He's Back! Schwarzenegger Lines Up the Million Dollar Paychecks.

Ultimate Hollywoodteur and former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has zeroed (salary) in on the film that will mark his return to the big screen: Cry Macho. Enough of the Governor comedy, Cry Macho is the story of a down-on-his-luck horse trainer, Mike, a once well-regarded horse trainer whose wife and son have died. His former boss makes him an offer he just cannot refuse: $400,000 to kidnap the boss' trust fund son, who is living with the man's ex-wife in Mexico. But when Mike locates the boy, trouble ensues with the ex-wife. Now with the Feds hot on their trail, the two form a father-son bond, as they head to the American border.

Schwarzenegger is also attached to a Hollywoodteur sized "Terminator" package. Hollywoodteurs cannot manage and leverage billionaire lifestyles by nearly bankrupting states alone with their benign personal political aspirations. Another noted Hollywoodteur, Al Ruddy, an Oscar winner for both The Godfather and Million Dollar Baby, will produce, while Brad Furman, who helmed the recent The Lincoln Lawyer, has been tapped to direct, with filming set for September.

Speaking in true Hollywoodteur rhetoric, "I guarantee that you'll get another look at Arnold Schwarzenegger in this movie," says Ruddy. "Arnold always plays these big muscular guys, but there's a sweetness to Arnold in real life, and we want to bring that sweetness to the screen. Now that Brad's met with Arnold, he's convinced there's an accessibility and vulnerability there that he wants to bring out." As the French say, "bon chance!"

Arnold's reps at CAA hammered out a $12.5 million plus 25% of first-dollar gross. The project, which Ruddy has been nurturing for years, will be financed by Bill Block's QED International, which will begin offering Macho to international buyers in Cannes next week. The film is based on the 1975 novel, Cry Macho, by N. Richard Nash, who also wrote the screenplay.