ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 22, 1996 TAG: 9611220019
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN ELBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arnold Schwarzenegger's film career has been impeccably well-mannered thus far.
OK, so the body count in such fierce exercises as ``Eraser'' and ``True Lies'' is a bit unseemly. And even his comedies, like the new kiddie romp ``Jingle All the Way,'' can turn into screwball mayhem.
But sex, the topic etiquette experts deem forbidden for polite society, is usually avoided. In ``True Lies,'' after all, Jamie Lee Curtis did her shimmying solo.
Shoving courtesy aside, Mr. Schwarzenegger, just when are we going to see some hot-and-heavy romance, some serious sexuality, in your movies? Or are you one of those shy big guys?
And, while we have your ear, what about another touchy subject, politics? Not the movie kind, the genuine article: Given your Republican activism, might there be a campaign in your future?
He's very willing to try on-screen hanky-panky, says the bodybuilding champ who morphed into a movie star. But there's a significant obstacle: Size matters.
``The stuff only makes sense if it is a story that is totally believable to the audience. With what I bring to the movie, I just can't pick up any script that has some skinny rat guy,'' he said.
He cites a 1975 Lina Wertmuller film, ``Swept Away,'' which has the half-Schwarzenegger-sized Giancarlo Giannini ``beating up on this woman. He was this little scrawny guy but if it were me, it's over. I give her a look, and people feel sorry for her.
``What's important is not that I just satisfy myself to do a role, but it has to be pleasant for people to watch. It has to be a story written in such a way that my size is comfortable to that project and it doesn't get in the way, and it doesn't take anything away from the character or the sense of the whole movie.''
Wait, who said all that? Ah-nold, the action hero of few words?
Yes, the man who made his reputation on menace combined with the pithy punch line - ``I'll be back'' and ``You're luggage'' among them - turns out to be downright chatty in real life.
The Austrian accent thuds heavily, just as it does on screen, and his syntax occasionally is as convoluted as an action-movie plot. But he is business-executive brisk and savvy, appropriate for a man who is a virtual conglomerate.
There's Arnold the star, of course, and the longtime real estate developer. And there's Arnold the international restaurateur, partnered with Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone in the Planet Hollywood chain, as well as owner of his own eatery in Los Angeles.
So what's next?
``Believe me, I've thought about it many times, what is the next thing,'' he said. ``I'm concerned sometimes, concerned what will it be, because it could be very sudden.''
Schwarzenegger is referring to the possibility that acting, his primary vocation, could abruptly lose its charm. It happened with bodybuilding, he explains, in 1980.
``I stood one day on the stage, when I won the Mr. Olympia contest, and I said what am I doing here, standing here in these little posing trunks, half-naked and oiled-up and proving to the world I'm the most muscular man?
``There's 10 bodybuilders left and right of me who would appreciate this trophy and this title so much more than I. What am I doing here, why am I taking this away from these guys?
``And from that point on'' - he snapped his fingers for emphasis - ``gone it was.''
For now, acting still inspires enthusiasm: ``I'm like a puppy. This is wonderful.''
But might politics provide the next, greater challenge? He campaigned actively for President Bush, but pretty much sat out the 1996 race (he knew President Clinton was a sure winner, he explains).
``My interest really came in the late 1970s, early '80s, when I saw the country really deteriorate, during the Carter administration,'' Schwarzenegger recalled. ``I saw interest rates going sky high, saw inflation go out of control.''
``The poor were really beaten down by that,'' he said, and he felt America's image was taking a beating in the eyes of the world. He believed in the approach Ronald Reagan successfully campaigned with, and signed on.
``Nothing against Carter,'' Schwarzenegger added, diplomatically. ``Believe me, I respect the man fully because his intentions with human rights were absolutely fantastic. Just the whole thing didn't go the way it should have.''
``This whole Democratic-Republican thing is such a fine line anyway, you know, in so many cases,'' he said.
That's probably a sound position for a man who lives in a divided household: His wife, Maria Shriver, is descended from Democratic Party royalty via her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
``I'm very fortunate that I'm married to a very, very bright woman who is a Democrat, [but] where she can see my side and I can see her side. It's great to flesh out all those ideas,'' he said.
He's gained something else from the connection: His mother-in-law's work with the Special Olympics has shown how effective a person can be working outside of the political ranks, Schwarzenegger said.
``Being through with acting doesn't necessarily mean that you have to jump into a political career. It also means that you can take on a great organization you feel strongly about,'' said Schwarzenegger, pointing to examples including his own past work with the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Besides, he said, he's not prepared now to make the sacrifices that politics demand.
Another point to consider: Schwarzenegger, used to reaching the top, is ineligible to serve as U.S. president because he's foreign-born. Could he settle for less?
His reply came wrapped in a mischievous grin.
``They said to me I could never be a bodybuilding champion because Austrians won ski races, not bodybuilding contests.''
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Arnold Schwarzenegger's about to "Jingle All theby CNBWay" to the bank: For now, acting still inspires enthusiasm. ``I'm
like a puppy. This is wonderful.'' color.