It’s safe to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a rough go of things since his incumbency as the governor of California. “The Expendables” franchise has seen diminishing returns (both critically and commercially), working with interesting filmmakers Kim Jee-woon (“The Last Stand”) and David Ayer (“Sabotage”) didn’t quite pan out, his zombie drama “Maggie” barely limped into theaters, and “Terminator: Genisys” became the most critically-panned entry in the long-running series. However, the common thread among all of the aforementioned titles is that hardly anyone would say that Schwarzenegger is bad in them. The guy still has charisma in spades, which keeps him above the “straight-to-VOD” fate that has befallen other late-80’s/early-90’s action relics like Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
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He may just find redemption yet in the upcoming action-comedy “Why We’re Killing Gunther,” in which he will play the titular arrogant hitman who is targeted by a rival agency. ‘Gunther’ represents the directorial debut of “Saturday Night Live” cast member Taran Killam, who also wrote the screenplay and will star in the feature. Killam, who is currently on his sixth season of ‘SNL,’ has been a strong presence in this recent class of cast members, but he is also looking to be a strong presence in movies after bit parts in “12 Years a Slave” and “The Heat.”
The film is slated to begin filming in June. It will co-star fellow SNL cast member Bobby Moynihan, as well as Cobie Smulders, Paul Brittain, Kumail Nanjiani, Randall Park, and Ryan Gaul. [Screen Daily]