Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals 'Good Idea' That Ended Sylvester Stallone Feud
During an interview with Andy Cohen on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed the “good idea” that led to him and Sylvester Stallone ending their years-long feud.
“We were kind of attacking each other and doing nasty things and saying nasty things about each other and all these stupid things,” Schwarzenegger recalled of the period in the late ‘80s during which the two actors were competing to be the top box office draw. “All of a sudden, I started working with Robert Earl and Keith Parish to create the Planet Hollywood franchise, those restaurants,” he explained. “The next thing I know is I get a phone call from my lawyer, who was also Sly’s lawyer, he said, ‘Arnold, is there any kind of room for Sly in Planet Hollywood?’”
Schwarzenegger had to think about it at first, but eventually decided that letting Stallone into the fray would be good for business and their relationship. “That’s actually a good idea, because it could bring us together,” the Terminator star remembers thinking. “And I wanted that. At that point, I had grown out of my craziness.”
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Planet Hollywood launched in 1991 with the help of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Bruce Willis—all of whom would go on to star together in The Expendables 2. “Bruce Willis became part of Planet Hollywood, Whoopi Goldberg became part of Planet Hollywood, Chuck Norris,” Schwarzenegger added. “It really was kind of an international cast.”
The opening of Planet Hollywood led to a lucrative professional partnership for Stallone and Schwarzenegger. In addition to his appearance in Stallone’s Expendables franchise, Schwarzenegger has starred with the Rocky actor in 2013’s Escape Plan. "There’s no two ways about that: He was very helpful in my career because I had something that I could chase," Schwarzenegger joked. What would Stallone have to say about that?