Movies
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The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage
The behind-the-scenes story of the action heroes who ruled 1980s and '90s Hollywood and the beloved films that made them stars, including Die Hard, First Blood, The Terminator, and more.
"This book takes you so close to the action that you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life."-Paul Scheer
The Last Action Heroes opens in May 1990 in Cannes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone waltzing together, cheered on by a crowd of famous faces. After years of bitter combat-Stallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger's head, and the body count in Schwarzenegger's Commando was increased so the film would "have a bigger dick than Rambo"-the world's biggest action stars have at last made peace.
In this wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie, Nick de Semlyen charts Stallone and Schwarzenegger's carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan's America and the Cold War. He also reveals fascinating untold stories of the colorful characters who ascended in their wake: high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis. But as time rolled on, the era of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts, or the perfect weapon to save the day began to fade. When Jurassic Park trounced Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero in 1993, the glory days of these macho men-and the vision of masculinity they celebrated-were officially over.
Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends, and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.
"This book takes you so close to the action that you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life."-Paul Scheer
The Last Action Heroes opens in May 1990 in Cannes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone waltzing together, cheered on by a crowd of famous faces. After years of bitter combat-Stallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger's head, and the body count in Schwarzenegger's Commando was increased so the film would "have a bigger dick than Rambo"-the world's biggest action stars have at last made peace.
In this wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie, Nick de Semlyen charts Stallone and Schwarzenegger's carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan's America and the Cold War. He also reveals fascinating untold stories of the colorful characters who ascended in their wake: high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis. But as time rolled on, the era of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts, or the perfect weapon to save the day began to fade. When Jurassic Park trounced Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero in 1993, the glory days of these macho men-and the vision of masculinity they celebrated-were officially over.
Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends, and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.
Editorial Reviews
"This book takes you so close to the action that you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life. Along the way, Nick de Semlyen reveals tales of stunts gone wrong, conversations between Stallone and Reagan, the origin of Jean-Claude Van Damme's buns, and all of the stories from the sets that people were too afraid to tell-until now."-Paul Scheer
"In his riveting chronicle of the ass-kicking, neck-snapping, biceps-rippling action heroes of the '80s and '90s, Nick de Semlyen not only paints the story of the movies and stars of the Reagan era but also shines a light on what they meant-and still mean-to us. . . . A juicy, fun-as-hell read."-Chris Nashawaty, author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story
"Nick de Semlyen's love letter to the action cinema of the '80s and '90s reads like those films play: fast-paced, wryly funny, and unapologetically entertaining. His research is meticulous and his analysis is impeccable, but he also keenly understands why these movies hit like they did: because they were fun. And, unfailingly, so is The Last Action Heroes."-Jason Bailey, author of Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies That Made It
"In his revelatory history of the Golden Age of action cinema, Nick de Semlyen vividly renders the story of the larger-than-life legends who defined and shaped an era. Equally insightful and entertaining, this book is an absolute blast to read, as thrilling as the genre itself."-Priscilla Page
"The action stars of the '80s and '90s weren't out to make history at the outset of their careers, but that's what they did all the same. Nick de Semlyen chronicles the rise and fall (and sometimes rise-again) of the world's most popular action heroes in this juicy, highly entertaining, and informative book."-Leonard Maltin
"Engaging . . . A joyful romp featuring larger-than-life characters, iconic movies, and plenty of behind-the-scenes info."-Kirkus Reviews
"A testosterone-fueled ode to action movies of the 1980s and '90s . . . Fans of Reagan-era blockbusters will eat up tales from the sets of Conan the Barbarian, Rocky IV, and
"In his riveting chronicle of the ass-kicking, neck-snapping, biceps-rippling action heroes of the '80s and '90s, Nick de Semlyen not only paints the story of the movies and stars of the Reagan era but also shines a light on what they meant-and still mean-to us. . . . A juicy, fun-as-hell read."-Chris Nashawaty, author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story
"Nick de Semlyen's love letter to the action cinema of the '80s and '90s reads like those films play: fast-paced, wryly funny, and unapologetically entertaining. His research is meticulous and his analysis is impeccable, but he also keenly understands why these movies hit like they did: because they were fun. And, unfailingly, so is The Last Action Heroes."-Jason Bailey, author of Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies That Made It
"In his revelatory history of the Golden Age of action cinema, Nick de Semlyen vividly renders the story of the larger-than-life legends who defined and shaped an era. Equally insightful and entertaining, this book is an absolute blast to read, as thrilling as the genre itself."-Priscilla Page
"The action stars of the '80s and '90s weren't out to make history at the outset of their careers, but that's what they did all the same. Nick de Semlyen chronicles the rise and fall (and sometimes rise-again) of the world's most popular action heroes in this juicy, highly entertaining, and informative book."-Leonard Maltin
"Engaging . . . A joyful romp featuring larger-than-life characters, iconic movies, and plenty of behind-the-scenes info."-Kirkus Reviews
"A testosterone-fueled ode to action movies of the 1980s and '90s . . . Fans of Reagan-era blockbusters will eat up tales from the sets of Conan the Barbarian, Rocky IV, and
Short Excerpt Teaser
Prologue
They came from the sky. And with their arrival went any chance of peace.
It had been shaping up to be a Cannes Film Festival like any other. As the sun rose on a sleepy Saturday-May 12, 1990-across the coastal French city there were flickers of activity. The world's most prestigious celebration of motion pictures was commencing for the forty-third time.
On the Promenade de la Croisette, caked in chalk-white makeup, an Andy Warhol impersonator was enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame. Cineastes who had been lucky enough to attend the opening gala, a screening of Dreams, the latest by Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa, debated its themes and discussed the surprising cameo by Martin Scorsese as Vincent van Gogh. Others looked forward to the gems of thought-provoking cinema to come, such as Sergei Solovyov's Russian comedy Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love.
It was a mecca for those who liked their films dense in subtext and their cafés allongés scalding hot. Notes would be taken. Applause would be meted out. The human condition would be considered.
Then, with a roar, the jet touched down.
It was a chartered luxury 747 out of Los Angeles, a hulking tube of metal polished to a high gleam. It had traveled a little over six thousand miles to its destination. And it was stuffed with an astonishing array of American power players-stars, directors, executives-few of them renowned for making art-house fare.
"The Hollywood of 1990 is on the frickin' plane," recalls James Cameron, who had been the last to board in California, having scrambled to finish typing up his first draft of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. "When I got to the airport, they all gave me a snarky clap for being late."
"It was an amazing flight, a magic trip," says Renny Harlin, the director who had just blown up two airplanes and half an airport for the yet-to-be-released Die Hard 2, but who hadn't been banned from high-altitude travel. "There was no shortage of caviar and champagne and that kind of thing."
More potent refreshments were apparently available, too. "We stopped in Maine to refuel, and after we'd been flying for another twenty minutes somebody gets on the speaker and says, ‘We are now outside of American airspace,' " remembers Steven de Souza, writer of the original Die Hard and Commando. "And all of a sudden the drugs come out. People are doing cocaine on the drop-down trays. Then I get tapped on the shoulder and it's Michael Douglas passing me a joint."
If Douglas was literally riding high, he was also doing it figuratively, with Wall Street and Fatal Attraction recent hits in his rearview mirror. But the biggest dogs on board were two movie stars whom few would have expected to share oxygen for over ten hours. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, after more than a decade of bitter warfare, had finally been convinced to appear in public together. The event: a huge party to celebrate Carolco Pictures, the bankroller of many of the bombastic action movies that had ruled the box office for the past decade.
At the airport in Cannes, the disembarking VIPs were each handed an envelope containing 2,000 French francs, spending money for the weekend. Then they were led to a convoy of waiting black Mercedes-Benzes and drivers, at their disposal for the next three days. The vehicles, blue and red lights flashing on their tops, roared down the coast to the decadent Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. There, a $1 million soiree-the most expensive ever thrown in the history of Cannes-awaited. One of the world's hottest bands, the Gipsy Kings, flown in on a separate jet from Spain, performed songs at high volume. And 240 guests joined those from the plane to mill around a massive terrace overlooking the sea, including Mick Jagger (who ended up dancing on top of a table next to girlfriend Jerry Hall), Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Sharon Stone, and Clint Eastwood, who happened to be staying in the hotel and thought he'd check out what all the noise was about.
As the sun went down and fresh seafood was served, the party's grandest flex was deployed. Rockets blasted up into the Cannes sky, spelling out the names of Carolco's upcoming projects and the people attached to them. "This firework display said ‘TERMINATOR 2' in gigantic letters out over the Croisette," remembers a still-impressed Cameron.
It was a day nobody who attended will ever forget, a showcase of pure excess. Not to mention a cacophony that probably sent Cannes's more sober visitors-who until that moment had been mulling over the ins and outs of Russian comedy-running back to their lodgings. "It's the best party ever done," brags Carolco co-founder Mario Kassar, who put it...
They came from the sky. And with their arrival went any chance of peace.
It had been shaping up to be a Cannes Film Festival like any other. As the sun rose on a sleepy Saturday-May 12, 1990-across the coastal French city there were flickers of activity. The world's most prestigious celebration of motion pictures was commencing for the forty-third time.
On the Promenade de la Croisette, caked in chalk-white makeup, an Andy Warhol impersonator was enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame. Cineastes who had been lucky enough to attend the opening gala, a screening of Dreams, the latest by Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa, debated its themes and discussed the surprising cameo by Martin Scorsese as Vincent van Gogh. Others looked forward to the gems of thought-provoking cinema to come, such as Sergei Solovyov's Russian comedy Black Rose Is an Emblem of Sorrow, Red Rose Is an Emblem of Love.
It was a mecca for those who liked their films dense in subtext and their cafés allongés scalding hot. Notes would be taken. Applause would be meted out. The human condition would be considered.
Then, with a roar, the jet touched down.
It was a chartered luxury 747 out of Los Angeles, a hulking tube of metal polished to a high gleam. It had traveled a little over six thousand miles to its destination. And it was stuffed with an astonishing array of American power players-stars, directors, executives-few of them renowned for making art-house fare.
"The Hollywood of 1990 is on the frickin' plane," recalls James Cameron, who had been the last to board in California, having scrambled to finish typing up his first draft of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. "When I got to the airport, they all gave me a snarky clap for being late."
"It was an amazing flight, a magic trip," says Renny Harlin, the director who had just blown up two airplanes and half an airport for the yet-to-be-released Die Hard 2, but who hadn't been banned from high-altitude travel. "There was no shortage of caviar and champagne and that kind of thing."
More potent refreshments were apparently available, too. "We stopped in Maine to refuel, and after we'd been flying for another twenty minutes somebody gets on the speaker and says, ‘We are now outside of American airspace,' " remembers Steven de Souza, writer of the original Die Hard and Commando. "And all of a sudden the drugs come out. People are doing cocaine on the drop-down trays. Then I get tapped on the shoulder and it's Michael Douglas passing me a joint."
If Douglas was literally riding high, he was also doing it figuratively, with Wall Street and Fatal Attraction recent hits in his rearview mirror. But the biggest dogs on board were two movie stars whom few would have expected to share oxygen for over ten hours. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, after more than a decade of bitter warfare, had finally been convinced to appear in public together. The event: a huge party to celebrate Carolco Pictures, the bankroller of many of the bombastic action movies that had ruled the box office for the past decade.
At the airport in Cannes, the disembarking VIPs were each handed an envelope containing 2,000 French francs, spending money for the weekend. Then they were led to a convoy of waiting black Mercedes-Benzes and drivers, at their disposal for the next three days. The vehicles, blue and red lights flashing on their tops, roared down the coast to the decadent Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc. There, a $1 million soiree-the most expensive ever thrown in the history of Cannes-awaited. One of the world's hottest bands, the Gipsy Kings, flown in on a separate jet from Spain, performed songs at high volume. And 240 guests joined those from the plane to mill around a massive terrace overlooking the sea, including Mick Jagger (who ended up dancing on top of a table next to girlfriend Jerry Hall), Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Sharon Stone, and Clint Eastwood, who happened to be staying in the hotel and thought he'd check out what all the noise was about.
As the sun went down and fresh seafood was served, the party's grandest flex was deployed. Rockets blasted up into the Cannes sky, spelling out the names of Carolco's upcoming projects and the people attached to them. "This firework display said ‘TERMINATOR 2' in gigantic letters out over the Croisette," remembers a still-impressed Cameron.
It was a day nobody who attended will ever forget, a showcase of pure excess. Not to mention a cacophony that probably sent Cannes's more sober visitors-who until that moment had been mulling over the ins and outs of Russian comedy-running back to their lodgings. "It's the best party ever done," brags Carolco co-founder Mario Kassar, who put it...
