Arnold's got write stuff
Thesp doubles as scribe for Lion, special 'Kid'
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"There Goes the Neighborhood" is about a wealthy woman who gets revenge on her cheating husband with a neighborhood car detailer, with Arnold expected to play the detailer.
Though many moneyed entrepreneurs have shown a willingness to open their wallets to the film industry, "The Kid and I" is one of the most unusual projects put together in Hollywood in recent memory.
Film will be financed by Alec Gores, who became rich by buying and fixing companies under his Gores Technology banner. Though his brother Sam runs the Paradigm percentery, Gores said he only sparked to the film business because son Eric has put his energy into becoming an actor.
'True' devotee
The youth's love of "True Lies" prompted Gores to seek out Arnold, who co-starred in that James Cameron pic alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gores asked Arnold to view his son's reel and consider writing an action film for the youth.
"My first thought was this was some kind of hidden-camera show, because Eric is 5 feet tall and 90 pounds," said Arnold, who learned that Eric weighed 1 pound at birth and has cerebral palsy.
He was charmed by Eric's determination and wrote a comedy that allowed for his limitations. That meant making the unusual circumstances behind the job offer a part of the plot.
Variety obit
Arnold had himself in mind when he wrote the part of a washed-up action star who plots his suicide, right down to writing his own Variety obit. Arnold created an action format that will give Eric the chance to battle bad guys, even kiss a girl.
The young thesp spends most of his year attending high school in Michigan, where he lives with his mom. Arnold wanted him to get a bit of Hollywood exposure and invited him to the set of the MGM comedy "Soul Plane," where Arnold was part of an ensemble cast. Arnold also thought "The Kid and I" could be more than a vanity project.
Cast away
"Right away, Eric started recruiting Snoop Dogg and Method Man to be in the film," Arnold said. "He constantly gives me script notes and said he wanted to kiss a girl in the movie. When I said sure, he told me it should be one of the Olsen twins. I gave him the brush-off, saying they were probably too busy. So he brings one of them to my house the next day. He called me from Hawaii and said, 'Pesci's in,' after meeting Joe Pesci in a hotel. He got Shaquille O'Neal to say yes. This is one determined kid."
Gores said he has zero interest in backing films beyond this one, but feels his investment is already paying dividends.
"Eric has developed a passion for acting, and the need to remember lines has greatly improved his reading ability," Gores said.
Arnold submitted "The Kid and I" to MGM, and the studio offered to buy the script on the spot, he said. Instead, he sold them "There Goes the Neighborhood," because "The Kid and I" wasn't for sale.
