It was 10 years ago that Arnold Schwarzenegger put his movie career on hold to take on the role of governor of California. He returned to the screen this year in "The Last Stand" and "Escape Plan," but his true fans have been itching for him to return to the type of harder-edged films he made in his early days.
The just-released trailer for Schwarzenegger's next action thriller, "Sabotage," shows the former Governator back in fighting form, and it definitely has pleased one Arnold super-fan, "True Blood" star Joe Manganiello (of course, it helps that Manganiello is in the movie, too).
"It looks badass," Manganiello told Yahoo Movies over the phone. "It reminds me of 'Predator,' with these big, badass characters. Everyone looks like a psycho, which is really fun. The audience will get to see recognizable actors in really unrecognizable parts. I can't wait to see whole thing."
Joe Manganiello (Photo: Open Road Films)Manganiello explained that the look of the "psycho" characters in the film was inspired by real-life task force agents and the lengths they go to for undercover assignments. "Being a big white guy there are only a few directions you can go," Manganiello said about finding inspiration for his character's cornrowed, heavily tattooed look.
Watch the exclusive trailer for 'Sabotage':
"Sabotage" is from "End of Watch" director David Ayer, and it revolves around an elite DEA task force whose members become murder targets after the team loots a drug cartel safe house. Schwarzenegger's onscreen task force is comprised of an all-star, albeit slightly unrecognizable, ensemble that includes Manganiello, Sam Worthington ("Avatar"), Terrence Howard ("Iron Man"), Mireille Enos ("The Killing"), and Josh Holloway ("Lost") — all of whom transformed their famous looks for the film.
Joe Manganiello (Photo: Open Road Films)Manganiello explained that the look of the "psycho" characters in the film was inspired by real-life task force agents and the lengths they go to for undercover assignments. "Being a big white guy there are only a few directions you can go," Manganiello said about finding inspiration for his character's cornrowed, heavily tattooed look.
"I worked very closely with a member of the L.A. narcotics office, at one point he was deep undercover and he had cornrows and a huge beard and I thought, 'That works.'" Manganiello also said a portent from the rock gods let him know he was on the right path: "I later wound up at Lollapalooza, hanging backstage with Sharon and Kelly Osbourne watching Black Sabbath, and their new drummer is covered in tattoos and cornrows. I thought it had to be a sign."
Manganiello pitched the idea to Ayer and received his blessing. He also had the pleasure of surprising his cast mates with the look when he showed up on set with the new 'do (which only took about 20 minutes to do every day).
"When I came to set — into a five-hours-a-day-training of building sweeping — I came in with the cornrows and everyone freaked out," he recalled with a laugh. "Everyone went berserk."
Speaking to the rest of the cast's unique hair and wardrobe, Manganiello reiterated the fact that they based everything in reality.
"Sam [Worthington] has this huge chin beard, that was inspired by one of the guys we were working with, a guy who worked 20 years in narcotics who had this giant chin beard," he said. "I know it looks really big, really crazy, but it's all based in reality. We worked for four months with the guys who do it for a living."
Keeping with his rooted-in-reality theme, Ayer had his cast learn everything real DEA agents learn during their training programs.
"I'd get into power lift at 7 a.m., workout from 7-8, then go over to do stand-up/ground MMA fighting then ground rounds," Manganiello said of a typical training day. "We had to fight fresh fighters the whole time, we'd do that for an hour and a half, shower, get something to eat, then go over to the sheriff's department to shoot handguns. That went on for weeks, then at night we'd have classroom sessions with the guys who are actively doing it. We'd get materials to read, [and] that turned into working with this world renowned task force instructor who came to town ,and he ran us through [training drills]. We basically became a SWAT team and learned how to sweep buildings, to the point of exhaustion and falling asleep while standing."
Extensive training, unique hair and wardrobe, what more could you want from an immersive action movie-making experience? How about palling around with Arnold Schwarzenegger?
"He lives up to every bit of hype that preceded him. He's awesome; the coolest, most charismatic guy," Manganiello said of his experience and now friendship with the action icon. "It's hard to believe sometimes. I saw every damn movie he was in. He's fun. He's aware of it."
Manganiello went on to say that he and his co-stars would occasionally let their inner Schwarzenegger fanboy escape in-between takes and in one particular instance successfully baited him into reciting a favorite line from "Predator." He said he took on the Jesse Ventura role — complete with spitting — and said, "This sh-t's somethin'. Makes Cambodia look like Kansas."
"And [Schwarzenegger] turns around, right before the take and said, 'If it bleeds, you can kill it.' Sam and I looked at each other just dying inside," Manganiello said.
"Sabotage" is set to hit theaters in April 2014.
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