Arnie enlists Larry King in Governator crusade

MIPTV: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new cartoon The Governator features an animated Larry King pursuing him for the scoop on the former California governor’s new secret superhero life.

The involvement of the ex-CNN news anchor, who is always just one step away from blowing Schwarzenegger’s cover, is just one of the comedic elements that the one-time Mr Universe drew attention to when unveiling the series in Cannes today (left).

Created by comic book legend Stan Lee with Schwarzenegger’s input and produced by A Squared Entertainment, The Governator is a 52-episode cartoon due to debut next year.

Print and digital comic books will be available towards the end of this year and a full-length movie based on The Governator character, which Scwharzenegger himself registered the copyright for, will also be released down the line.

The story begins with Schwarzenegger stepping down after eight years as California governor, telling King at a press conference that he is not going back into movies but is determined instead to return to a private life.

But Scwharzenegger soon gets bored and his strong sense of public duty soon leads him into a secret superhero life, co-ordinated out of a Batman-like cave beneath his home in Brentwood by a group of teenage helpers.

“You will see more action in this series than you’ve ever seen before, and combined with comedy. That’s the important thing,” said Schwarzenegger. “It will not be a violent show. I’ve got to stress that because, as you know, when you look at my movies a lot of heads come off.”

The Governator will draw on all of Schwarzenegger’s connections in sports, entertainment, politics and law enforcement to tackle international crime and natural disasters. In some cases, such as that of King, this will mean appearances by some of his real-life associates.

“Larry King is the nosey guy,” said Schwarzenegger. “Throughout the series you will see that he’s always chasing and snooping around and he’s trying to catch me because he has a feeling that I’m involved in some of this crime fighting but he can never prove it. He’s always a second too late.”

Schwarzenegger declined to comment on who else might appear in the series, but didn’t rule out the possibility that former US president and fellow Republican George Bush could crop up.

Earlier in the day, the Austrian born body-builder-turner-actor-turned politician received the Légion d’honneur – France’s highest decoration – from French minister of culture and communication Frédéric Mitterrand, who travelled down from Paris to present it to him.

A clearly moved Schwarzenegger said that Cannes held a special place in his heart since it was here that he got his first break in the movie business in 1977 when everyone else in the business was telling him that his accent was too strong, his name was too long and his body was over-developed.

“I made all of those things an asset,” he said. “It is wonderful to be back here again in Cannes where I started my film career. When you’ve finished with a job – or like in government when you’re termed out and you can’t run anymore – the most important thing during that time is that you go home. Coming to Cannes for me is like going home.”