George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger are among the leading stars of the Hollywood industry, who have individually given numerous box office hits in the last decades. However, when the actors collaborated on a film, it became one of the biggest disappointments in the Hollywood industry. The action stars collaborated in the 1997 comic book-based film Batman & Robin.
George Clooney opened up in an interview about the failure of the film and the massive pay gap between him and bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger.
George Clooney was paid much lesser than Arnold Schwarzenegger for Batman & Robin
Two of the biggest Hollywood stars, George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger, worked together in the 1997 film Batman & Robin. However, the pay gap between the two actors will leave you stunned. As Clooney discussed the difference between his and Schwarzenegger’s income, one could sense that he was offended.
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Clooney opened up on receiving backlash for his role as Batman in the film. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger was appreciated for his villainous role and paid much more than Clooney.
The Tomorrowland actor shared,
“[Arnold] Schwarzenegger was paid, I think, $25 million for that, which was like 20 times more than I was paid for it, and, you know, we never even worked together! We worked together one day. But I took all the heat.”
Clooney also revealed that he learned a lot from the failure of the film,
“Now, fair deal; I was playing Batman and I wasn’t good in it, and it wasn’t a good film, but what I learned from that failure was, I had to rethink how I was working. Because now I wasn’t just an actor getting a role, I was being held responsible for the film itself.”
The film was made with a budget of $125 million and grossed $238 million worldwide, as per Box Office Mojo. It was counted among the top box office failures.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin
Arnold Schwarzenegger made his comic book film debut with Batman & Robin. He played the role of Mr. Freeze, the villain in the film. Director Schumacher wanted Mr. Freeze to be big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier, hence he thought Schwarzenegger was a perfect choice. Terry English, who made the armor for Mr. Freeze, shared that his costume cost around $1.5 million to develop.
As per reports, Schwarzenegger had to wear a bald cap after he refused to shave his head. He also wore a blue LED in his mouth, and his face was pained with acrylic paint. The blue LEDs were wrapped in balloons because battery acid started leaking into Schwarzenegger’s mouth. Reportedly, his entire prosthetic makeup and wardrobe would take up to six hours to apply every day. The massive amount of time spent on Schwarzenegger’s costume had reduced his shooting time as his contract was for only 12 work hours a day.
The star cast of Batman & Robin included George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris O’Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, and more.
Batman & Robin is available for streaming on HBO Max.
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