JULY 2, 2003
POWER LUNCH
By Ronald Grover
The Terminator's Tinseltown Tease | How does "Governor Schwarzenegger" sound? Moviegoers may decide the star's future at the box office, rather than the ballot box
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It had the look and feel of a political event. Advance folks fanned out through the cavernous building. The crowds were already forming, eagerly eyeing the free drinks. And the candidate? Well, he was running late -- quite late, in fact.
When he arrived, the light bulbs went off, and the glad-handing began. Reporters, dutifully instructed about where to stand, waited their turn for photo-ops -- and perhaps for the chance to ask a quick question or two, even though they had been told the candidate was pressed for time.
Who's running? Arnold Schwarzenegger. The race? Regaining his title as box-office champ with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Then again, it could have been Ah-nuld's long-rumored, but not yet confirmed, launch of a political campaign to be California's next governor. It was hard to tell at the Raleigh Studios off Melrose Avenue recently, but that certainly seemed the intent of Schwarzenegger and his advance team -- to blur the line.
A SLOW FADE? True, political fortunes have never ridden on whether a candidate has a blockbuster movie. (After all, as an actor, Ronald Reagan is best remembered for starring with a chimp in a B-movie.) But Schwarzenegger is no ordinary actor. He's a star.
So watch those box-office tallies for Terminator 3, slated to open July 2. If T-3 has a boffo opening -- let's say $80 million for its initial five-day weekend -- here's my bet: He won't run for governor. Instead, Arnold the political candidate will slowly fade into a Technicolor sunset, forever remembered for his Hollywood roles.
For all the coyness, his obvious enjoyment of the will-he-or-won't-he game and the behind-the scenes moves, Schwarzenegger would rather stay a movie star than be governor, in my judgment. And who can blame him? Why give up Hollywood, where everyone fawns the minute a big-screen name walks into the room, for Sacramento? California faces a budget crisis of historic proportions -- a $38 billion-and-growing deficit, and Wall Street's money mavens are thinking of turning off the spigot for future loans that would keep the state operating.
SCHOOL BOOSTER. Schwarzenegger may not have the luxury of choosing between Hollywood and Sacramento, however. His film career has been on a downward spiral for six years. His last film, 2002's Collateral Damage, did a meager $40 million at the box office. The one before that, The Sixth Day, darkened 2000 with a less-than-muscular $35 million. Indeed, you have to go all the way back to 1996's Eraser to find a film starring the former muscle-building champ that broke the $100 million barrier -- Hollywood's benchmark for the big time.
So just in case, Schwarzenegger is hedging his bets. He has quietly hired political operative George Gorton, who ran both of former Governor Pete Wilson's gubernatorial campaigns. And the Terminator also has spent years preparing for the part of a candidate. He heads an after-school program for kids called Inner-City Games, and last year, he became a vocal advocate of Proposition 49, the successful ballot measure to fund such programs.
I saw Schwarzenegger in action last year, when he was promoting the initiative at the groundbreaking for the California State University at Dominguez Hills' new stadium. He smoothly worked the well-heeled crowd and then spoke eloquently of helping children in need. Very candidate-like. And let's not forget that when he married Maria Shriver, he joined America's most famous political family. True, he is a Republican, but you have to figure he picked up a few tricks from his Kennedy in-laws over the years.
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Copyright 2003, Bloomberg L.P.
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