[By STEVE CLARKE, Variety]
Arnie is returning to the movies with a 3D toonpic based on his new superhero TV skein “The Governator,” skedded to be released in the first quarter of 2013.
In what was one of the least well-kept secrets in recent TV history, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Cannes to launch his showbiz comeback, “The Governator.”
The program is a 52-part tyke toon aimed at the global market featuring his “signature” voice and computer-generated likeness.
Print and digital versions of “The Governator” are due to bow before the movie version emerges in two years’ time.
A full merchandising roll-out is also envisaged.
Show is the result of a partnership between comic icon Stan Lee, A Squared Ent., Archie Comics and Schwarzenegger.
The toon mixes comedy with classic superhero antics.
Story begins a few days after the former governor of California ended his term.
Instead of opting for a quiet life, Schwarzenegger’s alter ego, the Governator, decides to take on the bad guys.
Inevitably, our hero leads a double life.
His day job as an avenging superhero is so secret that not even his wife knows.
So in true Clark Kent-style, animated Arnie is also a regulator family guy who needs to change out of his alias in order to be home in time for supper.
Speaking at a packed press conference at Mip TV, Schwarzenegger said that while auds could expect action by the bucket-load from the new toon, there would be zero violence.
He said: “In my movies, a lot of heads come off and a lot of blood is splattered about, but not in ‘The Governator.’
“There’s more action than you’ve ever seen before, combined with comedy, but no violence.
“There are a lot of positive role models in this show. We show teenagers being empowered.”
“The Governator” will be produced A Squared Ent., founded by Andy Heyward and Amy Moynihan Heyward, whose credits include “Secret Millionaire’s Club,” “Giselete and The Green Team” and “Martha and Friends,” an animation focusing on a 10-year-old Martha Stewart.
The firm will also manage global licensing and distribution.
Prior to the press conference, Schwarzenegger was presented with the Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur by French culture minister Frederic Mitterrand.
Schwarzenegger recalled how he had first attended the Cannes Film Festival in 1977, where despite skepticism that he had what it took to be a movie star he proved the naysayers wrong.
“Cannes was a great help in my career,” Schwarzenegger remembered.
“People said I wouldn’t get on in the movie biz because my body was too big, my name too long and I had an accent. But Cannes made me feel at home.”
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