Category: Trivia

“Room 237” (2012) / Z-View

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Room 237 (2012)

Director:  Rodney Ascher

Screenplay: Rodney Ascher

Stars: Archival footage featuring Stanley Kubrick, Stephen King, Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Joe Turkel, Barry Nelson, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

Tagline: Some movies stay with you forever…and ever…and ever.

The Plot…

Room 237 features nine segments that explore theories that Stanley Kubrick imbedded hidden messages and themes within The Shining.  Some of the theories include that Kubrick directed fake footage of the first moon landing since we really didn’t land with Apollo 11, cultural assimilation of Native Americans or American Imperialism or Genocide are the real themes of the film.  There are more.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If you don’t like one of the theories, don’t worry, another will soon be presented.  A lot of sizzle, but no steak.

Room 237 (2012) earns 2 of 5 stars.

“The Underground: Director’s Cut” (2021) / Z-View

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The Underground: Director’s Cut (2021)

Director:  Darcy Weir

Stars: Darcy Weir

Tagline: A hidden reality and the true story of Phil Schneider.

The Plot…

In 1995, Phil Schneider made a splash at UFO conventions.  Schneider claimed his father was a former German U-boat commander who came to the US after the war. Schneider said his father worked as part of the Philadelphia Experiment. According to legend the US did an experiment to make a US destroyer disappear.  The ship was teleported briefly from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to Norfolk, Virginia.  When the ship returned some members of the crew had disappeared, while others were melded into the ship and some went insane.

Phil Schneider said that he worked for the government as part of the team making Deep Underground Military Bases across the United States.  Schneider claimed that on one of the deep digs he and marines became involved in battle with aliens.  Schneider said he was gravely wounded, and that a marine died saving his life.  Schneider said the US government knows that we have aliens among us and some have evil intent.

Phil Schneider died in 1996.  The official result was suicide although some conspiracy theorists believe he was murdered.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Underground: Director’s Cut presents video footage of Schneider speaking at a UFO convention.  Most of the film is stock footage and anecdotal theories.  If you’re looking for solid evidence of aliens or government coverups, this isn’t the place.

The Underground: Director’s Cut (2021) earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Son of Frankenstein” (1939) starring Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone & Bela Lugosi / Z-View

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Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Director:  Rowland V. Lee

Screenplay: Wyllis Cooper based on characters created by Mary Shelley

Stars: Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill and Josephine Hutchinson.

Tagline: AFTER 20 YEARS Driven by the same crazy ambition that made his father create the terrifying monster that stalks in the night! See his juggernaut of destruction loosed upon the world!

The Plot…

Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Rathbone), son of Henry Frankenstein, has brought his wife and young son back to live in Castle Frankenstein.  Baron hopes to rebuild the family reputation, but is surprised to find that the villagers still harbor deep resentment.  The haven’t forgotten the murders and destruction brought about by his father’s creation.

Wolf meets Ygor (Lugosi), a strange, deformed man who survived being hung for robbing graves.  When Ygor shows Wolf that his father’s creation lies in a coma below the castle, Wolf decides to revive the creature.  The operation is a success.  Sadly the creature will on follow the commands of Ygor.  Unknown to Wolf, Ygor has scores that he plans to settle using the monster.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Director Rowland V. Lee felt that producers had low-balled Bela Lugosi’s salary.  Since the script wasn’t complete as filming started, Lee continued to pad Lugosi’s part.  This increased Lugosi’s pay and created one of his best non-Dracula roles.

Surprisingly, this is the first Frankenstein film that shows the electrodes in the monster’s neck being hit with electricity to bring him to life.

Son of Frankenstein (1939) earns 5 of 5 stars.

Best of 2023: Films, Books & Posts

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As we start 2024, let’s pause for a look at the BEST OF 2023. I hope you see something that you enjoyed or gets you interested to check out. Here we go…

Movies and Limited Series

In 2023, I watched 409 movies and limited series. That number is up 04 from last year. None were seen in a theater! My favorite films and limited series released in 2023 included (in alpha order):

  • 1923
  • Agent Elvis
  • AKA
  • Bill Russell: Legend
  • Bye Bye Barry
  • Dark Winds: Season 2
  • Extraction 2
  • Fall of the House of Usher, The
  • Family Stallone, The
  • Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
  • Joe Pickett: Season 2
  • Justified: City Primeval
  • Knock at the Cabin
  • Lawman Bass Reeves: Season 1
  • Leave the World Behind
  • Night Agent, The
  • Perry Mason: Season 2
  • Sly
  • StarTrek: Strange New Worlds Season 2
  • Tulsa King: Season 1

Books

In 2023, I read 21 books (16 down from last year, but considering the year we had, that’s not bad). My favorites from this year included (in the order I read them):

  • It Dies With You by Scott Blackburn

  • Blood Standard by Barron Laird
  • Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

  • Black Mountain by Laird Barron

  • Worse Angels by Barron Laird (A) 5.29
  • The Last Action Heroes by Nick de Semlyen
  • All Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

  • Too Many Bullets by Max Allan Collins

  • But Enough About Me by Burt Reynolds

  • Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Stories of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe Lansdale

  • Dirty Words by Todd Robinson

  • Everybody Dies by Lawrence Block

  • The Big Bundle by Max Allan Collins

My Most Popular Posts of the Year

I continue to find some surprises in what became my most popular posts each year. Here are the top ten for 2023 and some thoughts for each…

10. Top 10 Most Iconic Horror Movie Villains – Hung in the 10th spot for the second year in a row.

09. RIP: Rachel Welch. New to the list

08. The Different Covers for David Morrell’s First Blood. Same spot as last year.

07. Meeting Sly Stallone. New to the list!

06. Paul Gulacy Week: Day Four. New to the list!

05. Red Sonja, Conan and Dan Panosian. New to the list.

04. Louis Meyers: Evidence He was the Zodiac Killer. Same spot as last year.

03. Dracula Through the Ages. Same spot as last year.

02. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk”. Fell from the first spot last year.

01. SYFY’s 2023/2024 TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Up! The most popular post last year.

My All-Time Most Popular Posts

The top 4 didn’t change and only one new post broke in to the All-Time most popular posts. Let’s see how things shook out…

10. Joel Osteen in Jacksonville – held on to the 10th spot for two years in a row.

09. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – was in the 9th spot for the last three years.

08. Steve Reeves as Superman – No change.

07. TOP 10 MOST ICONIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS! – from 5th to 7th.

06. Dracula Through the Ages – still in the 6th spot. Vampires are in.

05. New Billy the Kid Photo Discovered – No change!

04. SYFY’s 2023/2024 TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Up!

03. Zodiac Killer Code Cracked? – No change!

02. Louis Meyers: Evidence He Was the Zodiac Killer – No change!

01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – was #1 last year and continues to be our most popular post of all-time.

It’s always interesting to see which topics resonate with fans and continue to be popular long after their initial post.

“Master of Dark Shadows” (2019) / Z-View

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Master of Dark Shadows (2019)

Director:  David Gregory

Stars: Dan Curtis, Nancy Barrett, Ben Cross, Roger Davis, Jonathan Frid, Ian McShane, William F. Nolan, Lara Parker, David Selby, Barbara Steele and Whoopi Goldberg.

Tagline:  The Gothic World of Dan Curtis

The Plot…

Dan Curtis’ soap opera, Dark Shadows, was scheduled for cancellation in six weeks.  When Curtis was told this, he decided to take his traditional daytime melodrama in a new direction,  He added a vampire!  Surprisingly the show soared to the top of the ratings.  Kids and young adults made it must-see tv and the show was saved.  Dark Shadows ended up running for six seasons.  Spin-offs included two feature films, comic books, trading cards, board games and more.

Although Dan Curtis became best known for films in the horror genre he wanted to break out into other genres.  Master of Dark Shadows is his story.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Dan Curtis produced and directed the two Dark Shadows feature films.  He also wrote the second.  Then when the series ended, Dan Curtis was considered the go-to guy for horror.  He produced The Night Stalker. It became the highest rated tv movie of its time.  Curtis followed that up by producing and directing The Night Strangler, The Norliss Tapes, Scream of the Wolf, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Turn of the Screw, Trilogy of Terror, Burnt Offerings, Dead of Night and Curse of the Black Widow.  Although Dan Curtis did produce and direct other films, he was still best known for horror.

That all changed when Curtis produced and directed the television adaptation of Herman Wouk’s Winds of War.  The seven episode mini-series became the highest rated television event of its time.  The series was nominated for eleven Emmy Awards, winning three (Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Special; Outstanding Individual Achievement – Costumers; Outstanding Individual Achievement – Special Visual Effects).

Dan Curtis followed with War and Remembrance, a continuation of Winds of War. War and Remembrance received 15 Emmy Award nominations.  It won for best miniseries, special effects, and single-camera production editing.

I’m happy that Dan Curtis was able to break out from the horror genre and make big budget, award winning projects.  But the truth of the matter is, I will always remember the thrill of running home from school to catch the latest adventures of Barnabus and Quentin Collins.  Five days a week on Dark Shadows we got vampires, werewolves, and a taste of horror.  I read the novelizations, comic books, collected the cards and saw the feature films.  The excitement we had as kids talking about Dark Shadows is a highlight of this kid’s elementary years.

If you’re of the right age, Master of Shadows will take you back to that time.  If you’re too young, then you’ll get a taste of something that will never be replicated.

Master of Dark Shadows (2019) earns 5 of 5 stars.

The Three Stooges Shorts: My Thoughts & Trivia After Viewing Them All!

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When I was a little kid, I loved watching The Three Stooges shorts on television.  I was the perfect age for their slapstick antics.  At the time, I thought it would be cool to view every Three Stooges Short ever made.  Who knew that 6 decades later I’d finally complete the mission.

During the past year (and maybe a little longer), I watched all 190 Three Stooges’ shorts. Mission accomplished.  Every Stooges’ short is now Z-Viewed and posted.  My viewing resulted in some trivia…

Years with the most Stooges’ shorts released:

1943 – 10 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1940 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1946 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1948 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Shemp
1950 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Shemp
1953 – 9 starring Moe, Larry & Shemp

Years with the fewest Stooges’ shorts released:

1959 – 2 starring Moe, Larry & Joe
1933 – 4 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1945 – 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly

Years that I rated the most 5 stars to Stooges’ shorts:

1938 – 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1943 – 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1940 – 4 starring Moe, Larry & Curly

Highest Average Rating for Stooges’ shorts released

1938 – 4.5 out of 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1943 – 4.4 out of 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly
1940 – 4.3 out of 5 starring Moe, Larry & Curly

Lowest Average Rating for Stooges’ shorts released

1958 – 2.67 starring Moe, Larry & Joe
1957 – 2,75 starring Moe, Larry & Joe
1959 – 3.0 starring Moe, Larry & Joe

From my ratings it becomes clear that my favorites were the shorts featuring Curly.  It could be because Moe, Larry and Curly were the trio of knuckleheads that I first discovered.  It could also be because Curly was my favorite Stooge for years.

Still is.

But I also enjoy Shemp’s antics.  He was a fine addition to the team when Curly had to leave because of health issues.  When I was younger, I didn’t like Joe at all.  I found him to be irritating and not funny.  As an adult, I appreciate Joe bringing his own brand of humor to the team.  And I do find him funny now.  There’s no argument that Joe’s years on the team were the worst.  But, it would be wrong to blame it on him.  At the point he came on board, Columbia was the only studio making shorts.  The slashed the budgets on the final Stooges’ two-reelers and used a lot of stock footage from earlier Stooges outings.  This was no fault of Joe’s.

It’s too bad that studios don’t make two-reelers any more.  They might help get folks back into theaters.  Heck, maybe just release some of  the best Stooges shorts.  It’s time for a new generation to discover them.

“Dizzy Detectives” (1943) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Dizzy Detectives (1943)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard and Bud Jamison.

Tagline: Deliriously daffy with laughs!

The Plot…

Our boys are carpenters turned cops dealing with crooks & a gorilla. Of course they are.  Let the monkeyshines begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The opening scene is reused from the Stooges 1935 short, Pardon My Scotch.  It’s the scene where a table that Moe is standing on is cut in half by Curly.  Moe took the fall in real life and broke three ribs.

Dizzy Detectives (1943) earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Sappy Bull Fighters” (1959) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Sappy Bull Fighters (1959)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Jack White

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser and Joe Palma.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys are entertainers down in Mexico.  When their suitcases get mixed up with the woman of an insanely jealous husband, the hijinks begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Sappy Bull Fighters is a reboot of the Stooges 1942 short What’s the Matador?,  Eagle-eyed viewers will spot Curly in some of the reused footage.

Although Sappy Bull Fighters wasn’t the last Stooges’ short filmed. it was the last to be released to theaters.

It may be Mary Tyler Moore playing a ballet dancer in the background at around the 1:30 mark.  It sure looks like her.

Sappy Bull Fighters (1959) earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Frasier” – Season 1 (2023) starring Kelsey Grammer / Z-View

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Frasier – Season 1 (2023)

Based on: Frasier by David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee; Frasier Crane by Glen Charles & Les Charles; developed by Chris Harris, Joe Cristalli

Director:  James Burrows (Eps.1 – 2); Kelly Park (Ep. 3; 6); Kelsey Grammer (Eps. 4; 7 – 8; 10); Phill Lewis (Ep. 5);

Teleplay by: Joe Cristalli & Chris Harris (Ep. 1); Stephen Lloyd (Ep. 2); Lauren Houseman (Ep. 3); Bob Daily (Ep. 4); Farhan Arshad (Ep. 5); Joe Cristalli (Ep. 6); Sasha Stroman (Ep. 7); Miles Woods (Ep. 8); Robb Chavis (Ep. 9); Janene Lin & Jenna Martin & Naima Pearce (Ep. 10)

Starring:  Kelsey Grammer, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Toks Olagundoye, Jess Salgueiro, Anders Keith, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jimmy Dunn, Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin.

Tagline: None.

The Plot: 

Frasier Crane, a Harvard educated, wealthy and famous television psychologist moves back to Boston after the death of his father.  Frasier hopes to rebuild a relationship with his grown son, Freddy.  Freddy is now a firefighter, having dropped out of Harvard.  Frasier buys the apartment building where Freddy lives, moves in and returns to Harvard as a Professor.

Let the good times roll

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

The season starts off a bit shaky but really hits stride with episode 6 which reaches the high bar set by the original series.

Many scenes take place in a bar called Mahoney’s.  This is a tribute to the late John Mahoney who played Frasier’s father in the original series.  It’s interesting to note that Kelsey Grammer is older than John Mahoney was when he played Frasier’s dad.

Frasier – Season 1 (2023)

Outer Space Jitters (1957) starring The Three Stooges and Dan Blocker! / Z-View

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Outer Space Jitters (1957)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Jack White

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser, Emil Sitka, Philip Van Zandt. Dan Blocker. Diana Darrin and Joe Palma.

Tagline:  The planet of Sunev – Somewhere in outer space – “Sunev is Venus spelled backwards”

The Plot…

Moe, Larry and Joe travel to the planet Sunev.  The rulers there seem nice, but in reality they are planning to take over the planet Earth!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Dan Blocker, who would become famous playing Hoss Cartwright on Bonanza appears as a monster.  Sadly, he’s billed as Don Blocker in the opening credits.

Outer Space Jitters features a weak script with a weaker ending.  The boys deserved better.

Outer Space Jitters (1957) earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Die Hard 2” Trivia from Renny Harlin!

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Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects posted 22 Things We Learned from Renny Harlin’s ‘Die Hard 2’ Commentary.  Sadly the post is no longer available, but here are three of my favorites from it and my thoughts on each…

Harlin was first hired by 20th Century Fox to make Alien 3, but when that fell apart he was instead offered The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. The studio liked the dailies from that film so much that they offered him Die Hard 2. The schedule was so tight that he was still finishing shots on Ford Fairlane while jumping into Die Hard 2, and he planned on doing post-production on both simultaneously. “I was thirty years old, I had lots of energy, I loved movies, I loved working with Joel Silver.”

It’s odd that Harlin was up for Alien 3, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Die Hard 2.  They are such different types of movies.  While I’m not a fan of Alien 3, I am of the other two. – Craig

Harlin chuckles at the changes in audience climate “these days” (circa 2001 when this track was recorded). “While I’m watching the movie I’m realizing there’s quite a lot of cursing in it, and also Bruce Willis is smoking.” He thinks that, in today’s world, there has to be a specific reason as to why the character is smoking. “And the same thing with cursing.”

If I was in the situation that John McClane found himself in, I’d do a lot of cursing too.  Heck, I might even take up smoking. – Craig

Harlin’s favorite scene in the film is where McClane is trapped in the cockpit, surrounded by bad guys shooting and lobbing grenades his way. He likes seeing protagonists placed in extremely difficult situations. “Obviously planes like this don’t really have ejection seats, but we decided they would.”

That is probably Die Hard 2’s signature scene.  If you’re not making a documentary, and you do the scene well. audiences will forgive things like this not found in real life. – Craig

“Black Angel” (1946) starring Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre & Broderick Crawford / Z-View

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Black Angel (1946)

Director:  Roy William Neill

Screenplay: Roy Chanslor based on the novel THE BLACK ANGEL by Cornell Woolrich

Stars: Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford, Wallace Ford, Robert B. Williams and George Ford.

Tagline: DURYEA! …that fascinating tough-guy of “Scarlet Street”!

The Plot…

Martin Blair (Duryea) wants to see his estranged wife, Mavis Marlowe.  It’s their anniversary and he’s sent Mavis a large ruby brooch in an effort to win her back.  Yet, she’s told the doorman to NOT allow Martin up.  Dejected and rejected, Martin goes to get drunk.  He then stumbles to his room, where a friend locks him in for the night.

Later, Kirk Bennet goes up to see Mavis.  He finds her on the floor.  She’s dead.  Kirk notices she’s wearing a huge ruby brooch.  When Kirk hears a noise in the apartment, he realizes he’s not alone.  As he carefully makes his way through the bedroom, he hears someone running out.  Kirk goes back to find the brooch missing and the front door open.  Kirk realizes he’s in a bad spot and runs to the stairwell.  He’s seen as he flees.

When the cops pick up Kirk, it becomes clear that he was having an affair with Mavis, despite being married.  Kirk’s wife, Catherine (Vincent) doesn’t believe her husband is a killer.  Kirk claims Mavis was blackmailing him. This just gives the cops more reason to think he killed Mavis.

Catherine is grasping at straws to find evidence to clear her husband when she meets Martin.  Catherine believes he could be the killer.  Martin says the police thought so too at first.  Except he couldn’t have killed Mavis since he was knock-down drunk and locked in his room when the murder occurred.  Martin takes pity on Catherine and offers to help her find the killer.

Kirk is on death row and the clock is ticking.  What chance does a housewife and functioning alcoholic have of finding the real murderer?  Tick tock tick toc…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Black Angel is loosely based on Cornell Woolrich’s novel of the same name.  Woolrich is said to dislike the film because of the changes made.  Since I haven’t read the book, I wasn’t hindered by expectations. I thought I knew how it would play out.  Boy, was I wrong.  I was surprised by twist ending.

This was the last film directed by Roy William Neill.  He died shortly after the release of Black Angel.  Neill is best known as the director of several Sherlock Holmes‘ films as well as the classic Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.

Dan Duryea, on the other hand, had a career that was heating up.  He’s even the subject of Black Angel‘s tagline.  Broderick Crawford has a small but important role.  Four years later Crawford would win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for All the King’s Men.

Black Angel (1946) earns 4 of 5 stars.

“A Merry Mix-up” (1957) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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A Merry Mix-up (1957)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser and Diana Darrin.

Tagline: Hilarious?  Better Than Ever!

The Plot…

Three sets of triplets (played by Larry, Moe and Joe) lose track of each other after the war.  Moe, Larry and Joe are single.  Morris, Luke and Jeff are engaged and soon to be married.  Max, Louie and Jack are all happily married.  None of the brothers have told their girls about the brothers that they haven’t seen in years.

As luck would have it, all the brothers and their girls show up at the same nightclub at different times.  Unfortunately when the girls arrive they mistake the wrong set of brothers as their guys.  All of the girls think their guys are cheating and the guys have no clue what is going on.

Let the hijinks begin.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The one-sheet poster for A Merry Mix-up lists the Stooges as Shemp, Larry and Joe!

Most of the shots when there is more than one set of twins was accomplished with doubles for each Stooge.  The final shot with a 9 brothers in the same scene was accomplished with a matte shot using a triple exposure.

A Merry Mix-up (1957) earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Muscle Up A Little Closer” (1957) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Muscle Up A Little Closer (1957)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser and Maxine Gates.

Tagline: Hilarious?  Better Than Ever!

The Plot…

Joe, Larry and Moe plan to propose marriage to their girls.  Joe discovers that the ring he bought for his sweetheart is missing.  The boys believe that a bully from work stole it.  Our guys decide to confront the lug in the company gym.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

In Muscle Up A Little Closer Larry and Moe wear more conservative haircuts for the first time in the series. The new haircuts would appear from time to time in the Stooges’ shorts with Joe Besser (he suggested the new style do’s).  The problem was that most of the new shorts contained footage from previous Stooges’ outings and the hairstyles wouldn’t match.

Muscle Up A Little Closer (1957) earns 3 of 5 stars.

Rare Arnold Schwarzenegger Photos – “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” – Interview Magazine, June 1991

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The photo above comes from the Zablo vault.  It’s a centerspread from the June 1991 Interview magazine.  Arnold Schwarzenegger is featured on the cover and an interview.  This was prior to the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  Here’s an interesting exchange…

Interview: You’ve got a sequel coming to The Terminator, a film that did a lot of things for you.
Arnold: Pumping Iron was a good vehicle for me.  Conan the Barbarian was a good vehicle for me.  But, Terminator, which came three years after that, was a great vehicle.  It took me from the Conan-like parts that were being offered to me because of my body – which of course I understood, because that was my big asset then – and created good box office.  And that sent a whole new signal to the community.

Interview: This time there’s another terminator who’s badder than you.  Was it a concerted decision not to have you play the film’s villain this time?
Arnold: We talked about me playing the good guy and the bad guy – two terminators with two different missions.  Both look alike, but when they were taken off the rack they were programmed differently and then sent to the past.  We played around with the idea, but the more we talked about it, the more, I think Jim [James Cameron, the director of both Terminator films] felt the new terminator should be a streamlined-looking character.  It should look the opposite of me.  Very lean.

It’s interesting to read Arnold’s thoughts prior to the success of Terminator 2.  What do you think?  Would T2 worked as well with Arnold playing both parts?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.