He said “I’ll be back” — and meant it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has stayed true to his “Terminator” mantra — and has already hit Midtown’s new Planet Hollywood, a venture he invested in when it launched in the early nineties.
“Arnold the Governator was in New York, just around the time that we opened earlier this year because he was filming a Santa Claus movie and he came to the opening. Then he threw his wrap party for the movie there and started hanging out again,” Planet Hollywood’s CEO and founder, Robert Earl, told The Post.
The world-renowned eatery, which reopened at 136 West 42nd Street in Midtown in February, originally launched in 1991 on West 57th Street. Back then, it had the backing of Hollywood elite, namely Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.
Now, Earl also finds it surreal to be welcoming his former investors’ offspring, who are now grown up and making their own way in the industry — like Patrick, the son of Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver.
“Patrick, who used to just be a little young man coming with his family. Now he came by himself. And he’s an amazing young man. Celebrity doesn’t get to him. Like, I tried to force him to take a car from me to get back to his hotel, and he insisted he was going on the subway by himself,” Earl gushed of Patrick, who starred in Season 3 of “The White Lotus” this February.
The British restaurateur has also been keeping up with the children of Willis and Moore.
“I’ve even been chatting with Tallulah Willis. We asked her if she wants to have a look at doing a few things with us. She’s an artist now and has got some exhibits and maybe we’ll do them inside the New York restaurant,” he said.
He also plans to contact Stallone’s daughters — Sophia, Sistine and Scarlet.
“They’re lovely. But they’ve been busy filming their reality show. But I do plan on hitting them up,” he said.
Planet Hollywood is now going “Back to the Future” with new lunch specials — serving the same items that were on its original nineties menu and at the same price point.
“I think that there is a trend. I’ve seen a few other people now doing this. And I think that it brings you through the door,” Earl said of the retro pricing.
“And of course, it’s fascinating for people to say, ‘Just a minute, my entree is under $10. You mean the turkey burger with the fries and everything else is only $7.95?’ Which is unheard of in Manhattan, in a sit-down restaurant that cost $20 million to build.”
The vintage menu — which includes items like margherita pasta for $9.95 and a Hollywood club for $8.95 — will last until October 22nd, when the restaurant celebrates its 34th anniversary.
There’s also a vodka-rum-gin cocktail called “Hasta La Vista Baby” for $9.91, paying homage to Schwarzenegger’s famous line from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
