How they filmed the film "Junior" about a pregnant Schwarzenegger: 9 interesting facts about the film (12 photos)

“Junior” did not live up to the expectations of the audience in 1994; fans of the actor could not accept Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role of a pregnant man. But everything has changed: Junior is now one of the most beloved films of millennials.





I remember how, as a child, my brother brought a video cassette with the films “Twins” and “Twins 2” (yes, at that time they recorded 2 films on one cassette). And if in the first part we were really talking about twins (albeit not similar to each other), then in the second part I saw a strange picture, where the heroes of Schwarzenegger and DeVito have different names, and Arnold even gets pregnant and walks around with a belly. As it turned out, the film has nothing to do with “Twins”, and in general is called “Junior”.



1. As in the case of the film "Twins", director Ivan Reitman became the director of the film, but was not its author. True, initially, the role of director was assigned to Brian Levant, who was already known for such films as “Problem Child 2,” “The Flintstones” and “Beethoven.”



But Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to see only Ivan Reitman as a director, with whom he had already worked in such comedy films as “Twins” and “Kindergarten Cop.” The studio bosses, in order not to lose “Iron” Arnie, decided to make concessions and put Ivan Reitman in the director’s chair.



Ivan Reitman, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emma Thompson

Later, Ivan Reitman will say that “Junior” is, although not his best film, but the most beloved of his Schwarzenegger trilogy.

2. In order to better prepare for the role, Schwarzenegger visited maternity wards and looked at expectant mothers. Also, he was interested to see how mothers behave before and during childbirth.



3. As for the false belly, Schwarzenegger also approached it very professionally. The fact is that he wore an artificial belly not only during filming, but also outside of it, including at home.



4. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed to this role on the condition that he would have at least 1 hour a day to go to the gym at a certain time. Of course, even here they made concessions to him.

5. As Schwarzenegger admitted, during the break, Danny DeVito played him harshly. Knowing how much Arnie loved to smoke cigars, Danny fitted him with one, which Schwarzenegger gratefully consumed right away.



True, when he arrived on the set, he realized that he was feeling strange, and besides, he completely forgot the text. As it turns out, prankster Danny slipped him a cigar filled with a little Mary Ivanna, if you know what I mean.

6. The film "Junior" had a very impressive budget, namely 60 million dollars, which is almost 4 times more than that of "Gemini". Moreover, 15 million went to Arnold Schwarzenegger's fee. But the success of “Twins” could not be achieved, since the film collected only $108 million at the worldwide box office. AND



Viewers were put off by the film, as many simply did not want to watch a film where their favorite cult action actor was sporting a pregnant look. Critics also gave this film quite a lot of praise.

7. But despite the fact that the film received more negative reviews, in 1995 it was even nominated for an Oscar, although only in the category “Best Song for a Film” - “Look What Love Has Done”.

In addition, the film "Junior" received three nominations for the Golden Globe Award. Specifically, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emma Thompson were nominated in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories. Well, as for the third nomination, here it also concerned the song “Look What Love Has Done”.



8. According to the original script, the film was supposed to end on a sad but uplifting note. The main character's pregnancy had to be interrupted, but he and Diana fell in love with each other, and later they had a child, whowhom Diana gave birth to.



This ending had already been filmed, but the studio bosses decided that it was too depressing for a film of this genre, so it was decided to end the film with a happy ending.



9. The famous (not in the best sense) director Sarik Andreosyan shot the film “Pregnant” in 2011 with Dmitry Dyuzhev in the title role, the idea of which is based specifically on the film “Junior”.

Many critics accused him of choosing from all the variety of Western comedies to take the idea of the far from very successful “Junior”. And I would like to immediately note that in comparison with “Pregnant,” the film “Junior” is simply aerobatics.

Well, as a bonus, the same shot that made me feel creepy as a child... and even today.