Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks About “The Governator”

The Governator may have sounded like a College Humor video when it was first announced, but the comic and television series tie-in headed up by Arnold Schwarzenegger are both very real.

The Hollywood Reporter recently sat down with the former California Governor to chat about this peculiar project. Here’s what he had to say:

"The reason these heroic characters are always popular is because we are all somewhat limited in our real world. Even when I was Governor I wished that I could do the things that I wanted to do but I couldn't because of the system, the way it works. Or because of the way the law works.”

"The people have certain rights and those rights have to be protected – and they should be protected – but for some criminals you don't feel like they ought to be. In real life you have to first get a search warrant and by that time he's gone. It drives you kind of crazy!"

"In a heroic TV show, you can make it happen. We can all live out our fantasies. So the idea is that this Governor, after he retires, says, 'With all that I have learned in my life about sport and camaraderie and discipline and stunts, now I'm going to do all the things that when I was in office I was not able to do."

"You know how kids are always learning without really being taught?  They pick things up if they aren't given to them in a preachy way.”

The show also looks to hone in on environmental issues, though not like the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth:

"We're not doing in a way that says to people 'You better never do that,'" he says. "That's the old Al Gore kind of a way to do this, to make you feel guilty. Guilt hasn't worked. Making people feel bad hasn't worked. You've got to make them feel good and draw them into the positive rather than keep talking about the negative."

Schwarzenegger seems to be focusing mainly on The Governator and not on any other projects right now:

"When it comes to being in front of the camera I'm looking at a whole series of very  interesting scripts from sequels to great action comedies, but I'm not going to make a decision immediately. We just want to get this off the ground and pay attention to it and do it the right way and they we are going to take the next step.”

'Governator' Cartoon Sells Internationally

It’s admirable that Schwarzenegger wants to work his way back into the entertainment industry, but I still think this sounds like an absolutely dreadful idea. It could have worked as a Digital Short on Saturday Night Live (maybe), but I’d be pressed to find anyone who actually takes this project seriously.

How do you feel about Schwarzenegger and his plans for The Governator?