The Last Stand Poster - H 2012
This story first appeared in the Oct. 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
“If the people are angry with me, I deserve that,” Arnold Schwarzenegger told NBC’s Meet the Press on Oct. 7, part of a media blitz that took him from CBS’ 60 Minutes to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart in support of his book Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story.
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But have the actor and former California governor’s detailed apologies for cheating on wife Maria Shriver and fathering an illegitimate son improved his image?
“I don’t think he helped himself at all,” says veteran publicist Dick Guttman. “Fame is always best clothed in mystery.”
With three new films set for release in 2013, including January’s The Last Stand, improving public perception of himself could be key to whether Schwarzenegger, 65, is able to relaunch his acting career.
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So THR and pollster Penn Schoen Berland surveyed 400 moviegoers and asked whether Arnold has altered their opinion of him. Here are the results.
