EX3 Celebrity Interviews: Davi, Sorvino, Zito, Perlman & Banderas!

TheArnoldFans spent another fantastic evening on the red (actually black) carpet and this time it was for The Expendables 3 premiere in Hollywood. It was a blast talking about Arnold to the Austrian Oak's Expendables 3 co-stars so get ready for some new interviews, comments and premiere photos. My camera crew for TheArnoldFans, Chris Heathcoat and Jamin Fite, were the first to pose for us on the carpet. 

In my last premiere report, I shared the exclusive interview I had with the film's writers Katrin Benedikt and Creighton Rothenberger. Here's an update: I did a follow-up Q&A with them regarding some recent online allegations that Arnold's character Trench Mauser is gay in the film. Rothenberger confirms to TheArnoldFans that Arnold was NOT written as a gay character therefore the comment from Patrick Hughes found HERE was only the director making a joke. Arnold and Jet Li were just talking the way guys joke around so don't take that ending scene too literal. Rothenberger adds Arnold and Li are "just riffing on set." It would be fun, however, to see Arnold one day play a gay character in the future sometime; perhaps Howard Kleiner?

Rothenberger also tells me the cool line "Eenie (shoots) meenie (shoots) miney (shoots) mo (shoots)" was cut and says "a lot of other good stuff evidently didn't make the final cut." Look for these on the Blu-ray!

Next on the red carpet, I said hello to our friend Dr. Robert Goldman (Dr.Bob). This great guy is Arnold's good friend and he's the man responsible for bringing the giant bronze Arnold statue to Ohio! Dr. Goldman founded the International Sports Hall of Fame (www.SportsHOF.org) recognizing the world’s greatest sports legends, with ceremonies held annually at the Arnold Sports Festival. 

Also in attendance were a few  Sons of Anarchy stars, Emilio Rivera (wearing a great silver skull ring), Chuck Zito and actor Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Aliens 4). I spoke with Perlman about his love for the Terminator films and Conan the Barbarian. If you recall, Ron Perlman even played Conan the Barbarian's dad in the horrible remake. No disrespect, Ron; I did enjoy the first 15 minutes when you were in the film before Jason Momoa showed up. 

Chuck Zito is not only a good friend of Sly's and Arnold's, he has also performed stunts in a few Schwarzenegger films including Eraser, True Lies and others. 

TheArnoldFans: Hi Chuck, are you a big Arnold fan? I heard you went to the Arnold Classic in Ohio.

Chuck Zito: "Every year I go. Arnold is a dear friend of mine and has been for 30 years. I respect him so much because here's a guy who came to this country and couldn't speak English too well and then became the biggest bodybuilder in the world. Then he became the biggest action hero in the world and then became Governor. And if they didn't have that law, he'd become President." 

TheArnoldFans: When are you going to be in an Expendables movie? Weren't you supposed to be in the first one?

Chuck Zito: "I was supposed to be in the first one. I was supposed to be in the second one. I don't know what's going on."

TheArnoldFans: I've heard the stories about your brawl Van Damme. Did you ever make up with Van Damme?

Chuck Zito: "That was 16 years ago. I saw him recently but its time to let bygones be bygones. Life's too short. We lost a dear friend today (Robin Williams) and life is too short."

TheArnoldFans: What are your top three favorite Arnold movies?

Chuck Zito: "Well, it's got to be the ones that i'm in: Last Action Hero, True Lies, and I love Conan, the first one. My friend John Milius directed that. Arnold was outrageous in that."

Arnold came by where we were on the carpet and gave us a thumbs up and greeting but a few of the other stars like Stallone, Gibson and Ford all rushed by without an opportunity to say hello. Still, we were happy to see those legends up so close and we still managed to wrangle in a few more interviews.  Antonio Banderas, Chuck Lidell and Robert Davi were all coming our way next. 

TheArnoldFans: Antonio, you told us a few days ago that you once cooked dinner for Arnold. Are you an Arnold fan and did you ever audition to be in one of Schwarzenegger's films?

Antonio Banderas: "No, I never auditioned for him to be in one of his movies. I met him but I'm a fan of him, absolutely. All of those guys, they are a part of history of action and for the industry to represent all of us in one movie...it's really an honor and a privilege to be invited to be a part of all of these action heroes."

TheArnoldFans: Did you have any bloody or gory scenes cut from the film?

Antonio Banderas: "I don't know, I didn't see the mvie yet. My character is moving more in the character of comedy than action. But I hope to finally see the movie tonight and see what made it in because I improvised throughout the whole movie. I did a lot of takes and I'm sure they couldn't all make it in the movie so I am curious to see how they edited it."

TheArnoldFans: I see you're the villain in the new SpongeBob movie. Are you a fan of SpongeBob SquarePants?

Antonio Banderas: "I am now!" (Antonio barely got that response out before he was rushed inside the theater). 

Robert Davi, who starred with Arnold in Raw Deal, also has a role in Expendables 3. We spoke with Davi about Arnold's practical jokes, a Goonies sequel (nothing new to report) and he told us he'd like a role in this all NEW Predator sequel being currently written by Shane Black. 

While the stars were in the theater, I took the opportunity to meet with old and new friends at Hooters for drinks. Here we celebrated a new Arnold film with my crew, Sean Sabzevari (cool fan who was informed of the premiere through our site), the Heathcoats and I even met a couple band members from Schwarzenator! We'll be interviewing these guys later. In the meantime, check out these Schwarzenator "nightmares" to give you an advanced pump!

Mira Sorvino tells TheArnoldFans about her workouts and that she's game for The Expendables or Expendabelles!

Mira Sorvino: "Well, I have been known to work out at Freddy Roach's Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood. I work out like three to four times a week. Not boxing as much these days, more dancing and running. But I could probably hold my own in EXPENDABLES. Bring it on!"

After the premiere, we watched many of the films stars walk by to enter The Roosevelt Hotel for the after-party. First Schwarzenegger walked by (only two feet away from us) with his ballsy staff and his friends like Dieter Rauter (we wished him a happy birthday), Ralf Moeller and a couple of Arnold's sons. Also walking right in front of us were EX3 stars Randy Couture, Ronda Rousey, Patrick Hughes and Terry Crews. 

Expendables 3 is tons of fun! TheArnoldFans staff gives it 7 out of 10 stogies on the entertainment scale. Go see it AGAIN in theaters! Goooooo, get to the cinema!! For an in-depth review and audio of some interviews, listen to the Gillinator and I discuss EX3 in the latest episode of Arnold Radio News! Subscribe in iTunes and leave a review!