Arnold Schwarzenegger
He bows to Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman (left) and Arnold Schwarzenegger during the shooting of “Kindergarten Cop” (1990).
© imago/Everett Collection
Arnold Schwarzenegger bids farewell to Ivan Reitman. The director also turned the action hero into a comedy star with “Twins”.
Arnold Schwarzenegger (74) says goodbye to Ivan Reitman (1946-2022) in a detailed letter. The “Ghostbusters” director died on Saturday night at the age of 75. Schwarzenegger owes a lot to the successful director. He was the first to recognize the comedic potential of the “Terminator” star.
“Ivan Reitman is a legend,” the Hollywood star begins his message, which he published on Twitter. “He was larger than life in Hollywood. He was the king of comedy.” But he doesn’t just pay tribute to Ivan Reitman as a filmmaker. “He was a human being,” writes the native Austrian. He deliberately uses the Yiddish word “man” in his English text. This designation is used in American only for people with a pronounced humanistic attitude.
Reitman made Schwarzenegger a comedy star
Reitman cast the star, who had been relegated to action roles by “Terminator”, against the grain for his comedy “Twins”. The ex-bodybuilder from Styria formed an unequal pair of brothers with Danny DeVito (77) in 1988. Another successful comedy by the Reitman/Schwarzenegger duo followed with “Kindergarten Cop”. In 1994, DeVito was added again for “Junior”.
“I’ll always be grateful to him for giving this Austrian action hero a chance to star in a comedy at a time when the studios wanted me to focus on finding new ways to kill villains , blowing things up and flexing some muscle,” Schwarzenegger summarizes his gratitude.
They were working on the Twins sequel Triplets
Another comedy from the trio Reitman/Schwarzenegger/DeVito was planned for this year. Filming on “Triplets”, the sequel to “Twins”, with US comedian Tracy Morgan (53) as another brother, should begin in the fall. “It’s been a pleasure working with him on ‘Triplets’ over the last few years and once again witnessing his passion and genius up close,” Schwarzenegger enthuses about the long-awaited film.
“I can’t believe I won’t be working with him anymore and contemplating life with him. But I also know Ivan isn’t gone, he’s still with us. He’s here, on so many pages of my life story. And if you’ve ever been lucky enough to meet him or experience his work, he’s part of your story too.”