Today, James Cameron is the man behind the absolutely massive Avatar franchise, but before that, he was the filmmaker who helped launched the film career of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Following a pair of Terminator films that made Arnold a star, he directed the Austrian opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in a movie the actress says helped make her career, thanks to Arnold.
The two True Lies co-stars came together recently. It wasn’t meant to be a True Lies retrospective, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year. However, it sort of turned into one.
Jamie Lee Curtis And Arnold Schwarzenegger reunited Almost 30 Years After True Lies
Curtis and Schwarzenegger were both on hand recently for Amazon’s upfronts. The True Lies stars both have upcoming projects with Prime Video, Arnold has the Christmas movie The Man With the Bag, while Curtis will appear in the series Scarpetta with Nicole Kidman. In comments (via People), Curtis joked about how far the two stars had come, saying…
Thirty years ago, we were together. And now here we are, talking ad strategy.
However, the bit on stage appeared to get a little unscripted as Curtis publicly praised Arnold Schwarzenegger for doing something the actress says really helped her career.
How Arnold Helped Jamie Lee Curtis’ Career
True Lies, which is currently available with a Hulu subscription, is the story of a married couple, played by Schwarzenegger and Curtis. He’s a spy, something she only discovers over the course of the film, as she’s also brought into the world of espionage.
Arnold was clearly the bigger star at the time True Lies was released, as Jamie Lee Curtis says that initially the plan was for only his name to appear before the title, but James Cameron suggested adding Curtis, and Arnold agreed. The actress explained…
And in the contract it says Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jim said to me on the phone, 'I asked Arnold if I could put you above the title because it's a movie about a marriage, and I think it would be appropriate,' and Arnold, a figure who clearly did not have to say yes, said yes.
The “name above the title” is a significant accolade, something that essentially says the star is as big as the movie itself. It’s something only the biggest movie stars get. But many stars can be very protective of that level of status, and might not like another being put on equal footing with them.
Curtis said, “I have the career I have” because of Arnold Schwarzenegger. She sees that moment as a turning point in her career. Having her name above the title in one movie can make it much easier to make that happen in the future, and that level of success also translates to more money.
Jamie Lee Curtis would win a Golden Globe for her performance in True Lies. There’s no argument that the movie was big for her, and Arnold certainly helped.
Hopes of a True Lies 2 have gone on for years, though nothing ever came of it. True Lies would get a TV adaptation, but it was cancelled after one season.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
