“Don’t Take This So Seriously”: After “Embarrassed” Arnold Schwarzenegger Felt Awful About His Flop Movie, Maria Shriver Encouraged Him to Move On in 1993

Soon after Hollywood star, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie, Last Action Hero released in 1993, he received serious criticism that extended beyond his performance in the movie. The critics took a dig at his personal choices and wrote defamatory articles about him. Although, Schwarzenegger had anticipated that the movie was going to be a flop, he didn’t expect such a degree of criticism. Initially, he felt embarrassed about the storyline but ended up battling his inner voices after its release. 

Maria Shriver, his now ex-wife, was a great deal of support during his tough times. She stuck beside the actor and encouraged him to look forward to the future, instead of sulking about the past. Schwarzenegger acknowledged her efforts in his autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was once supported by Maria Shriver after his movie went flop

According to the book, the constant criticism got to the 75-year-old former athlete. He fought the voices in his head, compelling him to give in to the sad rumors. However, in those dire times, Shriver was a ray of hope. “Look, the movie was good. Maybe it was not what we expected, but it was good, and you should be proud. Now let’s move on. Let’s go to the next project,” she said. 

The power couple spent the time vacationing in their Sun Valley house in Idaho. The 67-year-old author urged him to be grateful for the things he had, family, money, and success. This was just a tiny glitch in his grand successful career. Shriver advised, “Don’t take this so seriously. Look what we have here.”

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“You should think about that, not about the stupid movie. Those things come and go. Plus, on top of it, out of your twenty or so movies, at least two-thirds were successful, so you have nothing to complain about,” she added. Despite her optimism, Schwarzenegger felt that she too was disappointed with the movie’s failure. Her elite friends called and expressed their concern over the matter, which struck the actor in a negative way. Nevertheless, The Austrian Oak was already aware of the action movie’s fate during the shooting stage. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s intuition about the movie

As per the sources, the seven-time Mr. Olympia completely trusted the director, John McTiernan. He had worked with him in Die Hard, Terminator 2, and more. However, he had a distinct gut feeling about this one. After having mixed feelings about the movie’s plot, his hunch was confirmed.  “What we’re really making here is E.T.” the director said one night while the two were having drinks till late. 

Therefore, Schwarzenegger wrote in the book, “When I heard that, I had a sinking feeling that maybe the whole PG-13 thing was a mistake.” The cast included a kid co-star, yet, it was curated as an adult film. 

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What did you think of Last Action Hero? Did it appeal to you or were you a part of the critical reviews? Tell us in the comments.