With trailer appearance, is Schwarzenegger paving the way for a post-gubernatorial Hollywood career?

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Like everyone else who poses that question provocatively in a headline, we haven’t the faintest idea of the answer. But a couple points did stand out to us as we watched the California governor’s much-ballyhooed turn in Sylvester Stallone’s upcoming “The Expendables.”

First, judging by the line he utters, Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t seem to be playing himself here, a departure from other cameos he’s done while in office. Second, why in the name of Conan the Barbarian are a bunch of mercenaries hanging out in a church?

Anyway, as you see from the rest of this trailer, in all its thwomping soundtrack and cheap jingoist glory, the Lionsgate release features 80s-era stars like Stallone, Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis all grabbing machine guns and fighting for some Cold War-style justice. So it’s fitting that Schwarzenegger is here too.

There was, as you may recall, some controversy when the governor took the acting job; it came during the budget crisis -- um, one of the many budget crises -- going on in Sacramento. The fruit of Schwarzenegger’s excursion looks like it turned out OK -- well, sort of. While the “He loves playing in the jungle” line is just funny enough when said to the man who once played Rambo (Stallone, who wrote the movie, is doing self-mocking irony now?), his other line, “Give this job to my friend here,” may be a quote you don’t want memorialized on film while holding the highest elected office in California. “The Daily Show” clip artists are already licking their lips.
At any rate, we wouldn’t be surprised if this was the beginning of a new film phase for the man whose most famous line is “I’ll be back.” Actors who become California governors can go on to big things when they leave Sacramento. And since the Constitution prevents that kind of big thing for Schwarzenegger, he might have to opt for the other big thing, the kind that involves Avi Lerner action movies.

-- Steven Zeitchik