Is the Arnold still a movie star?

Back in the day, many male and even some female actors and actresses were able to command $20 million +, and no one batted an eyelash. Some even got some major back-end percentages added on to their deals. For the most part, though those days are over.

Some stars, like Johnny Depp, who got a reported $35 million upfront for starring in the latest in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, according to Vanity Fair, might still be able to command that. Even Tom Cruise, once the biggest and most reliable star in the world, only got $12.5 million for writing, producing AND starring in Mission Impossible 4 (boy have things changed).

So when Deadline reported yesterday that Arnold Scharzenegger was negotiating for a new film role, I had no idea what kind of deal it would be. Turns out, it's not bad for an actor who hasn't

starred in a film since 2003, especially that disappointed both critically and financially.

According to Nikki Finke, Schwarzenegger will be getting $10 million upfront, plus 25% first dollar gross on the back end, which is quite paltry compared to the $25M/25% he used to get

in his heyday, but still an amazing deal for actors in this market.

In the film, titled Cry Macho, "the story revolves around a horse breeder (Schwarzenegger) who won the Kentucky Derby but whose wife and child get killed. He sinks into an alcoholic depression and winds up working for a hedge fund jerk who offers him a choice of getting fired or bringing back the rich guy's son living with the ex-wife in Mexico."

Sounds very similar to another film he starred in back in 2002, Collateral Damage, but I would like to think that Arnold wouldn't pick his first starring vehicle since leaving the Governor's mansion to be eerily similar to one he has done in the past.

It will be interesting to see how audiences will respond. I can assure that international box-office will be robust, as his films tend to do better worldwide than they do domestically. But, if given the right role in a film to which audiences will respond well, it could end up being a huge payday for the Arnold.

I will always have a special place in my heart for Arnold, who starred in one of my favorite childhood films, Kindergarden Cop. Now that's a film that can be on television whenever, wherever, and I will be forced to watch it. Like a fine wine, it only gets better with age.

Turns out, he was right along, just as he said he would. He's back.