
Marc Flemming
Renovator
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Registered: Jan 2003
Local time: 09:04 PM
Location: Santa Cruz
Posts: 3663
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It's unlikely that anyone will ever know for sure what Arnold Schwarzenegger had to say about Adolf Hitler since the actor bought the rights to "Pumping Iron" and all the outtakes from the 1977 film--and the July 1991 purchase agreement stipulated that Schwarzenegger can destroy the footage if he chooses.
The $1.25 million agreement between Schwarzenegger and "Pumping Iron" director George Butler allowed the star to "destroy any and all portion thereof" of the film and 90 hours of additional footage as well as still photographs owned by Butler that Schwarzenegger considered "embarrassing" or which might "reflect negatively" on the actor's "professional or private life."
The purchase agreement and accompanying deal memorandum were secret until partners of Butler's learned of the sale to Schwarzenegger and filed a lawsuit claiming that he did not have the right to sell the material. After years of litigation, Schwarzenegger settled the case with a $400,000 payment to Butler's former business associates.
As with most defendants, Schwarzenegger was not pleased to be sued over the Butler deal. In fact, when a female employee of the plaintiffs's law firm served him with legal papers during a New York fundraiser, he responded, "You ****." The vulgarity was first reported by The New York Observer in a November 1993 story about the "Pumping Iron" litigation. In fact, the young woman even testified in detail about the incident during a subsequent court "traverse hearing" regarding a defense challenge to the sufficiency of the process service.
Source: TSG
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