Arnold Schwarzenegger’s In-Law Responsible for the Red iPhone Gave Him a “007-Type A**-Kicking” Movie Idea That Earned $378.9 Million at the Box Office in 1994

Throughout his acting career, Arnold Schwarzenegger has given several action blockbusters like the Terminator film series, Conan The Barbarian, True Lies, and many more. Just like Terminator, True Lies was also one of the highlights of his career. The thrilling action scenes with incredible special effects at that time made the action comedy film stand out. But many might not know who first pitched the idea for such a movie to the Austrian Oak. It was none other than his ex-wife’s brother, Bobby Shriver.

In one of his books, Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a detailed account of how the pioneer of the “red iphone” helped him land a $378.9M blockbuster. 

A conversation that gave birth to a million-dollar idea for Arnold Schwarzenegger

In his book Total Recall, action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled how his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver suggested a French movie in 1993. Shriver had seen a French movie named “La Totale!” Soon after, he wanted his brother-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger to make an American remake of it. Repeating Shriver’s description, Schwarzenegger wrote, “…it’s about this 007-type a**-kicking guy whose wife doesn’t know what he does for a living. Sometimes he comes home all b*nged up and has to make excuses. He’ll be arresting these international criminals, and, meanwhile, he can’t figure out how to deal with his teenage daughter, who’s doing crazy things.”

Intrigued by Shriver’s description of the movie, Schwarzenegger had asked his agent to get him a copy. It didn’t take long for Arnie to fall in love with it, too. And the first person he contacted thereafter was James Cameron. Soon after the director-actor duo was off to hatch a deal with Fox. Rest, as they say, is history. The movie was released in 1994 and made $378.9M at the box office.

Read More: “I Was Trapped”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Nearly Died During the Shooting of ‘True Lies’ if His Stunt Double Wouldn’t Have Saved Him

It can be concluded that True Lies fans have Maria’s brother Bobby Shriver to thank for the movie. Apart from the action-comedy movie, there is another, much bigger, thing the world is grateful to Bobby Shriver for.

A color that changed lives

Hailing from a political, philanthropic family, it wasn’t surprising for Bobby Shriver to serve society. Shriver began a movement after noticing how many people die because of a lack of finance to shoulder their medical expenses. The situation enraged the philanthropist, who then decided to bring about a change. Signified by the color red, Shriver channeled his rage to raise funds for the needy. That is how the Red iPhone came into play.

Every time a person buys a red iPhone, a percentage of the purchase goes to charity. The money is then used to help people who lack resources and funds to buy basic things to survive. In an appreciation post, Maria Shriver revealed through his movement, her brother has saved more than 245,000,000 lives.

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From True Lies to Red iPhone, Bobby Shriver sure knows how to take inspiration from his surroundings and put it to good use.