Schwarzenegger tricked Stallone into doing one of the worst movies of his career

Those who know Arnold Schwarzenegger say that beyond all that muscle there is a surprising level of intelligence that is above the average. Looking at his career (movies, fitness, and politics), we can tell that he is a smart guy.

After 30 years, an urban legend about Arnold Schwarzenegger tricking Sylvester Stallone has been confirmed. The scam resulted in Stallone doing one of the worst movies of his career.

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We are talking about the movie 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot' (1992). An admittedly hideous comedy with Sly as the protagonist and the unforgettable Estelle Getty as the mom.

To talk about this deceitful story we have to go back to the '70s and '80s when Stallone and Schwarzenegger were two forces to be reckoned with in the muscle world of Hollywood.

Movies like 'Rocky' and 'Rambo' by Stallone and 'Terminator' and 'Conan, The Barbarian' by Schwarzenegger transformed them into iconic international stars.

This situation caused the two action film giants to become notorious rivals. At that point, Schwarzenegger decided to jump into a different genre and act in his first comedy roles.

Arnold Schwarzenegger completely smashed it with the movies 'Twins' (1988) and 'Kindergarten Cop' (1990). Obviously, Stallone didn't want to be left behind and tried to imitate his nemesis.

His first attempt was the movie 'Oscar' (1991), a remake of the Louis de Funès classic. It didn't just receive terrible reviews but was also a complete box office failure. It cost 35 million dollars and collected a mere 23.5 million.

But the worst was yet to come for Stallone. When Arnold Schwarzenegger received the script for the movie 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot', he soon realized the movie would be a flop. Rather than just turning it down, he began a rumor that it was a great script and that he was really interested in doing it.

Obviously, the rumor was heard by Stallone, and he did anything he could to take on the role. Schwarzenegger's evil plan totally worked out. Stallone got the part and all the Terminator had to do was wait for his cinema rival to flop.

And that's exactly what happened. The movie was a complete failure and even received three Golden Raspberry Awards. Sly got one for Worst Actor, Estelle Getty for Worst Actress, and the movie as a whole got a Razzie for Worst Script. Despite the criticism, it earned 70 million dollars in revenue and cost 45 million. Not that bad.

But how do we know that this story is true? Well, we know Schwarzenegger really tricked Stallone because the two actors have confirmed it to 'The Hollywood Reporter'.

As Stallone told 'The Hollywood Reporter': "I had heard Schwarzenegger was going to do that movie and I said, 'I'm going to beat him to it.' I think he set me up." And he was right.

In fact, the magazine had already contacted Schwarzenegger to ask him about the story. The actor confirmed it.

Schwarzenegger finally told the truth: "It's 100 percent true. In those days we did all kinds of crazy things to get ahead in our rivalry," he told 'Hollywood Reporter.' "Luckily for us and everyone else, today, we root for each other. Thank God, because we sure don't ever need another 'Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot'."

That's right. Everything changed for the two actors when they partnered up to open the chain restaurant 'Planet Hollywood'. From that moment on, their friendship has kept on growing.

In fact, in the 21st century, they have been involved in some projects together, such as 'Escape Plan' (2010) and the franchise 'The Expendables'. We could see them pick up a couple of Razzies in 2024 for the latest 'Exp4ndables' film.

Besides a funny story, their rivalry gave the world a demonstration of who had the strongest, most important human muscle of the two: Schwarzenegger and his brain.