Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were hardcore rivals for many years. That’s why the Terminator actor once tricked the other action hero into taking on a really bad movie.
In the American talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked in an episode from October 2019 whether it was true that he tricked Sylvester Stallone into giving him a bad movie.
The actor admitted that he indeed set a little trap for his then-rival to saddle him with a bad movie project titled Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot and laughs as he tells the story.
Here you can see a trailer for Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot featuring Sylvester Stallone:
“Who has more muscles, who has more success at the box office?”
Then the Terminator actor explains that there was a great rivalry between the two action stars in the 80s. They competed fiercely for the best projects:
It was all about who makes bigger movies. Who has more muscles, who has more success at the box office? Who kills more people? Who kills people more creatively? Who has bigger knives? Who has bigger guns?
And I started running around with machine guns that were only meant for helicopters, which were usually mounted on helicopters or tanks. It was crazy, it was total war.
Arnold Schwarzenegger via YouTube
Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the project Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. However, when he read the script, he quickly realized how bad it was and had absolutely no interest in the role.
However, he wanted his rival to accept the movie. Sylvester Stallone, who is also called Sly, contacted Schwarzenegger and asked if he knew about the movie. The Terminator then replied that he was considering taking the role and that the movie was a great idea.
Here you can see the entire YouTube clip where Arnold Schwarzenegger tells the story. Fast forward to Timestamp 6:48:
“When he heard this, due to our competition, he immediately called and said: ‘No matter what it costs, I’m doing the movie,'” Schwarzenegger says laughing. “So he made the movie. And of course, the movie totally flopped.”
Meanwhile, the rivalry between the two action stars is now a thing of the past, and the two are even friends.
Not only did Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot turn out to be a flop. A major sci-fi movie also failed at the box office – despite having well-known actors:
