Have you seen MAGGIE yet? It is essential viewing for fans, as it marks Arnold's first foray into straight drama, and we at TAFs along with most reviewers believe his performance is terrific and spot-on. Our full review is coming soon, but first, here are some answers we got while chatting with MAGGIE director Henry Hobson! Remember, if you couldn't catch MAGGIE in a theater near you, it's available streaming from services such as iTunes and Amazon.
TheArnoldFans: I understand you have a book, which you’ve assembled of Maggie production drawings and notes. Would the BluRay let fans see your behind-the-scenes taken from this book? And what types of bonus featurettes would you like to see added to the Blu-ray?
Henry Hobson: I hope so, I'm not sure what is being included but the book would be great, hundreds of pages of interesting elements. In terms of other features, interviews with the art dept, make up would be great. The storyboards and photography too.
TheArnoldFans: Was anything trimmed from this film to give it a PG-13 rating and if so, was there anything gory that might make it onto a Blu-ray director’s cut? Or what scene from the script do you wish you filmed but had to cut for budgetary reasons?
Henry Hobson: Nothing gorier, as its a pure drama- goriness (is that a word?) got left out and John's script was about the humanity. But the scenes that never made it included a fight scene between wade and Caroline (which made it to the German version), a scene I wanted was to have Ray and Holt adding tension near the end with a final visit. Amping the tension in the climatic moments. But resources didn't allow for that to be shot.
TheArnoldFans: What’s your best Arnold and/or Abigail story you can share with our readers?
Henry Hobson: Maggots. Abigail was so willing to push herself that she let me place live maggots on her, despite a terrible fear of them. She was so professional that the second the camera rolled her fear disappeared and the performance drove through. For me when Arnold cried the whole room stopped, there was a collective gasp as the crew saw the pain and drama unfold in front of them.
TheArnoldFans: Since Arnold is mostly known for roles as Commandos, a Barbarian, and The Terminator, were you skeptical of his acting abilities - perhaps expecting a little less from him? Did you have to give Arnold some tips in emotion?
Henry Hobson: Arnold as a parent has all the core resources to draw from for the character of Wade, I could see that he would bring heartbreak to offset his power. We chatted about real people from his childhood and mine who echoed the stoic power of Wade and he brought a beautiful nuanced layer from real life to the role of Wade.
TheArnoldFans: You’ve done some title work with The Walking Dead and Last of Us. You seem to be wrapped into the zombie genre. Have you ever had zombie nightmares and would you ever like to see Arnold join The Walking Dead series or have a cameo role on that show?
Henry Hobson: No zombie nightmares, I think for me Arnold has tackled zombies, I suppose though that in Terminator some of the adversaries never seem to die so maybe Genisys could be a robot zombie movie.
TheArnoldFans: Finally, are you pumped to see Arnold in Terminator Genisys?
Of course, the franchise that Arnold helped build is one of the true greats- a lot of my crew also tackled that film so from all angles I'm keen to see it.
Thank you VERY MUCH, Henry! Best to you and Maggie. Now everyone pull out your phone, tablet, computer, or game system and watch MAGGIE now!