Mike Gabrawy, the producer of Running With Arnold, the documentary about Schwarzenegger that has yet to find a distributor, emails me how “it’s been a rough week for us” and responds to Alec Baldwin’s weekend explanation of his decision to run away from the film. ”I knew we’d get resistance to a film about the most prominent Republican in California. We’re all just a bit shocked that it’s coming from a supporter of the film and arguably the most outspoken Democrat. The [Third Reich] images that Mr. Baldwin mentioned were used to make points about Waldheim and Arnold’s father. Alec’s legal action has caused delays in our distribution strategy including our turning down the Hamptons Film Festival to premiere the film. We are currently scrambling to rectify the situation. The film is complete with Mr. Baldwin’s narration and will remain as such.
We tried several times to screen the film for Mr. Baldwin who, for the record, didn’t see the rough cut of the film until weeks after he recorded. He was offered to record the narration to picture and he refused. We also provided him with the script four weeks in advance of our recording which was delayed a month to accommodate Mr. Baldwin’s television schedule. What’s also surprising about Mr. Baldwin’s about-face is that while the film is edgy it is also, in our opinion, a balanced and well-rounded profile of Mr. Schwarzenegger that highlights his myriad accomplishments while criticizing some of his political policies and the unbridled ambition that drives him.”
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