All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S14E01.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-Kitsune_track3_[eng]

Knock, knock.

Movies
and explosions...

Son of a bitch!

...go hand-in-hand.

Here's my invitation.

No one could
do it any better than.

Arnold.

Arnold.

Arnold.

Arnold.

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

To be or not to be. Not to be.

From blowing
up the box office.

Why wouldn't you want
Arnold in an action movie?

Yeah.

To shattering
the Hollywood mold.

Good. Now we're having fun.

The thought that an
Austrian bodybuilder

could become a Hollywood star.

Dino fought against Arnold.

- Because of his accent.
- His accent.

Perhaps he didn't
understand you.

I understood him.

He's most disagreeable
and he has irritated me.

From early victories.

When I saw the film I said,

"Wow."

A line around the block.

To crushing failures.

Oh shit!

It was this huge,
beautiful production,

but it didn't quite connect.

Th film was a flop.

Get to the chopper!

A larger-than-life
personality.

He's got a big ego.

No question about that.

Was it
dedication or obsession?

Arnold is a very
driven person.

He wanted to improve himself.

He embodies the
American dream.

Arnold
Schwarzenegger!

Even though he came
here from another country.

They fell in love with Arnold.

Hear the stories
behind his greatest stunts.

Can Arnold jump off a cliff

and land in a pool of water

that looks like it's
about three feet deep?

Arnold's literally
running for his life.

God damn it!

We had a lot of guys on fire.

It almost killed Arnold.

Lexicon-shaping
catchphrases.

I'll be back.

I let him go.

What a hothead.

It's not a tumor!

It's turbo time!

You're fired.

Let off some steam, Bennett.

The marriage
that changed his life.

He actually left the set,
got married to Maria Shriver.

- There were challenges.
- Son of a bitch.

Arnold wanted to get the
fuck out of the jungle.

He got violently ill,

but he was out there
filming that scene.

You're one ugly motherfucker.

Just inspired the
hell out of everybody.

And then there
were the challengers.

Compete with Stallone.

Bruce Willis,
Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Jackie Chan.
Tom Cruise!

Hear the
never-told adventures.

And all the females
started giggling

when Arnold took his robe off.

I'm on my knees painting
his ass and his hips.

"Hey Arnold, how's your family?"

Of the world's
greatest action star.

The journey of
Arnold Schwarzenegger

is just about as epic
as any human alive.

As his co-stars
and collaborators...

It's nice to get
this off my chest.

I don't know if I should
talk about this, but--

...reveal how
Arnold became--

Seven-time Mr. Olympia.

The
governor of California.

The highest paid--

Biggest,
baddest action star.

American icon. The
biggest thing ever.

And cut!

In July of 1947,

in the sleepy village
of Thal, Austria,

Gustav and Aurelia
welcomed a baby boy.

Mama!

Arnold Schwarzenegger,

a name that young Austrians
wanted the world to know,

refusing to let anyone
stand in his way.

Mama!

In Austria, he would
go to this gym every day

and work out,

and one day he gets to
the gym and it's closed.

While
most would welcome

an excuse to skip the gym,

Arnold on the other hand--

He went and found the
biggest rock that he could find

and heaved it
through the window,

shattered the entire window

just so he can get inside
and do his daily workout.

Schwarzenegger
wasn't afraid of jail.

He was afraid of falling behind.

He knew he couldn't miss a day

because he knew what he had
to do to become successful.

Arnold saw an
opportunity in building his body

to build a better life.

He came from no money, he
was nothing in the beginning.

They had no
plumbing, they had no toilet.

Arnold is the most
self-driven man I've ever seen.

You don't become the
seven-time Mr. Olympia

not being a driven person.

But before all that,
at the age of just 20,

Arnold became the youngest ever

to win the Mr.
Universe in the UK,

which in 1968 drew him to
the mecca of bodybuilding:

Muscle Beach, USA.

There was times
that Schwarzenegger

actually would
sleep on the beach

because he didn't
have a place to stay.

Arnold was no
stranger to being broke,

but in Los Angeles, he would
find his chosen family.

Joe Gold gave
him a place to stay

when he first moved to LA.

That's the gym he
was training at.

Thanks to Joe Gold,

Arnold was able to focus on
the only thing that mattered,

outworking everyone.

In 1970, Arnold's only been
in America for two years.

And it was that
second year Arnold would win

the Mr. World, Mr.
Universe, and Mr. Olympia.

He is the top
bodybuilder in the world.

Even
though bodybuilding

was a niche sport in the '70s,

Arnold's success
and onstage charisma

transcended fitness culture

and caught the eye of
Hollywood producers

looking to fill the role
of a legendary warrior.

No, not yet!

But Arnold did
land the lead in--

"Hercules in New York."

The premise?

Hercules grows bored
of Mount Olympus.

I am tired of
the same old faces.

And attempts
to live a mortal life

in the Big Apple.

It's a low-budget movie.
They don't care if he can act.

My name is Hercules.

And if
you're wondering

why they don't
care if he can act.

My name is Hercules.

They dubbed him.

- Where are you going?
- Ashore.

Did the captain
give you permission?

No. Hercules
needs no permission.

After doing
"Hercules in New York,"

I decided that I really want
to get into this business

and I really want to get big
and learn the craft of acting.

Soon Arnold
would come under the wing

of a most unlikely mentor.

Lucille Ball was
absolutely instrumental

in my early career.

The sitcom
star was no stranger

to actors with heavy accents.

You can understand
me, can you?

Well now, yes, I've learned
to listen with an accent.

Ball never
saw Arnold act,

but she knew a star
when she saw one.

Now you're really
hitting below the belt.

- Did I hit you?
- Yeah.

She'd say, "Look,
I saw you yesterday

on 'The Merv Griffin Show.'

You were funny, you have
a great sense of humor.

That's very unique with
someone of your build."

She said, "I want you to
come in and read for me."

A common acting
term used for auditions.

Something Arnold would know
if he ever had an audition.

I had no idea what
she meant by "read."

So I tried to read it
like you read a book.

That's a swell way to
get off to a lousy start.

It was a total disaster.

But Lucille
Ball built an empire

on seeing things that
no one else could see.

She came, she said,
"Oh, this was fabulous.

You are hired!"

I am Rico!

It was primetime
movie of the week

presented as a sitcom called--

"Happy Anniversary
and Goodbye."

Lucille Ball had
legitimized Schwarzenegger,

opening the doors to Hollywood.

Taxi!

One of his first major films

was a film called "Stay Hungry."

The film featured
a future Terminator.

Nice night for a walk.

A future dude.

And they pee on my rug?

And a
future Freddy Krueger.

But at that time, Arnold
was playing a role

in his wheelhouse.

"Stay Hungry" was
about bodybuilders.

Make the thighs burn. Good.

Schwarzenegger
was paid only 12,000

to play a bodybuilder,
Joe Santo,

but Arnold made the
most of the opportunity.

He wins a Golden
Globe for Best New Actor

for "Stay Hungry."

The Golden
Globe elevated Arnold,

while his next film
would immortalize him.

"Pumping Iron,"
a documentary set

to bring the world
of bodybuilding
into the mainstream.

The focus is going to
be the so-called rivalry

for the next Mr. Olympia

between Lou Ferrigno and
Arnold for this title.

I've not been beaten
for the last seven years.

Critics took notice.

"Pumping Iron" won Best
Documentary in Kansas City.

This is a master
plan here this morning.

One day,

two friends attended a
screening of "Pumping Iron,"

both named Ed.

Edward R. Pressman.

Was a
film producer and--

Ed Summer.

Who owned one of
the first comic bookstores

in New York.

Ed was really
impressed by Schwarzenegger.

I'm not nervous at all.

My father said,
"This guy is a star."

He said, "There's
something about that guy.

He's got charisma.

I really think you could make
a movie star out of this guy."

And he says, "What could we do?"

And Ed Summer says,
"Well, what about Conan?"

And being a movie person
who never read anything,

Ed Pressman says, "Who's Conan?"

To answer that, we
need to go back a century.

In the early 30s, Robert
E. Howard, an aspiring writer,

was looking for places
to bring his writing.

And by the time
he was 18 years old,

he had made his first
professional sale

to a magazine called
"Weird Tales."

Which was a pulp magazine.

It was mostly ghost stories

or stories about monsters,
supernatural horror.

But Robert E. Howard
liked to write stuff

set in medieval
or ancient times.

Swashbuckling kinds of stories.

However, if he hadn't needed

to put the supernatural
into his stories,

he would probably never have
done anything like "Conan."

Conan
offered an escape

from Robert's
real-life challenges.

His mother, Hester,
was rather sickly,

and she eventually developed
a number of diseases.

He had spent years
caring for his mother.

And in 1936, she
went into a coma.

Bob asked, "How
long does she have?"

And one of the nurses said,
"Probably a day or two."

He took out a pistol that
he had borrowed from someone,

and in his car out in the
driveway in front of the house,

and shot himself in the head.

Robert E.
Howard died of suicide

in June of 1936.

With Robert's passing,
the IP of "Conan"

sat dormant for years

until discovered by an
opportunistic fantasy fanatic.

An author called
L. Sprague de Camp,

a successful writer
in his own right.

Sprague said, "You know,
maybe it would be a good idea

to put some of these
stories together in a book."

And Sprague realized that
the rights were convoluted.

Sprague decided
to forge ahead anyway,

and revived Robert
E. Howard's work

with the "Conan" anthologies.

At the same time,

unbeknownst there is
a scholar and a fan

named Glenn Lord in Texas.

He was really taken by
Robert E. Howard's poetry,

'cause Howard was
a poet as well.

So he put together a book
called "Always Comes Evening."

Not to be outdone,

Sprague didn't just
take Howard's work,

he began to take liberties.

Sprague found all
of these unfinished

or older stories that
they were unpublished

in different genres.

And Sprague rewrote these
to make 'em "Conan" stories.

Two publishers
in different states,

and now claiming
ownership of "Conan."

Who will reign supreme?

In Texas, Glenn
Lord got the blessings

of the people who
knew Howard the best.

And in doing so,
became the literary agent

for the Howard estate,

which meant Glenn
Lord would have access

to any remaining material.

He's uncovering the real
thing and he's the purist.

He's saying, "Wait a minute,

why are people
rewriting old stories

and claiming that they're
original Howard stories

when they're not?"

But things
were about

to get even more complicated

as a third publisher emerged.

Stan Lee wanted to expand
the market for comics.

In 1970, Marvel
editor-in-chief Stan Lee

and his right-hand
man, Roy Thomas,

were looking for
the next big thing.

Stan and I were eager to
expand the market for comics

and you can't just go on doing

endless numbers of superheroes.

One
genre above another

piqued Stan Lee's interest.

Sword and sorcery.

So Stan called me in
one day and says,

"Have you ever
read any of this?"

Roy had,

and thought that it would
make great "Marvel" content,

but there were already two
publishers claiming the rights.

We had no rights to adapt
any of the "Conan" stories.

One of those right
holders was Glenn Lord.

So I wrote him a letter.
It was sort of legal.

It was some sort of a
letter that I wrote.

I mean that-- You know--
It was all--

By Roy's hand movements,

legally, this was clear as mud.

...print or this and that.

It was probably a
pretty crappy contract.

Conan was on his way

to the pages of Marvel Comics.

It sold pretty
well the first issue.

Then about a year or so,

it became one of
Marvel's biggest sellers.

That brings us back

to the "Pumping Iron"
screening with the two Eds.

Ed Pressman was the
son of Jack Pressman,

founder of Pressman Toys.

Pressman Toys was
the first company

to make a licensing
deal with Disney,

licensing "Steamboat Willie."

But rather than
follow his father's footsteps

and produce toys,

Ed Pressman looked
to produce movies.

Turning comic
books into films.

Thanks to
his pal Ed Summer.

Ed Pressman had the perfect
vehicle for Schwarzenegger.

My father was in
a comic bookstore

and he saw the
comic book and said,

"That's Arnold Schwarzenegger.

There's just no one
else to play him."

As a result,

Ed Summer got to
work on a treatment

with "Conan" writer Roy Thomas.

Ed brought me in because
he knew how to write scripts,

but he didn't know
"Conan" that well,

so the two of us
sort of teamed up.

While Ed Summer
worked on the story,

Ed Pressman got to
work on the rights.

Lancer Books, which
is the paperback house

that had published all
those "Conan" books since 1966

went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

They had some rights,
and so now who has them?

An elegant
solution emerged.

This entity called
Conan Properties.

We had everybody who was
a claimant of any kind,

all the rights went in there.

That made the movie
possible to go forward.

But rights were
only part of the package.

My dad was friends
with George Butler,

the director of "Pumping Iron."

Through
his connections,

Ed Pressman teed up a
rendezvous for he and Ed Summer.

They go to Arnold and
they have lunch with him.

That's good.

I think Arnold saw
great possibilities

in being able to play Conan.

And Arnold really
wanted to have the role.

Ed Pressman
had the rights, a star,

now all he needed was a script.

My father and Oliver
Stone met through John Ptak.

I told Ed I wanted him
to meet Oliver Stone.

I think Oliver
was a hungry writer,

not that far removed from being
a taxi driver in New York.

Just as
he did with Arnold,

Ed Pressman saw Oliver
Stone's potential.

Ed could see that Oliver

could make this
extraordinary world possible.

Oliver Stone
was just so filled

with life and stories and ideas.

He ended up making a
deal to write the script.

Ed's only
rule: no rules.

Ed spoke to Oliver and
said, "Just write it.

Don't think about budget,
don't think about location.

Just let yourself go."

Just don't worry
about the budget.

The worst thing you can say.

As a result,

Oliver Stone proceeded
paying no mind

to the budget or the
audience's patience.

Yeah, it's about
three, four hours long.

Massive epic with thousands
of mutant armies attacking,

and just very, very
far from the "Conan"

that eventually shows
up on the screen.

Ed Pressman had
the rights to "Conan,"

a script and a star.

Now all he needed was a studio.

Universal got interested,

but they weren't sure
about Ed's ability

to produce a major motion
picture with a big budget.

What good is he then?

That was a problem.
That was a big problem.

Rather than
give up,

Ed began looking for a backer
outside the studio system.

Dino De Laurentiis was

one of your early major foreign
independent producer-buyers

that had a lot of
money from wherever.

The Italian producer

was potentially Ed
Pressman's last shot

of getting "Conan" made.

Dino De Laurentiis
wanted very much to do it,

because he thinks he
can see a franchise.

There was
only one problem.

Dino fought against Arnold.

I'm afraid.

Which
is a big problem.

As it turned out,

Dino had already met with
Arnold for "Flash Gordon."

Arnold comes into Dino's
office to talk about the movie,

and Dino tells him that
he's all wrong for the part.

They were small offices
and Dino had this desk.

The desk was almost
as big as his office.

He's not a very tall man.

And Arnold looks at Dino
De Laurentiis and says,

"What does such a little man
need with such a big desk?"

Right?

And Dino immediately
takes very deep offense,

and they're out in 90 seconds.

Ed Pressman
had the rights,

the script, a producer.

But now did he have the star?

Ed had the rights to "Conan,"

a wild script by Oliver Stone,

and he thought he
had the star lined up

until diminutive producer
Dino De Laurentiis

started to look elsewhere.

A guy whose name was
Sylvester Stallone.

If they started with an older
Conan, it was Charles Bronson.

The casting of Arnold

would be the first test of
Dino and Ed's partnership.

The greatest
obstacle that Ed had

was convincing the
De Laurentiis Company

Arnold should be Conan.

Tell him to stay
out of the way!

Ahaha!

He knew that Arnold
could play the role,

and he just believed in it.

Luckily, Ed Pressman
wasn't the only believer.

We were all really
happy with Arnold.

He was the best guy for the job.

Eventually
Dino relented.

I think he finally figured

that there weren't
too many actors

that had Arnold's physique.

You're so big
and so well-grown.

With
the team in place,

it was time to
talk to investors.

Dino had an overall
deal at Universal,

so he was obligated
to deal with Universal

with whatever he did.

Dino's first
priority? Finding a director.

This is where John
Milius comes in.

He was an up-and-coming, bright,
strong visionary director.

While John
Milius' directorial work

may have been a little obscure,

by age of 35, Milius
was already responsible

for some of cinema's
greatest scenes.

You've got to ask
yourself one question,

"Do I feel lucky?"

Well, do you, punk?

That's a
John Milius line.

It was called
"Apocalypse Now."

And John wrote the script.

I love the smell of
napalm in the morning.

And everything that's good
in that movie was John Milius.

The USS Indianapolis
speech for "Jaws."

Didn't see the first shark
for about half an hour.

Tiger, 13-footer.

All highly regarded films.

Needless to
say, Milius was eager

to take a pass at Oliver
Stone's abundant script.

He wanted a script
that was more violent.

And that
violence would prove

to be an ideological difference.

Oliver, having
come out of Vietnam,

was so critical of war and
so critical of violence.

And on the other
side, you have Milius,

who loved guns and loved this
kind of outlaw philosophy.

So Oliver was
dropped like a stone.

- The winner is Oliver Stone!
- But don't worry,

things kind of
worked out for him.

Thank you for this
Cinderella ending.

As for Milius'
franchise aspirations?

Four to five films. Begin
it with "Conan the Barbarian."

End it with "Beneath
My Sandaled Feet,"

which was going to
be about King Conan

and eventually his death.

That was John's vision
for what it was gonna be.

With the first
film script complete,

Milius was ready to roll camera
on "Conan the Barbarian."

Well, almost ready.

Ed Pressman had the rights.

For once, Ed
Pressman had the high ground.

They had to buy out the guy

who had all the rights,
which was Ed Pressman.

I think he made
a lot of money.

Ed got paid very well.

Conan
had a new regime,

but the struggle
for creative control

was only just beginning.

"Flash Gordon" has
come out a year before,

and it has the score by Queen,

the premiere rock
group going on.

So Dino is obsessed
with getting a rock band

for "Conan the Barbarian."

But John said that he wanted

a more traditional
romantic score.

But Dino
refused to give up

on his rock and roll fantasy.

"So John," he says.
"Hey, who you want?

You tell me, you tell
me anybody, and I
get you for them."

Milius looks at him and
says, "I want Jim Morrison."

"I'll get Jim Morrison for you!"

Jim Morrison had been
dead for eight years.

Milius doesn't crack a smile,

and he goes out to try
to get Jim Morrison,

and just realized
he's been pranked.

He's not happy.

Milius
wanted to take risks.

Right from the beginning,

he said, "I don't want
to have established stars

as leads in the picture.

I wanna have
established athletes."

Joel Silver, the producer
Arnold introduced me to,

was impressed by my size
and asked me to participate.

But then John said, "I
need a good Viking name."

So I thought about my own
name and I said, "Thorgrim."

But for the role
of Conan's sidekick,

John Milius did not want
to cast a weightlifter.

Who are you?

Dinner for wolves.

Gerry Lopez was a surfer.
He was not an actor.

Something Gerry
Lopez was well aware of.

John Milius was a
good friend of mine,

and he wrote a part
in the script for me,

and when I read the script,

I said "This is way too
big a role, I can't act."

And he said, "Don't worry,
neither can Arnold."

Coach Milius
continued to draft athletes

from every sport.

My mentor was Bob Fosse.

I did two Broadway shows for him

and then the film
"All That Jazz" for him.

Which was where
she caught John Milius' eye.

I had never really
gone out for film.

This was a first experience.

She was perfect for the
part. She was a dancer.

She moved well.

I said to John Milius,
"What were you thinking?"

You hired a
bodybuilder, a dancer,

and a surfer to
star in the film.

I think the three of us were
like the three bumpkins.

We just really kind of,

"Well, we're here,
what do we do next?"

Do you wanna live
forever?

That's not to say
the film was without thespians.

They needed someone
like James Earl Jones

that had some clout
in filmmaking.

Who now is your
father if it is not me,

my son?

My son.

No!

I mean, the best.

I just would talk to him
just to hear the voice.

I wish to speak to you now.

Rounding out the
cast, one of the greats.

Is there a dagger such
as this in her hand for me?

Max von Sydow.

I cast you out!

In name of the
Father and of the-

Son.

When we were in any
of the scenes with them,

I mean we were just like

all three of us hanging
there with our mouths open.

I salute you.

Actor or athlete,

the cast had one thing
in common.

All of them were fans of
Robert E. Howard's books.

They all knew what
the project was.

While the cast
knew the material,

no one could have known
what was coming next.

Tanks rolled into the street

and there was a coup to
try to overthrow the king.

What daring! What
outrageousness!

Director John Milius

was ready to roll on
"Conan the Barbarian."

All that was left was
for Dino De Laurentiis

to decide where.

There had been some location
scouts for a place to shoot it,

and one of them was Yugoslavia.

It looked like it was gonna
be a really great place.

The locations
were spectacular.

The dramatic
landscapes of Yugoslavia

were a perfect stand-in for
Conan's homeland, Cimmeria.

We got
all the crew there.

We had to bring
in a lot of people

Among them
was Ron Cobb,

a concept artist, famed
for "Star Wars," "Alien,"

and a never-used E.T.
design for Steven Spielberg.

He came over and
got us and said

that he wanted to keep working,
but it was getting dark.

While Ron
didn't have a curfew,

he did have a problem.

And they had forgotten
to put the electricity

in the building.

There was not a
huge infrastructure.

Infrastructure being
only one of the challenges

of timing in the
socialist republic.

There were certain
scenes like the orgy scene

and the some of
the sexual scenes

that they really didn't
want us to do there.

Everything
needed to be approved

by the state-run
film commission.

And then there was oversight.

Ron Cobb had to
have this Russian monitor

with him at all times.

Which included
location-scouting.

And the Russian accused
him of checking the terrain,

seeing if tanks could
get through this area.

And Ron's just going,

"Yeah, we don't wanna
make a movie here."

So at the end we
decided we moved out.

Come, let's leave this place.

A setback not
only for the budget,

but for the schedule.

We had to stop the
production for a period,

I don't remember,
three or four months.

They find that Madrid
wants to make a deal

with Universal and Dino.

Dino had a
long history with Spain.

He used to say it was the
best light in the world.

But it appeared
production had jumped

from the Yugoslav frying
pan into the Spanish fire.

One night we were having
dinner across from the Palace.

Tanks rolled into the street,

and there was a coup to
try to overthrow the king.

This time the tanks
weren't a paranoid fantasy.

We were a little worried.

But John Milius knew
exactly how to calm

his team's rattled nerves.

John called and he goes,

"My shotgun's in my room,
go get it."

But before
Gerry could lock and load,

the coup ended as
quickly as it began.

But it didn't work and
finally the tanks went away

and we had dinner.

As
production kicked off,

Arnold would feel the pressure

of being on the top
of the call sheet.

I felt like the first time
a studio, Universal Studio,

put all this money behind
me to do a big movie.

Filming would test
Arnold mentally and physically.

The very first setup on
the very first day is Arnold--

escaping from the wolves.

Well, the wolves were
not wolves, of course,

they were German shepherds
that were painted,

and they were trained
to go after the coat.

They put chunks of meat on
the back of this bearskin rug.

He did not run fast enough.

And the dog trainers had like
no control over these dogs.

Arnold's literally
running for his life.

The unused
wide shot shows

just how terrified Arnold was
of the ravenous dog-wolves.

Oh!
They grabbed the coat, but,

he was already about
five or six feet

up the side of this rock.

Then they pulled
him into the rock.

Ow, ow, ow!

And he landed pretty
hard on his back,

and they went, "Oh my
God, we've killed Arnold."

God damn it!

Milius came over
after Arnold was hurt,

and he says, "Are you okay?"

And he says, "Yeah, I guess so."

And he says, "Now you
know what it feels like

to suffer like Conan suffers,"
and he walks away.

While filming
the Tree of Woe sequence,

Arnold would have his revenge
on the animals of Spain.

Arnold really bit it and I
think it surprised everybody.

Well, the vulture
was certainly surprised.

Yeah, I couldn't
believe he did that,

'cause I was right
there next to him.

That was actually
a real vulture.

They got away with a
lot of stuff in Spain

that you'd never get
away with in the U.S.

But not
everyone is so sure

It was the animatronic one.

Further
investigation of Vulturegate

would prove both to
be true accounts.

I have talked to four
people that were on that set.

The one that he bit
was animatronic,

but the one that he spit out

and he starts choking afterwards
and spitting out feathers?

That was a real vulture.

There was nothing
Arnold or John Milius

wouldn't do to make
"Conan" a success,

including gallons of claret.

John liked blood.

John would walk around with
a gigantic container of blood

with a garden sprayer,

and the extras thought
he was out of his mind.

Why is he spraying everything

- with blood?
- ...lakes of blood.

It was
a dangerous set,

especially for rookie actors

unfamiliar with the
stunts and sword play.

Well, the Atlantean
Sword and the Master Sword

were the two specific weapons

that were hand-ground, handmade,
hand-designed by Ron Cobb

to the specifications
of John Milius.

John's
demand for authenticity

was about to hit home for
the inexperienced actors.

John Milius didn't
want a cardboard sword.

They were actually
using the real deal,

and those things weighed
like about 15, 20, 30 pounds.

Sandahl Bergman
trained with a sword expert,

but John wanted to keep it real

with real swords
in action on set.

What could possibly go wrong?

There was one moment, we
were doing a sword fight.

We were going
after the princess.

It was an elaborate
scene, which takes time.

I remember that
we have to--

You know, about
the sun going down,

we gotta get this shot.

And I looked at the actor, he
just blanked in the routine.

Blanking in a dance
routine could be dangerous.

Blanking in a sword
fight could be deadly.

So he just did one wrong move.

Blood was everywhere.

John Milius
was under the gun

to complete filming the
raid on Thulsa Doom,

as all eyes turned
to Sandahl Bergman.

We were doing a sword fight.

It was right before
she cuts off the head

of that character
in the orgy scene.

Sandahl had memorized
every thrust and parry.

I looked at the actor
and I saw him blank.

Unfortunately,
that doesn't mean he froze.

So he just did one wrong move.

My sword did not have
finger guards on it

and it
sliced my finger.

All I remember is
everybody racing toward me

and saying, "Don't
look, don't look."

I was right next to her
and blood was everywhere.

I severed all the
tendons in my index finger.

Dancers are like athletes,
pain becomes our best friend.

While Sandahl
didn't fear pain,

there was one scene that
kept her up at night.

Do you know what horrors
lie beyond that wall?

I was very nervous about
Arnold's and my love scene.

She told Arnold,
"I want to practice,

so can I come and
practice with you?"

I'd never done anything
like that before.

You should be
proud of your body.

Arnold's just
laughing, just going...

..."Yeah, we can
practice if you want."

Sandahl had more
than one reason to be nervous.

I don't know if I
should talk about this,

but I was dating Terry Leonard.

Conan's
stunt choreographer.

It's just uncomfortable.

Having a new
boyfriend watch your first
love scene--

Not ideal.

It's like John talking
in the background,

"Okay, roll her over.

Okay, her butt's
showing too much.

Grab the pillow."

And Arnold and I would try to--
And we'd break up laughing.

Cut! You know?

John sent us off the set
and said, "Get it together."

Well,
Arnold laughed it up.

Tensions continued to
build between John Milius

and Dino De Laurentiis.

One of the last
things they shot

was Thulsa Doom's
Mountain of Power.

But Thulsa
Doom's Mountain of Power

was feeling more
like Thulsa Doom's

handful of alkaline batteries.

John wanted it to
be more spectacular

and needed more money
for Thulsa Doom's castle.

He needed a million dollar more.

Milius prepared
for aggressive negotiations,

inviting Sven and anyone over
300 pounds to the meeting.

So he asked the Danes
to be in his office,

the next day, standing
behind his desk

Making Sven a
bodybuilder/actor/enforcer.

John told Dino that
he needed one more million.

And Dino didn't
like to hear that.

I mean with those guys
standing behind him,

how could anybody say no?

A pittance to
protect you from evil.

I am evil.

The next day,
six gentlemen came

with two suitcases each
with a million dollars.

So John would build that castle
he liked for Thulsa Doom.

That's John Milius right
there, a hundred percent.

Between these guys, they're
all about who's more macho.

That is strength, boy.

I'm stronger than you
and no and I can do this.

And it's so ridiculous.

Turns out getting
the million was the easy part.

I remember we couldn't
find the location

to do this Mountain of Power.

And so then somebody
came up with,

"Why don't we build
this huge staircase

going up into the mountain?"

That someone
was conceptual artist

and production
designer Ron Cobb.

We were worried about
putting 2,000 people

on that stairwell.

But Dino was less
concerned about hypotheticals

and more concerned with
Milius' actual plans.

He's gonna throw
this pot up there

and it's going to burn down.

Needless to
say, Dino wasn't pleased.

Dino didn't want to burn
everything down he had financed.

Buzz Feitshans
had more practical concern.

Oh, I was worried about
setting the country on fire.

But Milius wouldn't
bow to Dino that easily.

John Milius dug his heels in.

John wanted it to
be more spectacular

And said, "Look,
we've come this far,

we've done this much."

This is the ending of our film.

And so Dino had agreed.

Which
meant it was time

to break out the kettle of fire.

And decides to
take this burning pot

that's on the end of a chain

and throw it up
into Doom's lair.

Obviously, Arnold didn't
throw it up there.

They had this pot launched up,

and the set was set
up to start burning

when this pot made it
over the top of the ledge.

But the pot fell short,

and landed in an area that
would completely not burn,

it was concrete.

Fire won't burn
there, no fire at all.

Unfortunately,
the effects team

never planned on the
kettle falling short.

They set this thing to burn

so it just gets
engulfed in flames.

So there was nothing
they could do.

Once they set it on fire,

they had to film it
being set on fire.

It burned down.

And just like that,

the million-dollar
structure was gone.

And with it, production.

It was actually on
the end of the movie.

The very last day of the movie.

Filming
may have wrapped,

but the battle between
De Laurentiis and Milius

was just getting started.

Dino wanted a PG,
and John wouldn't do it.

With the filming
of "Conan" complete,

Arnold's future in film was
now at the mercy of John Milius

and Dino de Laurentiis'
rocky relationship

as they moved into
post-production.

I remember this constant
different vision of things.

It was widely observed

that there was either
bad blood or something.

Grant me revenge!

The violence, the studio
and Dino didn't like.

John and Dino
came to an agreement.

John had first cut.

You go first.

But Milius'
first cut

only added to Dino's concerns.

The movie was too long.

This wasn't a
matter of creative differences.

The theaters, if it's a
three-and-a-half-hour film,

they can only run it
three times a day.

So it reduces how
much they can make.

So you try and keep it
in that two-hour window.

And Dino was gonna sit in

and make sure that
that happened.

Dino went as far
as bringing an editing bay

into his office.

And we would bring
the film up there

and he would look at it.

All of a sudden, here
comes the windshield wiper:

Out, out, out, out!

With
the runtime down,

there was still the
issue of all that blood.

At the time, the ratings
board was much more aggressive

in making sure that there
wasn't too much blood.

He kept upping
the blood count.

So that the stuff he
really wanted to get in.

would get past the censors.

He wanted as hard an R...

Only you can judge

if your children are
mature and intelligent

enough to witness the
frank and revealing scenes

in this film.

...without tripping over into X.

So we were taking frames
out of each shot of the blood,

but then that wasn't enough.

So we started grading the
blood, making it less red.

And after
countless revisions--

We got an R.

Which
meant it was time

to set up a test screening.

In attendance,
Universal's president.

Ned Tanen and Dino.

And they were sure that the
audience would hate the movie:

The movie was too violent,
the movie was too bloody.

They hated the movie.

Ned and Dino were
preparing less for a screening

and more for a funeral.

We arrive at the theater,
we see a line around the block

going around twice,

and they were all bikers,
really rough guys,

long hair, chains, leathers.

It was an audience
you don't want to disappoint.

And the audience
was going nuts.

And what I never forget
is Dino and Ned Tanen

looking at each
other and saying,

"What the hell is going on here?

What part of this
did we not get?"

From a
budget of 20 million,

"Conan the Barbarian" pulled in

nearly $70 million worldwide,

which would be over
230 million today.

The film was
massively successful.

As for the
dancer-turned-actress,

"Conan" was more
than just a hit.

I got a Golden
Globe from that film.

Sandahl Bergman. Ho!

I wanna thank all the
people that were involved

with "Conan,"
especially John Milius,

who when everybody
said no, he said yes.

As for Arnold,
life would never be the same.

Really, I believed
launched his career.

I felt pretty
good about myself.

I was traveling from country
to country promoting "Conan."

So it was a great time.

He started to be
taken seriously.

It paved his way.

Arnold had found his
place, he found his footing.

And it felt like that
there is a slight chance

that I could get away
from the muscle movies

and do maybe something
where I wear clothes.

Not yet though,

because the film's success meant

John Milius could proceed
with his five-film plan,

and Dino had a plan
to give the film

an even bigger audience.

Dino wanted a PG.

Rather than double
down on the sex and violence,

Dino wanted to go in
another direction.

We should make
this a family movie.

Going from a
near-X rating to PG-13

is enough to give
anyone whiplash.

I tend not to try and
watch "Conan the Destroyer."

The sequel failed

to recapture the magic
at the box office,

pulling in less than half
of "Conan the Barbarian."

Arnold, I think
was very disappointed

with "Conan the Destroyer."

And wore his
crown upon a troubled brow.

He thought that it
was kind of a step down.

For the first
time, Arnold's film career

was on the downturn.

But in a recently completed
film, he assured audiences--

I'll be back.