Arnold Schwarzenegger may have just turned 69 on July 30th, but that doesn't stop him from looking as muscular and ready for filming as ever before for his new action comedy film Why We're Killing Gunther. Arnold has arrived on location in Vancouver, Canada looking in better shape than he would need to be in to play the role of Dutch in a Predator sequel.
In an interview with Uproxx, Taran Killam discussed how he pitched the film to Arnold,
"We sent him a video offer. I had planned to reach out to people I had worked with on SNL, because there would be more of a personal connection, and I made these offer videos. And we sent a couple out and there were very polite rejections. And the agent of one those people said, "Will you consider Schwarzenegger?" [Laughs.] I think my response was, "I don't think it's possible to consider that because that does not seem like a reality."
"Schwarzenegger's people said, "No, no, he'd love it. Especially if you made him a video." I had already called in a bunch of favors to make videos, so that night I got off the phone and in my kitchen, at 10:30 pm, I shoot this little stylized, noir offer video. It's basically saying, "We need you much more than you need us, but if you do this, you'll have a blast." In the video I say I'm not going to beg, but then I start begging desperately. I say, "If my producers think that you'll pass, they'll kill me," then I get shot in the head. And a mysterious hand places my information on a business card in frame. And that was my poor wife who I kept up until 10:30 pm saying, "Honey, put on this trench coat and a black glove." And she's just like, "Can I please go to bed?""
Taran compared Arnold's character Gunther to Keyser Söze from The Usual Suspects; a film which released in 1995 and has since gained a cult following before going onto mention his thoughts on the quality of the scenes that have been filmed within the first two days on set.
"He is Keyser Söze. He is the most mysterious, deadliest, incredible, and respected. But, also, everybody hates him and is jealous of him because of how good he is. We've only shot two days with him and he's already so fucking funny. The footage is so great and he's totally game. There were things I was nervous to ask him to do, and he's like, "I love it. Great. It's fucking hilarious.""
The premise of Why We're Killing Gunther sees Arnold as a hitman named Gunther who is classed as the world's greatest hitman who unfortunately draws jealousy from a group of assassins that want to kill him. Their efforts only result in a series of botched attempts as Gunther always remains one step ahead which is precisely what adds the comedy elements to make it what should be the perfect combination of action and comedy genres.
Why We're Killing Gunther also stars Cobie Smulders who is known as Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe amongst a talented cast, while Taran Killam who you may know from Saturday Night Live not only acts but has also written the story and will be on directing duty.
No precise release date has been confirmed with the current release window set for 2017.