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Schwarzenegger must revamp image once more


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WestVirginiaRebel
US_ARNOLDS_IMAGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-21-14-25-50
Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- For 35 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been carefully crafting his public image, from Austrian bodybuilder and international action star to family man and Republican politician.

Now, with his split from Maria Shriver and revelations that he fathered a child with a member of his housekeeping staff, where does Schwarzenegger go from here? Can he have a future either in politics or film, and how does he once again reshape his image, especially in the eyes of female fans?

"His biggest problem as an action star has nothing to do with being an adulterer. It has to do with being 63 years old and physically wrecked - unless they're going to make `Terminator 6: The Golden Years,'" said David Leibowitz, a Phoenix-based public relations and crisis communications consultant. "The love child is almost the least of his worries."

For decades, though, Schwarzenegger was the safest of box-office bets, with his bulging, muscular physique and his quippy, punny one-liners. The "Terminator" movies alone have made more than $1 billion worldwide - most of that outside the United States.

"For me, he has never been a serious action star, but rather a sort of parody of himself," said Ali Arikan, chief film critic for the Turkish website Dipnot.tv and Roger Ebert contributor. "He had that wink in his eye even in earlier, more somber stuff like `Conan the Barbarian.' In fact, when he tried to be more serious, as with 1999's turgid `End of Days,' it was risible: nothing more hilarious than seeing Arnie `act!' So, he's basically been this goofy clown, shrewd and with great intelligence about his career, but a clown nonetheless."
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Arnold's career-for as long as it can last at his age-will survive. When you fall into self-parody, there's not a whole lot left...
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