Schwarzenegger is going to be facing a champagne buffet of choices, from playing more killing machines from the future, to serving on the boards of the several private-equity shops still in business, to running drama and alternative programming development for one of the big basic cable outfits. He could do it all.
Schwarzenegger’s genial and lighthearted leadership style — backstopped by his muscular frame and tough-guy delivery — will serve him in almost any difficult managerial situation. I would pitch him to the gang at Comcast as a perfect CEO of their newly purchased NBC Universal unit. And who needs a scary homicidal robot more than the executive committee of the awkwardly merged William Morris Endeavor?…
Let’s be frank: Staying in politics for Arnold means going to the Senate. In movie star terms, this is sort of like giving up and going on television, which is a painful and difficult adjustment for a lot of stars to make. But like any project, it’s all about the package. A classy, smart show on HBO or Showtime might make sense. (And maybe it’s time to give the robot a little character shading, a little depth.) A short-term character arc on, I want to say a “Mad Men” or even a “30 Rock” might reset the career a bit; give people who can only see him as a killer robot from a future time or as governor of the Eureka state a taste of what he can do with different material.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member