“He’s Only a Demi-God”

by MovieMaker Staff | Published November 8, 2006

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a man who has had many dreams come true. From bodybuilding to acting to politics (three professions that have surprisingly similar skill sets), this Austrian powerhouse has ridden his macho persona all the way to the top of his various careers, embodying the American dream to an almost absurd extent. But let’s not forget where dear Ah-nold got his acting start: As the oiled up, muscle-packed star of Hercules in New York.

Surely you’ve seen this 1970 classic, in which the strongest of strongmen, dissatisfied with life on Mount Olympus, is sent by Zeus to the Big Apple in order to find out just how rough life can be outside the land of the gods (considering the landscape of ‘70s New York, that’s a pretty harsh lesson to dole out).

But waitâ€”there’s more. Not only can you now see this B-list gem with Arnold’s original voice-track (he was dubbed over for the theatrical run). But as of November 7th, you can bid for the rights to the California governor’s cinematic debut. Premiere Pictures International, which currently owns the film, has decided to auction off this little bit of moviemaking history via eBay, donating a quarter of the winning bid to the Metro Theatre Center Foundation, a nonprofit supporting local arts and film-related causes.

As of this writing, there are no bids for the film (the starting price is $550K), but the auction closes on November 17thâ€”so those of you with a few hundred grand to throw around should jump right in. Is there anything better than a film that is essentially The Terminator meets Crocodile Dundee meets Jason and the Argonauts? We think not.

(Don’t believe us? Check out the trailer below.)

[mpeg width="320" height="255"]http://www.premierepicturesinc.com/images/hercules_trailer.mpg[/mpeg]