Arnold Schwarzenegger opened up about an act of kindness he recently completed on behalf of his heroes – United States veterans.
The Terminator star, 78, took to Instagram Wednesday to inform the public that he had arranged for a luxe screening of The Running Man after learning the screening room at the local Veterans Affairs center was ‘out of commission.’
The Austria-born star said: ‘On Veterans Day when I was at the VA celebrating with my heroes, I found out their theater was out of commission and they didn’t have a place to watch movies.’
The stalwart action star said he got to work, pulling strings with associates at Skydance and Paramount to arrange for a screening of The Running Man, a remake of his 1987 film starring Glen Powell.
Schwarzenegger said he ‘asked if we could bring these real action heroes to their fancy screening room and show them The Running Man, since [he’d] enjoyed it there,’ adding that ‘they said of course.’
The Total Recall star continued explaining the course of events that led to the screening for the veterans.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 78, opened up about an act of kindness he recently completed on behalf of his heroes – United States veterans. Pictured in Orange, California last month
‘I rented two buses to pick everyone up at the VA last night, and a week after hearing about the problem, we had a solution,’ Schwarzenegger said.
The FUBAR actor said that the veterans ‘got a great night they deserved’ – pointing out it was the product of specific actions he took as opposed to just complaining.
‘I wanted to share this because we all have power if we are willing to act,’ Schwarzenegger said.
He continued: ‘Most people would just post on social media: “it’s bogus our vets can’t watch movies at the VA”‘ adding ‘that doesn’t get them into a movie.’
The True Lies actor acknowledged his own resources and said that the acts of kindness didn’t need to be on such a huge scale to matter.
‘Sure, most people can’t get a screening room and buses,’ Schwarzenegger said. ‘But you could buy one veteran a movie ticket and do more good than any social media post.’
Schwarzenegger advised his 26.4 million followers to ‘do good, whenever you can.’
The former California governor added, ‘That’s your greatest power, and don’t let anyone take it away from you. Not government, not social media, not politicians.
Arnold took to Instagram Wednesday to inform the public that he had arranged for a luxe screening of The Running Man
Schwarzenegger advised his 26.4 million followers to ‘do good, whenever you can’
Said the action star, ‘When you want to complain about something bad, say, “What good can I do?”‘
‘When you want to complain about something bad, say, “what good can I do?”’
Schwarzenegger was praised for both his actions, and the important lesson he imparted, on the comment thread adjacent to the post.
Glen Powell left a comment on the Instagram post that read, ‘You’re one of a kind, Arnie. Thanks for bringing joy to the world and standing up for our heroes.’
Edgar Wright, director of The Running Man, wrote, ‘This is amazing!!! Thank you Arnold x.’
Another comment read, ‘What a legend!! Thank you Arnold for looking after the troops.’
A group of US veterans watched a screening of The Running Man Schwarzenegger arranged
The Running Man leading man Glen Powell left a comment on Instagram post that read, ‘You’re one of a kind, Arnie. Thanks for bringing joy to the world and standing up for our heroes’
At the screening, Schwarzenegger opened up about his experience in the initial Running Man film.
‘In 1987, we made the movie Running Man, and this was the decade where most of the greatest action movies were made,’ Schwarzenegger told the crowd. ‘And in most cases I am not happy about that — because they’re perfect movies.
‘But, I always say in my interviews there was one movie that I did that came out really well, but I felt like it didn’t have the budget to … paint the future this story takes place – and that movie was Running Man.
Schwarzenegger said, ‘It was very successful, but I always felt that it could be redone in a better way so we can paint the future better.’
