar. 23 from heart failure.

Joe Weider, revolutionary founder of a bodybuilding empire, died from heart failure in Los Angeles, California on Mar. 23. He was 93 years old.

Joe Weider: Bodybuilding King Passes Away At 93

Joe, born in Montreal, Canada, became obsessed with bodybuilding after reading an article in “Strength and Health” as a teenager. He went on to revolutionize bodybuilding culture by creating several muscle magazines – Muscle and Fitness, Flex, Men’s Fitness, Shape — dietary supplements, and competitive muscle-building contests that turned the hobby into a sport like Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia.

Joe’s magazines garnered a readership of over 25 million by featuring bulked up celebs like Sylvester Stallone, Cher, and of course Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He became Arnold’s mentor — it was Joe who brought Arnold to the United States in 1968, giving...

Weightlifter who helped popularise bodybuilding around the world remembered as a 'hero' by the former California governor

Joe Weider, a legendary figure in bodybuilding who helped popularise the sport worldwide and played a key role in introducing a charismatic young weightlifter named Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, died Saturday at age 93.

Weider's publicist, Charlotte Parker, told the Associated Press that the bodybuilder, publisher and promoter died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

"I knew about Joe Weider long before I met him," Schwarzenegger, who tweeted the news of his old friend's death, said in a lengthy statement posted on his website. "He was the godfather of fitness who told all of us to be somebody with a body. He taught us that through hard work and training we could all be champions."

A bodybuilder with an impressive physique himself, Weider became better known in...

Los Angeles — Joe Weider, a legendary figure in bodybuilding who helped popularize the sport worldwide and played a key role in introducing a charismatic young weightlifter named Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, died Saturday. He was 93.

Weider's publicist, Charlotte Parker, told The Associated Press that the bodybuilder, publisher and promoter died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

"I knew about Joe Weider long before I met him," Schwarzenegger, who tweeted the news of his old friend's death, said in a lengthy statement posted on his website. "He was the godfather of fitness who told all of us to be somebody with a body. He taught us that through hard work and training we could all be champions."

A bodybuilder with an impressive physique himself, Weider became better known in later years as a behind-the-scenes guru to the sport.

He popularized bodybuilding and spread the...

Top 10 Luke Savage 18 Mar 2013 - 06:30

Better known for his brawn than his acting chops, Arnie has still turned in some great performances over the years, as Luke reminds us...

So The Last Stand hasn’t quite re-affirmed Arnold Schwarzenegger as supreme ruler of the box office. At the time of writing, its worldwide box office takings are a little over $33m. That’s someway short of its reputed $45m budget, and even less than Schwarzenegger’s rumoured $29.25m salary for Terminator 3. To be fair, it was never really going to propel him back to his blockbuster days of old. Especially when his co-star is Johnny Knoxville.

And to be fairer, it’s actually a much better film than those numbers would suggest. Surprisingly violent, funny in places, hilariously clichéd in others. But it’s not a great Arnie film. And it’s not a great Arnie performance. Too much emoting,...

Feature James Clayton Feb 1, 2013

With Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Willis all in cinemas this year, James takes a look at their current and forthcoming action movies...

Bruce Willis remains. Sly is sticking at it. Arnie is still around. The dudes abide and I’m glad they abide. For their abidance, I salute them with an enthusiastic air-punch and a shout of “yippee-ki-yay!”

The world moves on, shifts in the film industry happen, but constant presences like Willis, Stallone and Schwarzenegger really tie the action movie landscape together. To strain this rug metaphor and reference to The Big Lebowski even further, cinema arguably doesn’t need these old things anymore, but they make for quite agreeable decoration and repeatedly prove themselves as pleasing, useful pieces of furniture that complement the architecture and harmonise nicely with the environment. Ladies, gentlemen, cyborgs and monkeys: this is filmic feng shui.

They are solid footing on...

Arnold Schwarzenegger released his memoir "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story" this week, which details everything from his growing up with seven cats in Thal, Austria, to his plans to make “Triplets” with Eddie Murphy and Danny DeVito to his disastrous first meeting with the late producer Dino De Laurentiis. Like any good memoir, the 646-page book also has a few surprising revelations, including a few detailing Schwarzenegger’s acting technique. The star of “Predator” and “Last Action Hero” isn’t thought of as a master of the craft. But to get from the bodybuilding stage to the studio set took training and determination. Here’s what Schwarzenegger has to offer actors looking to walk in his footsteps. On staying in character “If I’d had acting experience, it would have been a lot better,” Schwarzenegger writes about his time on “Hercules in New York,” his first movie. “The...

This weekend, Sylvester Stallone and company return to action in the sequel to "The Expendables" -- conveniently titled "The Expendables 2." There's been a lot of talk this week about just which member of "The Expendables" is the most or least expendable. We thought it would be fun to take a look at a good portion of the team when they were all at their most expendable. You know, back when Stallone was doing soft-core pornography and Bruce Wills was singing the theme song to Seagram's Golden Wine Coolers.

Ahead, a look at the early careers of "The Expendables" cast.

Sylvester Stallone -- "Party at Kitty and Stud's"

Infamously, Sylvester Stallone's first movie role was in something called "Party at Kitty and Stud's," which, yes, is a soft-core porn film. After Stallone became Stallone, the film was renamed "The Italian Stallion" because of course it was going to be renamed...

London, August 6: Arnold Schwarzenegger has admitted that his 1969 movie 'Hercules in New York' was so awful that it can be used as a tool against terrorists who won't talk to interrogators.

The former California Governor, who is embarrassed for having done that film, is glad that he's not remembered with the title in the film, Arnold Strong.

"There's.

On a long list of cinema’s best lugheads, or muscle-bound action stars as they would prefer to be called, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would probably fall somewhere in the middle. While never really opening a movie outside of Disney’s family film “The Game Plan” on his own, Johnson has recently fallen back on mega-grossing blockbusters like “Fast Five,” “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” and the upcoming “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation.” In this writer’s opinion, he’s not without talent, showcasing an admirable comedic timing and acting prowess well above what you’d expect from a guy who started his career getting oiled up for WWE wrestling matches.

Deadline is now reporting that Johnson has signed on for a film that’s once again within his comfort zone of the action genre, with the adaptation of an upcoming Oni Press graphic novel entitled “Ciudad.” Oni Press also published the “Scott Pilgrim” books,...

Former wrestler Dwayne Johnson signs up to play the Greek hero in Brett Ratner's forthcoming comic adaptation

Action star Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, is to follow in Arnold Schwarzenegger's footsteps by playing Hercules in Brett Ratner's forthcoming film about the mythological Greek hero, reports Variety.

The former wrestler will head to New Zealand in October to begin work on the film, which is based on Steve Moore's 2008 graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars. The comic is set in barbarian Thrace, and plays down many of the character's mythological traits to present a more human figure.

Hercules has been presented numerous times on the big screen, notably in Disney's 1997 animation and 1969's Hercules in New York, which starred a young, heavily dubbed, Schwarzenegger, when he was billed as Arnold Strong. Ratner's most recent film, Tower Heist, his first feature in four years, was a minor critical and commercial success.

A screening of Tarsem Singh’s Immortals inspires James to write a paean to other gods of the big-screen…

Gods, in my humble opinion, are great. I’m willing to put my hand on my heart and then – in scenes resembling my favourite moments of Alien and The Thing – rip open my chest to put said heart on my sleeve and admit that I’m a huge fan of gods.

It’s just a shame for the Thuggee cult that I wasn’t cast as Willie Scott in Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. Kali would have received my sacrificed organs and cinemagoers would have got to savour even more delicious nastiness in the darkest Indy flick. I’m cool with giving up body parts for the greater cosmological good and for the audience’s entertainment, and reckon Willie should reconsider her priorities, both as a stage performer and a human being.

Wuthering Heights star James Howson had his voice overdubbed in the film, it has emerged. He joins a surprisingly well-known group of actors...

All things considered, Wuthering Heights has been good for James Howson, the unschooled, unemployed Leeds local who stars as Heathcliff. Andrea Arnold's drama has provided him with a pay cheque, a launchpad and a prospective ticket to an acting career. It now transpires that it provided him with a voice as well.

On first seeing the film, Howson noted with dismay that his performance had been dubbed. "I felt really hurt," he said this week. "All the things I had to do in the film – the cold mornings, the difficult scenes – and then they use someone else's voice."

It's hard not to feel some sympathy for Howson, plucked against the odds from open call auditions and pouring his heart and soul into playing brooding, vengeful Heathcliff.

Howard Hausman, who ran features in New York, asked me to see Arthur Allan Seidelman, an East Coast stage director whose claim to fame at that moment was directing his and Arnold Schwarnegger's debut film "Hercules in New York." There were few other credits that meant anything in Los Angeles. He pitched himself by dropping scores of names he had directed on the stage, off and on Broadway, in theater in-the-round and square, in stock and wherever he could. I asked him for a memo with a list of names he...

The Film:

They say in movies anything is possible, especially with our current technology to bring our imaginations to life. But adapting Marvel Comics’ Thor? Why that would seem as silly as a big budget remake of Hercules in New York, and yet doubters be damned. Kenneth Branagh has delivered an easy-going, richly simplistic tale of the God of Thunder. As Thor tells Jane about the nature of his world, our world, “I come from a world where magic and science are one-in-the-same“, so true is Thor.

Premiering in Journey in Mystery #83 back in 1963, Thor has always been the odd-man out in the Avengers canon, due to his role as a God, where as the other superheroes are science-based. To make this film work, the screenplay had to be a delicate example of honoring the history of Thor from the comics, as well as acknowledging our modern reactions towards a...

[1] I've always had this fascination with seeing current rich and famous figures in their humble beginnings, and the success of tabloid columns and webpages devoted to that very topic suggest I'm not the only one. When some A-list faces are as familiar to us as those of our actual loved ones, seeing long-ago photos or videos of them is amusing in the same way that seeing pictures of your friends as little kids is amusing. "Before They Were Famous: 25 Actors in 3 Minutes" collects some especially amusing snippets of today's biggest stars, including Angelina Jolie, Ryan Gosling, Jack Nicholson, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in some of their earliest acting gigs. Watch the video after the jump. They're not all first-time roles -- I'd argue that Seth Rogen in Donnie Darko hardly counts as even a pre-fame role, as he'd already starred in Freaks & Geeks by then -- but the clips collected here...

Despite being completely run into the ground and cancelled due to incredibly poor ratings, Channel 5 have seen fit to resurrect the corpse of Big Brother. News has been flooding in this week regarding potential celebrities who are rumored to be appearing on its upcoming revival. Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson and even Charlie Sheen have all been reported to be in talks with executives to appear on the show.

With the names yet to be officially confirmed, here’s our list of 12 people we’d like to see on Celebrity Big Brother.

David Cameron

Everyone loves the televised grilling of a Politician. What would be better than shoving the Prime Minister into the house to discuss important topical issues with Katie Price.

Probability: Unless Davina McCall has been replaced by Andrew Marr, highly unlikely.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Following the recent scandal over his illegitimate love child, Arnie on Big Brother would make for some excellent television.

Can you tell whether a movie’s going to be awful without even watching it? The clues are there, if you know where to look…

No one sets out to make a terrible movie. Not even Michael Bay. In the long, collaborative process of filmmaking, everyone's trying to pull together in the hope that, once all the scenes have been shot and edited into a coherent sequence, the results of all their efforts will be rewarded with critical acclaim, audience approval and an influx of lovely cash.

Take a careful look over the history of cinema, though, and it's clear that there are certain things you should most definitely avoid as a filmmaker. To this end, we've dug deep through the movie archives to come up with eight signs that your movie is doomed to critical or financial failure...

1. It features a character dressed in a rabbit or bear costume...

I'm good at my job because I'm eternally curious about the world of movies. And I'm bad at my job because I'm eternally curious about the world of movies. Once I find something about movies online, it's kind of hard to stop looking at it. My doctor calls it "Internet addiction." I call it my "mutant power." We agree to disagree.

Today my obsessive tendencies have me playing with a new web page from Slate called The Hollywood Career-o-Matic. Basically Christopher Beam and Jeremy Singer-Vine used the movie review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes to compile sets of data about working Hollywood actors and directors. When you enter a name into the Career-o-Matic, seen above, it spits out a line graph charting the ups and downs of that filmmaker's critical reception over time. By moving the mouse over the points on the graph, you get pop-ups of the names of the movies,...

IFC.com's film writer, Matt Singer, is the biggest Arnold Schwarzenegger fan on the planet. He blogs any time any news about Schwarzenegger's return to acting, no matter how flimsy or improbable, hits the Internet.

So many people keep sending me this link, I figured I better Schwarzen-Watch it even though, strictly speaking, it doesn't fall under this column's purview. It is SadArnold.com, a new twist on the old Internet meme of Schwarzenegger soundboards and prank phone calls.

Sad Arnold describes itself thusly: "if Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous characters were clinically depressed, this is what they would sound like." Embedded therein are 38 famous Arnold lines and sound effects, everything from "It's not a tumor!" from "Kindergarten Cop" to "What killed the dinosaurs? The ice age!" from "Batman and Robin." But instead of the original audio recordings, they're all read by a Schwarzenegger imitator who sounds like he forgot to take his Cymbalta.

They say in movies anything is possible, especially with our current technology to bring anything to life. But adapting Marvel Comics’ Thor? Why that would seem as silly as a big budget remake of Hercules in New York, and yet doubters, Kenneth Branagh has delivered an easy-going, richly simplistic tale of the God of Thunder. As Thor tells Jane about the nature of his world, our world, “I come from a world where magic and science are one-in-the-same“, so true is Thor.

Premiering in Journey in Mystery #83 back in 1963, Thor has always been the odd-man out in the Avengers canon, due to his role as a God, where as the other superheroes are science-based. To make this film work, the screenplay had to be a delicate example of honoring the history of Thor from the comics, as well as acknowledging our modern reactions towards a guy who uses the words thee and thou a lot.

Last summer, word was that Brett Ratner was going to tackle the likes of Hercules by way of the Radical Comics title “Hercules: The Thracian Wars.” Instead, he signed on to direct Tower Heist, and Hercules was put on ice. Until now. It looks like Ratner is circling around a new attack at the property being launched by MGM instead of Universal. The sword and sandals phase we’re in has had mixed results both in quality and box office, but it definitely seems like a genre poised for a comeback. According to Vulture, Ryan Condal is working on the script, but the issue, as anyone who’s read the comic knows, is that Hercules here isn’t really Hercules at all. He’s a mercenary that barely resembles the mythological man-god. Thus, it will also most likely fit in with the trend of seeing characters given darker traits and storylines. Still...

Lovers of Greek mythology will surely rejoice at this new bit of info that Brett Ratner is now attached to direct a Hercules film for MGM. No, sadly it's not a reboot of Arnold's Hercules In New York, rather it's an adaptation of Hercules: The Thracian Wars, a comic by Steve Moore at Radical Publishing. A year ago, Ratner was in talks for a different Hercules project from producer Avi Lerner, but scrapped it to do the upcoming Tower Heist instead. But he must have a fixation with the hero,...

When it comes to foreign language films, fans are split into two groups; those who like them with subtitles, and those who prefer them dubbed into English. For a foreign movie to make any kind of commercial impact beyond the art-house circuit, they would need to be made, or at least be reasonably well dubbed, in English, since it’s the most common language for mainstream cinema entertainment. All too often dubbing tends to dampen the impact of a very good film, especially if the actors’ English voices sound completely wrong. Brilliant movies such as the French cop thriller La Balance (1982) and the Japanese social drama Battle Royale (2002) would never achieve their iconic status if they were released in badly dubbed English.

But dubbing can work to hilarious effect in the Godzilla movies and with some of the lesser spaghetti westerns. In some cases low budget American producers buy the...

Uncle Forry has been very active this month. In a New Yorker Magazine article by Daniel Zalewski, Monster-kid and maestro Guillermo Del Toro evokes Forry’s spirit and credits him as a big influence for him and other genre filmmakers. The Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy director has amassed a remarkable memorabilia collection of his own.

Make sure to follow this link to the article: Show The Monster – Guillermo del Toro’s Quest to get Amazing Monsters Onscreen. I thanked Gdt for bringing Forry back to us for a time in the article. His one-word e-mail response? “Yeah!” That says it all. Yeah!

"Tor Johnson, Forry Ackerman and Verne Langdon way back when ... "

Note: A big, “Hope You’re All Better” to Peter Jackson who reportedly had a recent hospital stay for stomach issues. We’re all wishing you’re 100% better by now. A fond farewell to two of Forry’s favorite femmes,...

Nostalgia. It's a powerful thing. All of us have experiences in our life that we look back on with something beyond fondness, often wishing, sometimes desperately, that we could go back and relive those moments. Numerous scientific studies have shown that the mind tends to amplify happy moments into something far larger than the actual events. So in that vein, nostalgia tends to work as a reward system for the brain. Happiness is a natural state for human beings. We want to be happy and, when we take part in experiences that make us happy, our brain loves revisiting and magnifying those times so that it can be made happy again.

Movies in particular evoke an incredible amount of nostalgia among the movie-going public. And lo, we come to one of the greatest, if not the greatest, film franchise of the 1980s - Ghostbusters. The NYC comedy about the adventures...

Is the former "Governator" returning to the world of the "Terminator"? Maybe!

Former Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has tweeted an exciting message about his future plans that's sending electric shocks of excitement through Hollywood.

"Exciting news," Arnold said on Twitter. "My friends at CAA have been asking me for 7 years when they can take offers seriously. Gave them the green light today."

Arnold's first acting role was in the 1970 film "Hercules in New York," with...

As Arnold Schwarzenegger announces his return to acting, we go back over his previous roles, and wonder what are the chances of him reprising any of them...

Having conquered the world of politics and left Sacramento smouldering in his wake, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s making a welcome to acting, no doubt with a triumphant cry of “I’ll be back.”

In an interview with an Austrian newspaper, Schwarzenegger revealed he was “Reading three scripts”, one of which appears to be With Wings As Eagles, an adaptation of a World War II-set novel written by James J Cullen.

The big question is, what are the other two scripts that Schwarzenegger has under consideration? While he appears to have ruled out returning to the action movie genre that made him famous (“Throwing myself around the room and shooting people is no longer in there,” he said, to our extreme disappointment), we’re still hoping that,...

Yessss, finally! This should save us some time. Here’s every Arnold Schwarzenegger scream strung together into one giant 7-minute scream, about 6 minutes of which come from Total Recall. It supposedly includes every Arnold movie ever, but I don’t see Hercules In New York, the movie where they dubbed over his voice with an American actor – sorry, dude that did that, you are not welcome in this video. Anyway, here’s what’s been playing in my office for the last twenty minutes: Also, that embed is a lesson in how to properly select a screengrab for your Youtube video. Well played. (via FilmDrunk)...

With the biggest, greatest, most over the top action film of all time coming out on 19th August in the form of The Expendables (our review here), HeyUGuys is bringing you the ultimate run down of the kill count that these historic action actors have each tallied up.

From throat rips to decapitations, martial art assassins to robotic killers and Yippee Ki-Yay’s to Asta La Vista’s, they have dealt death in every way possible with every weapon imaginable.

Each death reaches the same conclusion but each actor carries it off in their own unique style, often adding a personal touch. Be it an Arnie verbal send off like “Stick Around” after being stuck with a huge knife against a post or adding some humour by playing games with the baddies like John McClane in Die Hard ” Now I have a machine gun, Ho Ho Ho”. A memorable death...

Brett Ratner might have missed out on the chance to direct Conan, but it would seem that he’s not done dealing with brawny, sword-wielding types, as producer Avi Lerner has offered him the chance to make a movie based around Hercules.The mythological hero is also known by his Greek name Heracles, and is usually found as the illegitimate son of Zeus and a mortal, Alcmene. He’s probably best known for the Labours of Hercules, a series of 12 tasks imposed as he sought atonement from the Oracle at Delphi after murdering his children in a blind rage. We’re not sure if that side of him will be played up in the new film…The iconic warrior has been something of a favourite for filmmakers, especially overseas, and has also appeared in one of the lesser Disney outings. But aside from Arnie in 1969’s Hercules in New York...

From Avi Lerner and Millennium/Nu Image

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Brett Ratner is in talks to direct producer Avi Lerner's Hercules movie at Millennium/Nu Image:

The producer has been developing the movie for more than three years, with the project gaining new momentum of late, though it's still in the development stage. Little is known about the specifics of the new version, though it's expected to bring Lerner's classic action ethos to the larger-than-life character.

Millennium/Nu Image currently has the Marcus Nispel-directed Conan in post-production.

Update: Ratner's publicist has told The Wrap that the director is not in talks for Hercules and, instead, will be concentrating on Tower Heist.

Conan and Hercules were both once played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Check out the vintage trailer to Hercules in New York below:

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