Schwarzenegger–Stallone rivalry

The rivalry between American actor Sylvester Stallone and Austrian-American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger went on for about twenty years, often involving incidents of one-upsmanship and subterfuge from both parties.

Stallone (left) and Schwarzenegger (right) speaking at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con

History

The two actors first met each other in 1977 when assigned to the same table at the 34th Golden Globe Awards, where Rocky, written by and starring Stallone, had been nominated for six categories but came short in all but one of them, while Schwarzenegger was nominated for New Star of the Year, for Stay Hungry, which he won. Stallone later spoke out in an interview with Variety, saying that Schwarzenegger laughed at him when Rocky lost in several categories. Finally, when Rocky won Best Motion Picture – Drama, Stallone threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger.

Popularity

The rival actors attacked each other in the press, and tried to surpass the other with more on-screen killings and larger weapons. In an October 1985 interview with The News of the World, Schwarzenegger apparently insulted Stallone (who was considered a much bigger star at the time) by alleging that Stallone uses body doubles in a few of his films, and that one "would be angry at hearing their name in the same breath" as the Rocky actor.

In November 1985, Rocky IV, starring Stallone, opened with a $20 million weekend, with Rocky's rival, Ivan Drago, a robotic, muscular villain with a strange accent perceived to be a facsimile of Schwarzenegger.

In February 1988, The News of the World ran a story by journalist Wendy Leigh with the headline: "Hollywood Star's Nazi Secret." The article claims Schwarzenegger is a closet Hitler-lover with "fervent Nazi and anti-Semitic views." His father, Gustav, the article alleges, was responsible for rounding up Jews to put them in concentration camps. Leigh's source was claimed to be Stallone. While Schwarzenegger's father did indeed voluntarily apply to join the Austrian National Socialist Party on 1 March 1938 and held allegiance to Nazi Germany during World War II, there is no evidence to support Gustav rounded up Jews or directly participated in war crimes. Gustav Schwarzenegger's Nazi links were revealed in 1990, two years after the accusation; however, Arnold, who was born two years after the fall of the regime, has always fervently denounced them. Wendy Leigh later claimed her source for the story, Stallone, also paid for her legal fees when Schwarzenegger sued for libel; the newspaper apologized late in 1989 and agreed to pay damages.

In September 1988, the New York Post reported that Stallone and his entourage entered a nightclub, saw a picture of Schwarzenegger on the wall, and demanded its removal, or else Stallone would leave. The owner handed the picture of Schwarzenegger over to Stallone's minders, who destroyed it.

In March 1990, Stallone read an unauthorized biography by the aforementioned Wendy Leigh about Schwarzenegger's Nazi family, difficult childhood, and use of steroids in his teens. Stallone, according to Leigh, was so pleased after reading the first draft that he remarked "Reading this is better than getting four blow jobs". Schwarzenegger has subsequently admitted to taking steroids while bodybuilding, and he also mentioned his father was indeed an abusive alcoholic.

Mentions in film

In Twins, Schwarzenegger's character makes fun of a Rambo poster that he sees on the wall, implying with a hand gesture that he had bigger muscles than Stallone's depiction of Rambo. Stallone responded in the movie Tango & Cash, in which he beat up a man who looked like Schwarzenegger. Stallone later admitted that he imagined Schwarzenegger while shooting the scene. In Last Action Hero, a Terminator 2 poster was shown with Stallone's face, and Schwarzenegger's character compliments his performance in a tongue-in-cheek manner. In the 1993 film Demolition Man, John Spartan (Stallone) discovers that Schwarzenegger has a Presidential Library by the year 2032.

In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Stallone stated that Schwarzenegger once tricked him into doing the critically reviled 1992 film Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. Schwarzenegger later admitted to this in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, saying:

I read the script, and it was a piece of shit. Let's be honest. I say to myself, 'I'm not going to do this movie...' Then they went to Sly, and Sly called me (and asked), 'have they ever talked to you about doing this movie?' And I said, 'yes, I was thinking about doing it. This is a really brilliant idea, this movie.' When he heard that, because he was in competition, he said, 'Whatever it takes, I'll do the movie.' And of course the movie went major into the toilet.

Demise and legacy

The rivalry ended in the late 1990s when both actors' impact on the box office had reduced significantly. At the turn of the millennium, The Hollywood Reporter said that the pair were ideating a joint acting venture. Schwarzenegger also invited Stallone for multiple inaugurations during his time as the Governor of California; as a gesture of goodwill, Stallone had donated $15,000 to Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign in 2005. The pair also starred in three movies together: The Expendables 2, The Expendables 3, and Escape Plan. Additionally, Schwarzenegger also had an uncredited cameo appearance in The Expendables.

See also

• Vulgar auteurism - several of their films are in this article
• Blockbuster cinema
• Indiewood - several of their films are also in this article
• Ben Affleck and Matt Damon